Page 35 - June2021

COVID in 2020. Southwood detailed that a member of the local FOP Lodge had helped with some cooking at the camp and sug- gested the FOP partner more formally. Southwood learned that many kids from Chicago participated in the camp and contacted Catanzara, who was all in.
One of the camp board members is Chicago Alderman Wal- ter Burnett, whose ward includes the area where Lodge 7 head- quarters is located. The FOP proposed that working on the camp would be a good way to build a relationship with an alderman who had not been pro-police.
Wilson joined the talks at that point, as did Alderman Ray- mond Lopez, who has indicated he is running for mayor in 2023. Wilson then dropped his idea about Ramo and invited Catan- zara and Southwood to the May 24 meeting at House of Hope.
The opportunity intrigued the FOP for several reasons.
“They made it perfectly clear to me and I’m sure to John, too, that they don’t want less police, they want more police,” South- wood related. “They expressed that they don’t understand the defunding thing and that if you do defund the police, they’re in the areas that are going to get hit the worst and the hardest.”
And when Ramo talked about how more police involvement could make a profound difference, well, you can imagine the re- sponse.
“It’s action, not words,” Southwood continued. “This is an op- portunity for us to actually go do work in these communities. We’re physically doing something to make things better. And I was really taken aback by these ministers wanting to have open and honest communication.”
Hope for the best
Ramo’s presence gained another asset through working with Chicago attorney Richard Boykin. A true expert in politics and funding, Boykin served on the staff of Carol Moseley-Braun, the
Chicagoan who became the first African-American woman to be elected to the U.S. Senate.
After serving 10 years as chief of staff to Congressman Danny Davis, who represented the 7th district that includes Chicago, Boykin returned to the city and opened a law practice. Some re- fer to Boykin as a lobbyist. He prefers to be known as an advo- cate, and he has a definitive sense of what Ramo is advocating for.
“When you really look at it, if it isn’t gun violence or drugs, it’s the negative economy that’s destroying the community in a big way,” Boykin confirmed. “The reality is that the church is a central figure in the black community, and I believe, if given the right resources, can point people in the right direction. So I think the investment Dr. Wilson has made will be transformative.”
Initially, the investment will be used to procure products such as facemasks and other equipment to protect the community from further virus impact and even the next pandemic. With Boykin’s help – and Catanzara’s – Wilson anticipates opening doors for corporations to buy products from Ramo that will pro- vide revenue for the churches.
That is just the start. The initiative hopefully will lead to in- ternships for kids in the community to earn their way out and develop financial literacy in the process. And with the union’s help, Wilson hopes Ramo can procure some state contracts to really spike revenue generation.
But there’s more that isn’t just pie in the sky. Wilson suggested that the city could start a program to have all police cars washed and serviced by a Ramo-created program of young people who would learn how to do the work. It could become a trade school that would steer kids to a life without drugs or violence.
“I don’t think there has been a situation where the community
CONTINUED ON PAGE 36
CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ JUNE 2021 35