Published: August 1, 2000

And Justice For Some

We meet every Monday night. Fifteen guys or so, most in their teens or early 20s, in a circle of mismatched chairs. We read and discuss, we ask questions and reflect. Then we eat pizza. We’ve been at it for two and a half years.

Several of the guys who come on Mondays were students of mine back when they were in grammar school. Now, many of them are dropouts. Most are gang members. Some are on probation or recently released from prison. Whatever their stories, they show up on Mondays to meet with Father Bruce Wellems, the South Side Chicago priest who initiated these sessions, and a few other interested adults.

Benji, who rarely misses a meeting, was a floppy-haired 6th grader the first year I taught in the neighborhood. Back then, he read books about Houdini and wanted to be a magician. At 20, his head is shaved close, and he talks about one day becoming a cop. And a good cop, too, he’s quick to point out. Not like...