Illinois’ comeback story starts here.
“What’s really held Englewood back as a community is there’s not a lot of male mentors. A lot of us grew up without fathers and we don’t really have a positive male role model to look up to. When you take that away, we end up on the street or in jail.”
Keith Bass grew up in Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood, where as a young man he struggled to see a productive path forward for his life. That changed when he was mentored in entrepreneurship by Walter Mendenhall through the Male Mogul Initiative. On April 11, the initiative unveiled its new small business incubator, Co-llab, with Bass as...
“After high school, I wanted to do something related to tech. I ended up going to Prairie State College. I already had one kid at the time. I ended up dropping out because I got into a really bad relationship.” “The relationship ended up causing both of us to be homeless. I was in and...
“I’m originally from Yonkers, New York. I’ve been married 23 years to my wife, Kehinde, and I have two sons: Joshua, who is 23, and Josiah, who is 21.” “When we were in New York, my wife and I believed Chicago is where God wanted us to be. So, my wife and I resigned our...
“I was arrested and framed for murder four days after turning 16 years old. I have an ongoing multimillion-dollar lawsuit.” “To this day, the U.S. Attorney’s office hasn’t produced one criminal prosecution of this crew, but at the time in Humboldt Park there was a group of detectives who were basically running as a criminal...
“I grew up around gun violence on the South Side of Chicago between the projects of Avalon Park and the Henry Horner Homes. I saw all these young brothers losing their lives in situations that could have easily been avoided or mediated.” “I started organizing about 20 years ago because I got tired of seeing...
“I joined a gang at 10 years old. I spent most of my life on the streets. I had my first taste of whiskey. I smoked. I hit teachers in school. I tortured cats.” “My father mentally and physically abused my mother. I hated him. At 12 years old, I followed him to learn his...
“2020, after volunteering at my children’s school for so long, I was offered a job in the lunchroom. I think the wage was maybe $13 an hour. I am also a licensed cosmetologist who was not actively doing hair because I was more focused on raising my three children.” “$13-an-hour was not enough to live...
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