What’s New

The mark will be worn starting in 2022, and the current “Fire Crown” logo will be retired after the 2021 season.

The Fire hope they finally got their logo right.

Frankly, they had to.

After it leaked on social media earlier in the day, the Fire unveiled their new badge Friday night. The circular mark features a red C with a six-pointed star, surrounded by a Chicago flag-blue Florian Cross, all inside a navy blue circle with a white background.

Created by designer Matthew Wolff after a process of consulting with fans that began in January, the mark will be worn starting in 2022. The current “Fire Crown” logo, a subject of derision even before it was released in November 2019, will be retired after the 2021 season.

“As much as this project was about the creation of a new crest for the Chicago Fire, it was also about renewing a spirit of cooperation and collaboration with our fans,” Fire owner Joe Mansueto said in a news release. “We made a commitment in January to welcome anyone who wanted to lend their voice to this project and the result is a crest that was fully and completely inspired by what we heard from our fans and supporters.

“We’re hopeful all will wear the new crest with pride and feel it represents not only this storied club, but also the great city of Chicago.”

The Fire also announced they will return to red home kits starting with the 2024 season. The 2022-23 home uniforms have been in design for over a year and will remain blue. Their current white secondary kits will be worn for a second season in 2022 but with the new logo.

An eventual return to red at home will help the Fire get closer to the identity they spurned after the 2019 season. Starting with the birth of the franchise until two years ago, the Fire had a consistent visual signature: the classic Florian Cross-inspired blue, red and gray badge worn on an all-red primary uniform that featured a prominent horizontal white stripe across the chest.

Since then, they’ve worn blue at home with the loathed Fire Crown badge, which was mocked by neutrals when it was unveiled and never caught on with supporters.

This logo has to, because the Fire cannot afford to change their badge again. When they take the field in 2022, they’ll be donning their third logo in four years, an extremely rare level of inconsistency in major-league sports that complicates recognition.

Earlier this year, Mansueto acknowledged that changing logos isn’t good for building a brand. This mark must last, and not just for a little while as the team tries to gain relevance in the Chicago sports market.

“It’s hugely important,” Mansueto told the Sun-Times. “We need to get it right. We made one change, which is not that unusual. What’s unusual is to make two changes, that you introduce something and it’s not quite the right fit.”

The Fire said fan involvement in this rebrand included over 225,000 words submitted to the team website, more than 500 hours of supporter roundtables, and beyond 10,000 responses on social media.

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The 2011 Cardinals had a mountain of misfortune in their way, but they got past it and won the World Series. That must mean La Russa is going for a repeat.

On June 19, 2011, Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols reached to his left for a wide throw just as the Royals’ Wilson Betemit, a speedy 220-pounder tasting an infield hit, began to lunge for the bag. In the sudden quiet of Busch Stadium, Pujols — a three-time MVP and the greatest hitter St. Louis had known since Stan Musial — dropped his glove, staggered halfway to the home dugout and crumbled to the grass with a broken wrist.

By that point, the baseball gods were just toying with manager Tony La Russa and his team.

Ace Adam Wainwright, a 20-game winner and Cy Young runner-up the season before, had been shut down in spring training and undergone Tommy John surgery. Third baseman David Freese was nearly two months into a stint on the disabled list with a broken hand. All-Star outfielder Matt Holliday had required an emergency appendectomy, of all maladies. The bullpen was a revolving door of chaos. And the manager? For weeks on end, La Russa had suffered with a painful, unsightly rash — shingles — on his face.

On the day Pujols went down, the Cardinals were nine games into a brutal 3-12 stretch that left them teetering at just above .500. Despite all that had gone wrong, at least they were still in the fight.

‘‘It was a struggle early,’’ said La Russa, speaking by phone Friday from the visiting manager’s office at Minute Maid Park in Houston. ‘‘But those were the first signs, that first couple of months, of how tough-minded the team was. They just weren’t going to give in.’’

It wasn’t until late August, however, that those Cardinals — La Russa’s last team as a manager before the 2021 White Sox — launched like a rocket. In the last 32 games of the regular season, they went 23-9, chipping away at the Braves’ 10½-game lead in the wild-card standings until every last bit of it was gone. OK, so the Braves’ 11-21 collapse in the final 32 games helped. Regardless, the charging Cardinals pulled into a tie on the next-to-last day of the season, won in Houston in Game 162, then watched in amazement in the clubhouse as the Braves lost their own finale to the Phillies in 13 innings.

‘‘It was shock when they got to three outs and it was over and we were in,’’ La Russa said. ‘‘Shock. An explosion of emotion.’’

And then the Cardinals won the whole damn thing, capping off one of the unlikeliest runs to a World Series title on record.

What La Russa’s team didn’t know entering the playoffs was that its manager was planning to retire after his 16th season with the Cardinals. And that’s ‘‘retire’’ in the old-fashioned sense, which is to say never, ever doing the 162-game grind again.

‘‘Oh, definitely,’’ he said. ‘‘I thought I was passing the baton. I’d had enough. I had no doubt that was it.’’

Right-hander Lance Lynn was a rookie on that 2011 team. Fittingly, his first go-round came with a 60-day DL stint. Still, talk about a dream come true — but with a bittersweet ending. La Russa called a team meeting right after the championship parade and made his intentions known.

‘‘It caught all of us by surprise,’’ Lynn said, ‘‘even the veterans.’’

Lynn, off to a Cy Young-caliber start in his first season with the Sox, knows more now than he did then about what was weighing on La Russa. At 66, the manager maintained an all-business disposition with his players, no matter how hard it might have been. At 76, he’s doing the same with the Sox.

Like the 2011 Cardinals, the Sox have been dealt a series of heavyweight punches in the injury department. Left fielder Eloy Jimenez — a self-described MVP candidate in 2021 — tore a pectoral muscle in spring training. Center fielder Luis Robert has been out since early May with a hip injury and might be months from a return. Second baseman Nick Madrigal is down for the season after shredding a hamstring.

Unlike the Cardinals, the Sox are winning so often — so far, anyway — that the possibility of missing the playoffs might seem, as of today, to be far-fetched. But that kind of thinking doesn’t fly with La Russa.

‘‘We all go through [adversity],’’ he said. ‘‘You’ve just got to have the commitment of ‘never give in, never give up.’ That’s what we’ve done.

‘‘But an important point: Just because we’ve done it doesn’t mean that we’ve got a guarantee. We’ve got to do it to the end. This club is making a special commitment, and we’re going to take our best shot.’’

And win the whole damn thing, maybe? It happened with La Russa’s last team. That must mean he’s going for a repeat.

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Daniel Armani called 911 because his mother was having an epileptic seizure, and despite his age, calmly relayed critical information while comforting his mother.

Daniel Armani sat inside a fire truck Friday, with hands on the large steering wheel, his feet unable reach the floor, wearing a plastic fire helmet and an ear-to-ear smile.

It was all part of the 7-year-old’s reward for helping to save his mom’s life.

Daniel, who goes by D.J., called 911 on May 30 at 6 p.m. because his mother was having an epileptic seizure. He then calmly and cooly relayed critical information while comforting his mother.

“I’ve been here for 18 years and handled thousands and thousands of calls, but this guy was a step ahead, especially for being so young,” said Dianne Statts-Mareci, the Chicago Fire Department communications officer who handled the call.

Statts-Mareci said the call was transferred to her from police communication officer Andrea Jones when it was determined to be a medical issue. Jones stayed on the line, and both of them took information from D.J. that helped save his mother, Tarissa Clark.

“We get a lot of calls from kids but you could hear in his voice that something wasn’t right,” Jones said, explaining why she transferred the call to Statts-Mareci. Both said D.J. remained cool and provided them with important information.

Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

“It’s key because all the information we ask is necessary to get the right kind of help,” Statts-Mareci said.

“This kid was spot-on. He was calm. He answered all the questions. He was very concerned to make sure his mom was OK and he kept telling her that she was going to be OK. He talked to me calmly, calmer than most adults I talk to. He handled it like a champ.”

Clark, 25, who lives with her son in Bronzeville, said she’s suffered from seizures all her life. Because of that, she taught D.J. starting around age 4 what he should do if she suffered one.

Until last month, he’d never had to call 911 for her — but when he did, he came through with flying colors, she said.

After Statts-Mareci finished the call with D.J., she alerted a supervisor.

“I went to my supervisor and I said, ‘Sometimes we get recognized for exemplary calls. How do we recognize the public? This little fella needs somebody to know how important what he did was,” she said.

That led to D.J., his mother and a few family members being invited to the Office of Emergency Management. where he was presented with a challenge coin and certificate from OEMC Executive Director Rich Guidice. He also got a plastic fire helmet and backpack from acting CFD Commissioner Annette Nance-Holt, as well as a Lego fire truck.

Nance-Holt joked that DJ looked like “the new fire chief.”

Guidice told DJ his actions were heroic, calling the call “truly amazing.”

Then, after a private tour of the 911 call center, D.J. and his family went to the Engine 16 fire station in Bronzeville, at Pershing Road and Wabash Avenue. There, D.J. was presented with a new bicycle and bike helmet by retired firefighters Kirkland Flowers and Art Lewis,

Flowers and Lewis had worked at that station for several years, and would reward neighborhood kids through a group they started, Firefighters and Paramedics In The Community Helping.

D.J. and his family also got a firehouse tour, which is how he ended up behind the wheel of that fire truck.

Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

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“The team needs me,” White Sox third baseman says.

HOUSTON — Yoan Moncada missed the series against the Rays this week and, while he returned to the lineup Thursday to face the Astros, the White Sox third baseman still wasn’t feeling 100 percent.

The Sox said he had a sinus infection, but what he felt reminded him of last season when he tested positive for the Coronavirus. Moncada had body aches and briefly lost his senses of taste and smell and is still feeling slightly weaker than normal.

“I was a little worried,” said Moncada, whose fears were alleviated when he tested negative for COVID-19.

On his first chance in the field Thursday, Moncada short-hopped second baseman Danny Mendick trying to start a double play and was charged with an error. But Moncada knows he belongs on the field when he’s not at 100 percent.

“The team needs me,” Moncada said, speaking through translator Billy Russo. “Even though I’m not 100%, I can still help this team.

“I just need to find a way to start feeling better and stronger and that’s what I’m working on, working with the trainers to feel that way for me to start feeling better and stronger.”

Moncada is performing like he did in 2019, when he was the Sox’ top position player in wins above replacement. He’s their top position player in 2021, batting .276/.400/.403 with five homers, 32 RBI and 31 runs scored. He’s second among third basemen in All-Star voting behind Rafael Devers of the White Sox.

“That would be a blessing,” he said of being an All-Star for the first time.

But Moncada said his focus is on helping the team win games.

“We’re a team and I know that the easy response would be ‘I don’t want to play,’ ’’ Moncada said. “But no, I want to play, I want to help this team, I want to help my teammates to win games. And that’s why I have to find a way to get through this.”

Garcia sidelined with sore knee

Leury Garcia, the versatile infielder outfielder who is batting .327 with seven RBI and eight walks in his last 16 games, has a right sore knee, La Russa revealed, keeping him out of the lineup a second straight night.

The Sox’ bench was already thinner than usual after pitcher Zack Burdi was recalled from Triple-A Charlotte to bolster the pitching supply for this series. Burdi came up when outfielder Adam Eaton went on the injured list with a hamstring strain.

Slumping designated hitter Yermin Mercedes and Adam Engel, who has been playing every other day as he eases his way back from his hamstring injury, were the only available position players on the bench.

“Hopefully we get through it without him,” La Russa said.

Hamilton’s oblique

Outfielder Billy Hamilton (oblique strain) is with the team and ‘felt a little pinch’ taking a swing Thursday, La Russa said, an indication his return is not near. Hamilton would probably need a short rehab assignment once he returns to 100 percent.

Burger diversifies

Third base prospect Jake Burger, a 2017 first-round draft choice coming back from two Achilles injuries, started a game for Triple-A Charlotte at second base Thursday.

“You want to make sure there’s different ways, if he earns a promotion, to get in the lineup,” manager Tony La Russa said.

Burger is batting .264/.304/.535 with eight homers for Charlotte.

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The city sued Enrique Badillo Sr. in March 2020 after a man was shot during a party at the home. The lawsuit, which demanded that Badillo to add fencing and security cameras, wasn’t served for more than a year because the city could not reach Badillo — who works for the city.

A Chicago police officer has been stripped of his police powers while the police department investigates whether he allowed dangerous living conditions to fester in a home he owned that was the site of a mass shooting in Englewood earlier this week, a CPD spokesman said Friday.

Enrique Badillo Sr., who owned a building on the 6200 block of South Morgan Street, was facing a lawsuit from the city demanding that he install fencing, heavy-duty locks and security cameras to make the property safer.

But the lawsuit stalled because, for more than a year, the city could not reach Badillo, who doesn’t live in the home.

When a mass shooting erupted inside the house early Tuesday, the city had still not made contact with Badillo. Then, two days after the shooting, the city finally reached him, Kristen Cabanban, a city Law Department spokeswoman, said Thursday.

Badillo, who resides in Logan Square, hasn’t responded to attempts by the Sun-Times to seek comment.

An inspector last checked the home, in the 6200 block of South Morgan Street, in January 2020, but was able to examine only the exterior of the building. The inspector found several code violations, including broken windows and an unsafe staircase and porch. Each of those violations totaled over $10,000 in fines plus $1,000 per day for each violation since the inspection.

The city filed a “public nuisance” suit in March 2020 after a man was shot during a large party inside the home, a two-story wood-frame structure with a gray stone front. According to the lawsuit, it was filed to “take action to abate criminal activity” at the home.

In its filing, the city listed a series of actions the city could take to enforce their demands. This included evicting the home’s residents and making Badillo install security fencing, gate locks, outdoor lighting, security cameras and even hire a security guard.

There have been few details released by police about Tuesday’s shooting that killed four people and left four others wounded. It remains unclear if any of the victims from the mass shooting were living in the home when the lawsuits were originally filed.

The shooting occurred early Tuesday; police say someone broke into the home some time before 5:40 a.m. that day and opened fire,

Killed Ratanya Aryiel Rogers, 28, mother of a young boy; were Denice Mathis, 32, a mother of four boys; Shermetria Williams, 19, the mother of a 2-year-old girl; and Blake Lee, 34, who lived in the home and did odd jobs in the neighborhood.

Relatives Lee, said he lived at the home where he did odd jobs in the neighborhood.

The four who were seriously wounded included James Tolbert, another victim seriously wounded, ran a barbershop from the house. Tolbert’s girlfriend and their 2-year-old daughter also lived in the home. The girlfriend remains in critical condition while the girl was not shot but still taken to the hospital for observation.

Contributing: David Struett and Madeline Kenney

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Minicamp is over, and the Bears will be off until late next month when they open training camp and begin urgent preparations for this season. Until then, here are seven big questions they face:

How did Andy Dalton look this spring?

It was only in shorts and without pads, but Dalton looked the part of 10-year starting NFL quarterback on the back side of his career — a quarterback capable of taking advantage of a strong supporting cast. An upgrade over Nick Foles? Probably. But we never saw Foles in a similar scenario with the Bears because of the coronavirus. And Foles also was put in a worst-case scenario with a deteriorating offensive line. So even that’s not a sure thing.

What surprised me the most about Justin Fields in practice was …

The touch on his throws. At least in a relatively non-competitive situation of offseason practices, Fields showed an ability to put the ball where only his receiver can get it. And — perhaps contrary to scouting reports — he reacts quickly to opportunity. When the play is there he hits it — where other quarterbacks might hesitate for a split-second and lose the opportunity.

Matt Nagy’s quarterback plan is …

What it is. Giving Andy Dalton the best chance to succeed as he learns a new system is fair. So Dalton getting all of the first-team reps with Justin Fields on the roster is more prudent than coaching malpractice. If I’m reading between the lines correctly, if Fields shows promise in the preseason, Dalton will have to be pretty good to keep the job. Matt Nagy’s standard will be key once the regular season begins.

The Bears’ defensive starters no-showing OTAs was ….

No big deal. You could see it as an affront to rookie coordinator Sean Desai — or a show of unity if you’re an optimist. In reality, the NFL Players Association’s weak attempt to flex muscle it doesn’t have played out reasonably: the offense that needed the work showed up; the defense that knows the scheme, did not. Desai is tweaking the defense, not overhauling it. The on-field work the players missed shouldn’t make a difference.

What is the Bears’ biggest concern heading into camp?

Almost regardless of the quarterback, do the Bears have an offense? Do they have an offensive scheme? Do they have an offensive play-caller who can outwit the opposing defensive play-caller? On defense, will nose tackle Eddie Goldman be there? Will Robert Quinn be healthy? But the biggest issue is Matt Nagy’s offense.

Will Allen Robinson get his contract extension by the July 15 deadline?

Doubtful. The Bears just don’t seem to value Robinson as much as everybody else does. He’s the biggest play-maker on an offense desperate for play-makers. He is the embodiment of the cherished culture at Halas Hall — on and off the field. Considering Ryan Pace’s history of signing players who have earned long-term deals, it’s mystifying why Robinson wasn’t first in line. But also telling.

Lakefront or Arlington Heights?

All things being equal, the Bears should be playing in Chicago, preferably by the lakefront. But if the choice is a state-of-the-art stadium in Arlington Heights or antiquated Soldier Field on the lakefront, the suburbs would be the better option.

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Mayor Lori Lightfoot was spared a bitter political defeat Friday on the pivotal issue of civilian police oversight by the narrowest of margins.

By a 10-9 vote, the Committee on Public Safety refused to consider an eleventh-hour compromise hammered out without the mayor’s input that would give a civilian oversight panel the final say on police policy disputes.

About an hour before the vote, Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35^th) predicted that the votes would be there to approve the stronger oversight ordinance over Lightfoot’s strenuous objections after proponents agreed to “split out” a binding referendum that, if passed, would give the civilian panel even broader powers.

“We know we don’t have the votes in the Public Safety Committee to pass that referendum. But we do have enough votes to pass the portions of the ordinance that do not include the referendum,” Ramirez-Rosa said.

“So, we agreed this morning to remove the referendum from the ordinance being voted on today. And that should secure us more than a majority in the committee to pass this.”

But Public Safety Committee Chairman Chris Taliaferro (29th) refused to consider the compromise distributed to aldermen only 30 minutes earlier.

When Ald. Nick Sposato (38th) made a motion to table consideration of the new compromise, Taliaferro called for a vote. The roll was called. The vote was 10 to 9 in favor of the motion not to consider the compromise.

“We’ve waited four years to vote on this matter. … A majority of the City Council is on board,” said a disappointed Ald. Harry Osterman (48th), City Council champion for civilian oversight.

Sun-Times file

Taliaferro said he objected to immediate consideration of the compromise because he “screamed from the rooftops” for supporters to “pull the referendum and you would have support.”

“No one listened” until Friday, Taliaferro said.

Taliaferro also condemned what he called the “threats, intimidation and harassment” by proponents of civilian police oversight who show up at the homes of Chicago aldermen “plaster things in front of their doors” and put their spouses and children “in harm’s way.”

“I can’t support that type of conduct. … That’s not democracy at its best. Democracy is protesting peacefully,” Taliaferro said.

The committee then voted on a motion to adjourn the meeting until Monday at 1 p.m., when the compromise would be considered. The vote was 9-to-8 not to adjourn. That set the stage for aldermen to consider the mayor’s ordinance, which lacks support, and the old version of civilian review that has been supplanted by the compromise.

But Ald. Jason Ervin (28th) made another motion to adjourn that was accepted.

Lightfoot finally has delivered her own plan for civilian police oversight, but it did not include the sweeping policymaking, budgeting and hiring and firing powers she promised during the mayoral campaign.

Instead of allowing the seven-member commission she offered to create to choose Chicago’s police superintendent, Lightfoot would retain that coveted power for herself and future mayors.

Sun-Times file

Ramirez-Rosa championed the more extreme version of civilian oversight proposed by the Civilian Police Accountability Council before helping to forge the compromise with the Grassroots Alliance for Police Accountability.

The new compromise gives the civilian oversight commission the final say in disputes over police policy.

The panel would also be empowered to take a vote of no-confidence in Chicago’s police superintendent that could set the stage for the top cop’s removal if the City Council agrees by a two-thirds vote, he said.

“The mayor was not part of these conversations. She had her opportunity to work with the coalition on meaningful civilian oversight. The ordinance that she introduced was not a serious proposal for civilian oversight,” Ramirez-Rosa said.

“Her staff reached out to us earlier this week and put nothing on the table. All they said was, ‘Will you postpone the vote?’ The vote’s been postponed how many times? How many years? It’s time to pass this ordinance.”

Like Lightfoot, Taliaferro has argued that the mayor “wears the jacket” for public safety and needs to have the final say on police policy disputes and the fate of the police superintendent.

“It should be within the authority of the mayor to hire and fire the superintendent, the Police Board and the COPA administrator. If she’s gonna wear the hat for any good or bad that happens within the police department, she needs to be able to hire and fire the chief executive of those offices,” Taliaferro told the Sun-Times last month.

“I can’t imagine being the mayor of a municipality and you have no say-so in the direction of the police department.”

Lightfoot campaigned on a promise to empower a civilian oversight panel to hire and fire the police superintendent and have the final word in disputes over police policy.

Civilian oversight was a pivotal recommendation by the Task Force on Police Accountability she co-chaired in the furor that followed the court-ordered release of the Laquan McDonald shooting video.

After the election, Lightfoot changed her tune, just as she has on her support for an elected school board bill approved by the Illinois House this week over her strenuous objections.

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After much speculation, the Bears took a concrete step towards moving the historic franchise by placing a bid to buy the Arlington International Racecourse property Thursday — and as expected fans had much to say.

Some fans applauded the move, as they hoped for a larger new stadium that could be more accessible by car or Metra — while others were outraged by the mere idea of the team leaving the city.

Nicole Richardson, a lifelong fan, told the Sun-Times that Soldier Field is “iconic” even with the renovation that some have compared to a “spaceship.”

“It’s the ‘Chicago Bears,'” Richardson wrote. “If the owners want to move outside of the city they need to relinquish the name.”

Mayor Lori Lightfoot took to Twitter and shared a similar statement, affirming her commitment to “keeping the ‘Chicago’ name in our football team.”

Other city fans had similar feelings.

“We are the Chicago bears not the AH bears, that’s one big reason,” one fan tweeted. “Second, I’m born and raised and have spent majority of my life so far in Chicago so I’d rather we play there than in some soulless metal and glass monstrosity in the suburbs to make suburban fans happy.”

Tweeted another: “Because a stadium in Arlington Heights just doesn’t feel right. Part of the appeal of Soldier Field is that it’s on the lake right in the heart of Chicago.”

In the announcement Thursday, team president Ted Phillips said the Bears are exploring “every possible option,” adding if their bid is selected it would allow them to “further evaluate the property and its potential.”

But other fans support the move.

“Having a stadium on the lakefront is cool but if the @ChicagoBears can build an awesome modern stadium with great amenities and a DOME, im down,” one tweeted.

Jamal Neff hopes it will make games more accessible and affordable.

As an adult, Neff said in an interview that he has been to only one game at Soldier Field.

“When I was there, the price of the tickets was just outrageous — to sit in an angle that was cumbersome [and] to look at playing that was atrocious,” Neff said.

Like many others, Neff remembers the excitement of the ’85 Super Bowl season but says the stadium itself had nothing to do with that.

“I remember the city being electric, the neighborhoods coming alive,” Neff said. “I remember the song and how it united the city and it wasn’t really about being at the stadium or in the Museum Campus. It was just about being in the neighborhoods that make up Chicago.”

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Thank you for seeing us — labeled by sociologists as the “permanent underclass” — as Black gold to be refined by education and love.

This week’s column is a tribute to Paul J. Adams, executive chairman and founder of Providence St. Mel School, John Fountain’s alma mater.

Dear Dad, thank you for loving me. For choosing to call me your son. For being keeper of the emerald grass that still grows pristine on the West Side, where hopes and dreams too often are deferred until they dry up like a raisin in the sun.

Thank you for standing as the roaring lion of West Garfield. As protector of those who still find safe-haven in the hallowed halls of the towering brick castle on South Central Park. Thank you, for staying when the Archdiocese of Chicago 43 years ago declared that it was done and withdrew its funds.

Thank you for choosing not to run.

For seeing us — labeled by sociologists as the “permanent underclass,” as “the American Millstone,” as future drug dealers, killers and thugs — as Black gold to be refined by education and love. Thank you.

For dreaming of educating poor Black children mislabeled as ineducable in a place where broken glass, violence and gunfire run thick like a muddy river of hopelessness, I am grateful.

For building that old steady ship that still stands glistening as Providence St. Mel School — which existed long before the explosion of charter schools, of school reform and “No Child Left Behind” — thank you. For educating young Black minds.

For being the epitome of strength, love and fatherhood — in the face of prevailing stereotypes about Black males. For standing through all the hell…

The hell of uncertain days when the dream seemed more a haze, and trying to make payroll left you discouraged and dazed, and yet, still standing.

The hell of those most ungrateful, of critics so hateful. The hell of those words that sting and sometimes ring with bitterness that can steal one’s joy. The hell of those who cast aspersions or magnify perceived faults or shortcomings. Who choose to see the speck in your eye but not the wooden log in their own — and not yet having made a fraction of your sacrifice or impact on Black children’s lives. Facts.

You — and (former principal) Jeanette Butala — gave your lives to this cause. I will never forget that.

Thank you, for never abandoning ship. For being pure in heart and unwavering in your commitment to saving us. For being brave enough to face enemies far and near. For seeing clearly that a quality education is neither Black nor white, just right.

That our Blackness as a people is and always will be. But education must be attained, and excellence, hopes and dreams worked for and gained.

Thank you for embodying Black manhood.

For being wearing your regal Afro crown and standing rooted in the teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., with whom you marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama. Thank you for caring most about what was in our heads, not what was on our heads.

For establishing school codes intended to make us uniform, to teach us values and order but never stole our Black pride or cool. I wore my braids back then, just not to school. And I still respect your rules.

Thank you for being a true gangster for education, for true emancipation. For embracing the call to envision ghetto children from a little West Side school that could, gaining academic scholarships and entry to the nation’s top colleges and universities (100% since 1978) — then matriculating.

Thank you for excavating Black gold on the other side of the tracks. For your vision carried on at Providence St. Mel and based on one simple fact: Black children can achieve. Every single one.

I am so proud to call you father and humbled that you call me your son. Happy Father’s Day.

Email: [email protected]

Send letters to [email protected].

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