Hip-hop artist Common announces Chicago youth job program by Natalie Moore
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Hip-hop artist Common and the Chicago Urban League are teaming up for a youth jobs initiative as a way to prevent violence and whittle down a high teen unemployment rate in the city.
“I see what’s going on in the city. We all see it. Anytime I hear about anybody getting shot, young people with guns, it hurts me,” Common said Wednesday at the Museum of Contemporary Art. “I’m not proud to be like, yeah, we’re ‘Chiraq.’ At certain points I feel like I have to do more.”
The Chicago Youth Jobs Collaborative will focus on securing year-found jobs for people ages 16-24. The target is 15,000 youth over the next five years. The program is set to launch this fall with 1,000 young people.