Todd Belcore is the executive director of Social Change.
Belcore, an award-winning lawyer, has over 20 years of experience working to improve underserved communities, which is Social Change’s objective. Some of that work has included assisting efforts to pass laws related to entrepreneurship, jobs, housing, health equity, and social justice reforms.
During a recent interview with rolling out, Belcore explained more about his important work.
What is the movement about and what moves should our community be focusing on as we go into the new year?
The movement has to be [about] liberation. It’s not about just doing something about poverty, but justice reform or police brutality. It’s all those things and then some it’s about liberation, making sure everyone in our communities has all the opportunities they need to fulfill their potential and can function and go about their day to day without being assaulted, mistreated, abused, exploited, all the things that we know are happening in our communities at a disproportionate rate.
What does liberation look like for somebody from the South Side of Chicago?
Liberation looks like be able to walk up and down your street without being afraid for your life. Liberation looks like when you’re pulled over by the police, you’re not worried about whether or not you’re getting home to see your children. Liberation looks like not worrying that the person next to you doing the same work is getting paid twice as much. Essentially, it’s just getting the foot off of our neck, allowing us to breathe and do everything in life that God intended for us to do.
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