I’m writing from and to the South Side. A place where we know what it feels like to be overlooked, to watch injustice happen in front of us, and then be told to be patient and just follow the rules while the slow cogs of government rock us to sleep until our claims are no longer relevant. And I’m asking, why wait for someone else to light a torch when you already have the power to light it yourself?
If we all believe our perspective matters and demand that it’s respected, then the first step toward change is action. Not talking or posting. Not waiting. Not hoping. Just one real move forward. Ignoring a problem only feeds it. Facing it ends it.
Every day we are given a choice. Stay stuck in the cycle or break it by taking responsibility for what we see and what we know is wrong. When I was in the Army leading teams and platoons, I would ask my soldiers a simple question: When do you become a leader?
They would give me a list of ranks, titles, and career milestones. But the truth I taught them is that you become a leader the moment you begin to lead. Leaders don’t wait for permission. Leaders lead through action. Progress does not start with someone at the front or taking pictures for the book. It starts with each one of us right where we stand doing what needs to be done right there.
And that is why I must call this out. We have mail-in ballots sitting on kitchen tables across the South Side that never get turned in. We have the power in our hands but too many of us refuse to use it and then expect others to stick their necks out to march, to stand up to the powerful, to protest on our behalf. That is not leadership. That is not community. In fact, turnout in City Council District 4 has been among the lowest in the city. At one point only about 3.5% of registered voters had returned their ballots, while overall citywide turnout in some elections barely broke 25%. That is proof of how much power we are leaving on the table.
“You become a leader the moment you begin to lead.” – Shaun Walls
Our schools are failing our kids. In District 11 three out of four students do not graduate on time, and nearly 60% of students come from low-income households. We have a candidate running who comes from us, a candidate who represents us. But instead of standing beside him, funding his campaign, and lifting him up, we leave him to struggle alone. Meanwhile the D11 board administrators and superintendent, who have been nothing but a menace to our community, keep winning because we will not take the simple steps to compete with them.
It makes no sense to let someone fighting for us have to work harder to compete against the very people trying to damage our future while we watch. Some would argue that they’re trying to make sure we don’t have a future here. For now, maybe it’s better to control what we have the ability and network to control.
The South Side deserves better. But better will not come unless we decide to act. Get ballots turned in. Get campaigns funded. Get public education defended. Get voices raised.
So, I will ask you again. Why not you? Why not today? The South Side has always had the strength of culture and pride. All it takes is momentum, and momentum begins with one step. From YOU!
Help Charles Johnson fight for us on the D11 school board.
Stop playing in people’s faces and do something.
Shaun Walls served over two decades in the U.S. Army, a combat veteran leading soldiers and learning the value of action over words. A graduate of Harrison High School, he is the former vice president of the Chinook Center and a founding member of Men of Influence 719. Today, he brings his continued commitment to his work as a father, community organizer and board member of the Pikes Peak Bulletin. His views are his alone and not the official stance of the Bulletin. He is not paid for writing published in the Bulletin.
