Can This Man Save Chicago’s Murder Epidemic?
With decades of brokering peace between gangs, community leader Bishop Omar Jahwar has a plan for quelling violence in the perilous city
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Bishop Omar Jahwar has dedicated himself to saving lives — and violence-plagued cities around the country could use his services now more than ever. After growing up in the church with his father as a pastor, Jahwar was hired by the state of Texas at 20 years old to negotiate peace terms between incarcerated gang members. He’s since united more than 400 gang members to negotiate the first peace treaty between Dallas-area Bloods and Crips, spoken at the White House multiple times, and advised Russian officials on gang-related issues.
Hard-hit cities around the nation could use some of that resolution work. Protests in response to police brutality and pandemic-spawned health concerns and unemployment have contributed to increased gun violence and a spike in firearms purchases. It’s some scary shit, especially in Chicago, which in July experienced its most violent month in the past 28 years (at least 107 reported murders, according to the Chicago Tribune). While the issues seem…
