Chicago native Kanye West has been in the spotlight for his sometimes controversial tweets all week long, and now new reports are surfacing that he’s planning to tackle some of the city’s toughest issues.
Those reports indicate that West is planning to start an organization dedicated to taking on issues like housing education and gun violence, and local activists are reacting to that news.
“Resources are a dire need in our city,” Pastor John Hannah said.
According to a report, the organization would be called Donda Social. An organization called Donda’s House is helping transform the lives of young people through the arts, and the program was named after West’s late mother Donda.
The new effort could include other big-name artists, including Chance the Rapper and Common.
“If all of them come together and they each pull from their fame and popularity, it might blow their minds what they can do in this city,” Hannah said.
Hannah, a pastor at New Life Covenant Church, says he sees the community’s struggles on a daily basis, and he knows that residents around the church are in dire need of jobs.
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“Quality jobs, better education, and more opportunities are definitely what is needed around here,” he said.
The focus on community comes after West criticized the inaction among some leaders to address violence in the city of Chicago.
Hannah believes that having a celebrity like West could help shed light on the issues the community is facing, and could get them the help that they need.
“If he is a voice to that younger generation, he could say things that they could probably never say,” he said.
Requests for comment from West’s representatives have not been returned.
