Vulgar protesters no good for the cause

Icouldn’t believe my ears.

Right outside of the DuSable Museum— in earshot of some of most respected and well- known black folks in the city— protesters stood in the rain shouting profanities.

The chants weren’t just mean; they were disgusting.

It didn’t matter to these young people that inside the museum’s auditorium, Gov. Pat Quinn and his GOP challenger were preparing to square off in a televised debate being hosted by the Chicago Urban League and WVON— both venerable black institutions.

The debate was organized to focus on the concerns most relevant to African- American voters, and brought media to a neck of the woods that is often wrongfully stereotyped as violent.

When some of the attendees arrived, they were greeted by two groups of angry protesters.

Dorothy Holmes, the mother of the 25- year- old man who was fatally shot by a Chicago Police officer in the Back of the Yards neighborhood on Sunday night, was there to bring attention to the shooting.

Although police said Ronald Johnson was armed and pointed a weapon at police officers, his mother is disputing that claim.

Because reporters failed to respond to a news release about a planned demonstration in the area where Johnson was shot, the group had packed into cars and moved their protest to DuSable.

“The people that came with us are with the mother. I don’t know about the other group,” explained Tio Hardiman, who was formerly executive director of CeaseFire Illinois, but now heads of his own anti- violence organization.

The other group kept up a steady stream of “f---” Quinn and other vulgarities. I was mortified. Don’t get me wrong. Given the condition of some black neighborhoods, there should be more protests like the one led by businessman Ed Gardner in 2012 over the lack of minorities at construction sites.

If Holmes is convinced that her son was wrongfully killed by a Chicago Police officer, she should try to get media attention.

But there is no excuse for adults using young people to bully political candidates.

“That wasn’t us,” said Paul McKinley, a grass- roots activist. “We were the ones out there shouting: ‘ Hands Up. Don’t Shoot.’ There was too much confusion with those other people so we just left,” he told me on Wednesday.

Instead of making Quinn look bad, the boisterous protesters showed why the black community is in such a fix.

Vulnerable youth are in desperate need of productive leadership that was once provided by grass- roots activists.

But that movement seems to have been hijacked by people with questionable motives.

Real activists use their activism to improve the quality of life in black neighborhoods.

For instance, on Saturday, Quinn and Mayor Rahm Emanuel will announce a $ 20 million project to build an indoor track facility on Chicago Park District property near Gately Stadium. That project didn’t just happen. It is the result of years of advocacy around the notion that revitalizing track

There is no excuse for adults using young people to bully political candidates.

and field could help more African- American students earn college scholarships.

“The young people attending Chicago Public Schools still practice in the hallways and never had an indoor track that was accessible,” said Conrad Worrill, director of the Jacob Carruthers Center for Inner City Studies at Northeastern Illinois University.

Worrill is one of several former athletes, along with Ald. Michelle Harris ( 8th), who pushed for the inside track facility.

“Everyone isn’t going to play basketball, and get a million- dollar contrac. . . . The idea is to bring back a tradition that was very important in sports and to encourage kids and let them know they have more options,” he said.

The so- called activists who were behind the despicable display outside DuSable Museum on Tuesday should take a clue from the elders.

Black youth need committed leadership, not hucksters who are settling for crumbs.