Local rapper Taylor Bennett will speak and perform for sophomores at Whitney Young Magnet High School on Wednesday morning as part of the #SaveChicago campaign against gun violence.
Bennett, 18, will talk to the sophomores about sticking to their goals and staying away from bad influences — or, as he puts it, avoiding “haters.”
“It’s an impactful age — 15 or 16 years old was, for me, one of the roughest ages,” said Bennett, the younger brother of Chance the Rapper. “You’re getting older, and you might not have the right guidance.”
Bennett, who grew up in the Roseland and West Chatham neighborhoods, said he had friends who died in stabbings and shootings. Until he moved downtown this year, he felt unsafe even taking his dog on walks. Many of his songs from the two mix tapes he has released, including “Chi-raq Dreaming,” are about Chicago’s violence.
“It’s a major inspiration,” he said. “It’s sort of about Chicago, but it’s also about the world — trying to make the world better.”
Since becoming popular this spring, the #SaveChicago hashtag has been used on hundreds of tweets advocating against gun violence. Bennett has promoted the campaign on his Twitter account, and in July he hosted a concert fundraiser for Kids Off the Block, a Roseland nonprofit with a mission to prevent youth from joining gangs. He plans to visit more high schools as part of the campaign.
Whitney Young is a magnet school on the Near West Side that draws students from all over the city — which makes it a good place to spread the message about nonviolence, said Anne-Michele Boyle, who teaches world history there.
The school has held other events designed to keep students focused on their goals, including a series of TED talks last year with speeches by a mountain climber and a Google software engineer, among others.
“We’re teaching the future leaders of America, and the future leaders of Chicago,” Boyle said. “I think they can bring change to their neighborhoods. That’s why Whitney Young is such a fascinating place to work — you have kids from all over Chicago.”
