Chicago Native Appointed New Executive Director of Chicago United for Equity

Jerry L. Hawkins said his goal in his new role as Executive Director of Chicago United for Equity is to expand and deepen the impact of the organization’s programs. Photo provided by Chicago United for Equity.
Jerry L. Hawkins said his goal in his new role as Executive Director of Chicago United for Equity is to expand and deepen the impact of the organization’s programs. Photo provided by Chicago United for Equity.

Chicago Native Appointed New Executive Director of Chicago United for Equity 

By Tia Carol Jones

Jerry L. Hawkins has been appointed as the new Executive Director of Chicago United for Equity (CUE). Hawkins, a Chicago native, previously worked for the Chicago Urban League and Dallas Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation, and has been grounded in doing racial equity work throughout his career.

Chicago United for Equity was founded in 2016 by Niketa Brar and Elisabeth Greer, with the goal to connect and amplify the power of individual people across sectors to build an equitable and inclusive city.

In his role with the Chicago Urban League, Hawkins worked with the male involvement program, a fatherhood program. He also consulted for Chicago Public Schools, doing violence prevention work. He said that violence prevention work was really impactful and powerful, and because of that work, he was recruited to work in Dallas.

There, he served as the Founding Executive Director of Dallas Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation and was the Founding Project Director of the Bachman Lake Together for the Dallas Foundation. Hawkins said that the varies work with those organization helped to make Dallas one of the most equitable cities in the South and that work brought him back to Chicago to do racial equity and justice work.

“CUE’s staff, board and community partners have built a great reputation of doing racial equity work in the community,” he said.

Hawkins said his goal in his new role as Executive Director of Chicago United for Equity is to expand and deepen the impact of the organization’s programs, including the equity fellowship and the co-governance efforts with the city of Chicago. He said he also hopes that CUE will work to change more of the negative stereotypes that exist about some of Chicago’s most under resourced communities.

 He said that he also wants to break down some of the visible and invisible walls of segregation in the city. Hawkins said that while the city has changed since he was young, it still remains deeply segregated. He said that by building power, and partnering with community members, that can change. He said his work in Dallas helped him build narrative power.

“I believe that all of us, as people who live, work, play, go to school, go to church in place, have the ability to drive narratives that will create a better future for ourselves and that means, more expansive stories about who we are, but that also means thinking about a more equitable future,” he said. He added that thinking about a more equitable future means being proactive and creating that equitable future and not just letting the future happen.

Hawkins said he wants to bring his ability to dream and do to Chicago. He believes that the community and non-profit organizations can work hand-in-hand because they share a common goal and vision. He said that in order for community members to be engaged they want to see people fighting for them and see themselves represented. He said that as CUE’s visibility expands, people will see the organization fighting for the issues the people in the community want them to fight for and it will create pathways for people in the community to join them.

For more information about Chicago United for Equity, visit www.chicagounitedforequity.org.

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