More than six weeks after gunmen fatally wounded his 29-year-old son on a South Side street, U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.), 53, still speaks haltingly about the incident’s impact on his life. Huey Rich, who used his mother’s last name, died four days after the attack, opening what Rush now says has been a painful but reflective period in his life as a father and lawmaker.
Since emerging in the public eye three decades ago as a leader in the militant Black Panthers, Rush has remained closely tied to minority communities, first as a member of the City Council and now in Washington. Earlier this year, Rush lost his election bid for mayor of Chicago after forging a platform aimed largely at black voters, including ending discriminatory snow removal and restoring funding to the Chicago Transit Authority.
Rush now prepares to face his toughest re-election fight, as state Sens. Donne Trotter and Barack Obama, both of whom have announced plans to vie for the Democratic nomination for his seat, continue to marshal key political forces behind them.
As he noted the 30th anniversary of his first brush with the power of firearms– the police raid that ended the lives of Panther leaders Fred Hampton and Mark Clark–Rush spoke to the Tribune last week about guns, race, and his future in elected office.
Q: In those first days after your son was shot, what was the dominant emotion?
A: The first emotion I felt when I heard about Huey was shock, then fear. Then hope and then pain. There was a long period–three or four days–of tremendous highs and terrible lows.
I knew that Huey was fighting for his life, and the doctors were not very encouraging at that time. Then there was a moment when all of his internal organs were functioning properly, no deterioration, and the doctors said, “We’ve seen patients in his condition get up and walk out of here in a week.” And that was the peak, you raise your hands, “Praise God.” Jubilation. “Thank you.” But then the valley came. And then the pain. It was a sense of hopelessness.
I will never forget the death wail of his mother, his stepmother, aunts, cousins. For me, that was the most painful moment.
Q: You’ve had a consistent record in favor of gun control, but how has this experience affected your stance legislatively?
A: A handgun killed Huey, and I am committed that his death is not in vain.
To me, it’s more personal now. I’m more committed to fighting gun violence as a way of life and a way of thinking.
We’re trying to change not only the laws, but the culture of violence, the glorification of the gun. I think you do that by interpersonal approaches. It doesn’t have to all be done by legislation. I’m trying to create a grass-roots effort to fight guns.
Q: What does that mean on a practical level?
A: I know that everyday, ordinary Americans are sick of the gun violence, especially in my community. I believe the black community has a moral responsibility and moral obligation to raise the consciousness of their own people and the rest of the nation around the issues of guns and violence.
It’s going to require talking to key individuals, movers and shakers. It’s also going to require talking to groups of children and adults, churches and labor unions. It means asking them to come together to mobilize citizens around specific actions. One of the things I want is to have no gun violence on New Year’s Eve. . . . It’s absolutely crazy, it’s foolish for us to celebrate the new millennium by standing in back yards and on back porches and firing wildly into the air. Not only do those bullets come down and hurt people, but it sends the wrong message. It’s just one action, but we could build on that.
It’s beyond politics, it’s about interpersonal relationships, one-on-one, that’s how it’s going to get figured out. It’s not going to be from the well of the House, it’s not going to be from making speeches on gun control.
Q: You raise the issue of responsibility. In the sense that we’ve come to see the campaign against cigarette smoking as a patchwork of responsibility, ultimately who is going to reduce gun violence? The legislatures, for example, gun manufacturers, the individual or the media?
A: I think it’s going to be all of those. The media have made gods out of guns, so they have a responsibility, the gun manufacturers have a responsibility. I believe that what we’re trying to do is awaken the consciousness of people and give people an opportunity to get involved.
Q: What about lawmakers? What role do they have?
A: Washington has to assume its responsibility. My staff and I right now are working on a comprehensive gun-control bill. We don’t have all the details, but for instance, regulating the sale and purchase of bullets. Ultimately, I would like to see the manufacture and possession of handguns banned except for military and police use. But that’s the endgame. And in the meantime, there are some specific things that we can do with legislation.
Q: Your role as a public figure has, of course, undergone a transformation in the last 30 years–from radical to congressman. What parts of your early beliefs still resonate and what around you has changed?
A: The thing that’s changed most significantly over the last 30 years of my life is that people, before, when you mentioned civil rights, anti-war, people got engaged in doing something to solve problems.
But nowadays, we’ve got a spectator community, not an active community. What we’ve got to do is create opportunities to take those spectators onto the field and say, “Look, you do have power, you can do something about solving a problem.”
Q: What about guns and race issues? How has your evolution in public life and your experience with your son’s death affected those issues?
A: In some instances, maybe not in all, we need to de-emphasize the racial divisions in America and emphasize our human commonness. And I believe if we do that, we can reach beyond the walls that separate us and really have some effective changes, as far as the social, political and economic conditions in this nation.
I cannot emphasize race when not only was my son killed by black men, but the public response to his murder was completely non-racial, even non-partisan. I got 400 messages of condolences from members of Congress.
I’ve had people on the floor (of Congress) who I’ve never shared three words with put their arm around me.
We have to recognize that this is not just blacks who are being murdered; it’s whites who are being murdered. This issue of gun violence is an American issue, a world issue.
Q: People may look at your current take on things and wonder if you’re distancing yourself from your traditional constituency. How do you think this affects you as a candidate?
A: I wasn’t born in Congress, and I pray to God I won’t die there. But I enjoy what I do, I think I’m effective in what I do. But if you look at my life, it’s not defined by electoral politics. What I’m doing, I’m going to be doing whether I’m re-elected or not.
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An edited transcript
