MADENOW
MAN OF
CITY:
Hasani
TAKEBACK
#THE
MADE By Jasmine Browley
S
Too frequently during Chicago
summers, the sounds of
sirens compete with children’s
laughter. And the former
often wins. Squad cars far
outnumber ice cream trucks
on the blocks and fun often
loses out to fear.
ince April 2016, the city’s murder rate has risen
by more than 88% in the first three months of
the year with more than 141 murders reported.
The Chicago Police Department and Mayor
Rahm Emanuel point the finger at gang members for the
bulk of the murders.
years, the initiative has served more than 700 adolescents
by providing a free, safe environment to be along with
food, games, music, scholarships, school supplies and
more in order to leave a positive impact long after the
event is over.
“I grew tired of seeing kids be deprived of their
childhood for fear of being killed by a gangbanger’s
bullet,” said Hasani Henderson, founder of the antiviolence / gun prevention initiative #TheTakeBack.
HOW IT BEGAN
Shortly after graduating from the University of
Missouri, Hasani noticed that the already stunning
amount of gun murders in his hometown were steadily
increasing at an alarming rate and was often the topic of
discussion among his classmates. But no one ever actually
did anything about it after the conversations.
The 23-year-old Southside Chicago native decided
to take matters into his own hands and founded
#TheTakeBack in 2014 in an effort to reframe what
summers in the city look like in some of its most violent
areas.
“I didn’t want to be one of those social media activists
who wrote lengthy think pieces in their status update, but
didn’t follow up with any action,” he said. “So I decided
to put my money where my mouth was.”
#TheTakeBack continues annually as an all-day activity
filled outdoor event geared toward promoting antiviolence among Chicago’s at-risk youth. Over the last two
Literally. Hasani conceptualized #TheTakeBack, spread
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