Charity Isn't A Good Substitute For Justice.

East St. Louis-which The Local Press Refers To As "an Inner City Without An Outer City"-has Some Of The Sickest Children In America. Of 66 Cities In Illinois, East St. Louis Ranks First In Fetal Death, First In Premature Birth, And Third In Infant Health.

The Primary Victims Of Katrina, Those Who Were Given The Least Help By The Government, Those Rescued Last Or Not At All, Were Overwhelmingly People Of Color Largely Hidden From The Mainstream Of Society.

Childhood Is Not Merely Basic Training For Utilitarian Adulthood. It Should Have Some Claims Upon Our Mercy, Not For Its Future Value To The Economic Interests Of Competitive Societies But For Its Present Value As A Perishable Piece Of Life Itself.

On Mondays And Fridays In Early May, Nearly 18,000 Children-the Equivalent Of All The Elementary Students In Suburban Glencoe, Wilmette, Glenview, Kenilworth, Winnetka, Deerfield, Highland Park And Evanston-are Assigned To Classes With No Teacher.

I Think A Moment Of Critical Energy Has Suddenly Emerged. But Moments Like This Come And Go Unless We Seize Them At Their Height.