West Cook News

Village of Oak Park Public Health Director Theresa Chapple says its time for the "communities and companies" that made public statements in 2020 in favor of Black Lives Matter and the Marxist concept of "equity" to put their money where their mouths were.

Chapple made the comments on Twitter early on Easter Sunday.

"I'm rereading communities and companies equity statements, most written in the wake (of) (George) Floyd's murder," Chapple said. "Wondering if these statements have expiration dates or if people are just ignoring the fact that vulnerable people are faced with inequitable access to life right now."

"These statements didnt just promise that you wouldn't shoot us, but that you would support equitable access to life. Were those statements never supposed to be operationalized? Because failure to implement less than 2 yrs later, not a good look," she said.

Chapple and other advocates of "equity" believe that pathologies in black communities -- including the high incidence of violence, the proliferation of single-parent households and lagging black student academic performance-- are the result of white and Asian, and Hispanic racism. 

Equity advocates believe whites, Asians and Hispanics work to prevent blacks from achieving at higher levels. They argue non-blacks should take proactive steps seek to equalize outcomes among races. 

These include supporting laws mandating the replacement of white, Asian and Hispanic corporate executives with black ones, requiring so-called "reparations" cash payments from whites, Asians and Hispanics to blacks, and penalizing non-black children by denying them college and graduate school admission.

During the trial of Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin, Chapple described police work arresting black criminals in public as "state violence" that "traumatizes" children.

"Black people are getting killed or shot by police in front of children. Police are showing little regard for the health and well-being of Black children as they willingly traumatize them," she wrote. "Where's the conversation around the impact of Black kids witnessing police violence?"

Chapple has argued that there are so many "racist events" that she and her family were better off being locked down in their homes.

"I've been reflecting on the amount of racist experiences I've had this last month," she said. "Then I remembered that for nearly 16 months I was in the safety of my home, protected from racism. I'm probably not experiencing more racist events than the prepandemic life. #returnToNormal sucks."

Last week, Chapple expressed support for the City of Philadelphia's reinstatement of mask requirements for residents.

In January, Chapple drew attention for referring to mothers as "birthing people."

Chapple-McGruder is an epidemiologist who was appointed to her role with the village in April 2021. She previously served in a similar role in Rockville, Md.