Born and raised in Chicago, attorney Kimberley Egonmwan is imminently qualified to discuss the ongoing issues her city has endured, many moons before the pandemic established its devastating course on society. As the Monday commentator and daily host of the WVON afternoon drive, she does as much and more, delivering hard-hitting observations and social commentary as only she can.
The John Marshall Law School grad recently sat down with rolling out to discuss what it will take to improve the lives of the people in her community.
Why does violence seem to be a public health crisis?
Looking at the sheer numbers of life lost and people impacted, there is no greater public health crisis than violence. It should be treated like a disease, in that it should be diagnosed [and] contained to stop trends and spreading.
After walking through 10 cities this summer from Chicago to Washington, D.C., for the purpose of asking President Biden to make violence a public health crisis, it was clear from the data I collected, as well as the letters and written solutions from residents, that while violence is on the rise everywhere, it seems to go hand in hand with neglected and underresourced communities with poor economic engines. [This includes] weaker education systems, few grocery stores or access to fresh food and distressed residents worried about how to provide for their families or even afford child care.
What do you think the role of change agents and activists are in the Black community?
It is the role of change agents and activists to work with the community, but also challenge residents to identify how their assets can be employed to rebuild the community. It is our role to study how successful communities thrive, i.e., what resources it takes to flourish and to help shape a vision that can be executed through policy changes and gathering resources. Being an agent in finding solutions is paramount.
How does capitalism play a role in causing problems in our society?
The struggle to always obtain “more” can be troublesome for society because it leads to the type of inequality we have seen particularly since the ’80s: the haves and the have nots. Having more than everyone else is the order of the day, not a collective thought about how we can all do well.
Why are voting rights and registering the Black community a part of your mission?
Voting is the most direct way to shape the policies, elect the most competent officials, and institute the laws and measures that will ensure a high standard of life for our people. It is not something to be trifled with. When you add up everything that has been gained for African Americans through voting, and everything that has been taken away every time we have been denied the right to vote, voting rights are literally a matter of life and death and should be treated as such.
