Mahatma Gandhi’s legacy as one of history’s finest humanitarians was cemented by his pivotal role in India’s fight for independence and by the specific brand of non-violent civil disobedience he employed in order to achieve his prophetic level of influence. It is Gandhi’s legacy which inspired following civil rights movements around the world, including the struggles for liberty headed by Martin Luther King Jr. in America and Nelson Mandela in South Africa. Even today, Gandhi continues to facilitate change around the world by providing the catalyst to modern civil rights movements in the form of the words he left us to live by, perhaps Gandhi’s most quoted phrase being, “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” At least in my experience - between school and home - I had to have had this phrase preached to me on hundreds of different occasions, yet contradictory to the sheer amount of times my peers and I were exposed to this philosophy, I was constantly left wondering why it was so difficult to find examples of people living by Gandhi’s example within popular culture.

I would often wonder what was so difficult about living in accordance to this simple yet profoundly influential statement. I wondered if people just didn’t want change, or if it was too difficult to live a life with standards of achieving some sort of positive influence. I grew up idolizing football players and rappers, admiring their work, yet let down time and time again by the examples many of my heroes chose to set with the influence they’ve achieved. Even outside the demotions of sport and rap culture I grew up admiring, it seems there are scandals exposing the hypocrisy behind morally corrupt businessmen, politicians, and other leaders of thought headlining the news nearly every day. This is, in large, the contradictory example which was set for many belonging to the millennial generation; being pushed to be the change we wish to see in the world, yet offered very few modern examples of how to even begin becoming that change. This was the reality that many of the kids I grew up with had to live in, but hopefully, with up and coming stars like Chance the Rapper making kindness cool again our children won’t grow up in a culture suffering a deficit of positive influence.

Chance the Rapper, or lesser known as Chancellor Johnathan Bennett, was born on April 16^th, 1993. For anyone who’s followed Chance’s unusual career path, it is not difficult to decipher that his twitter name “Lil Chano From 79^th” references the street he grew up on in Chicago’s own West Chatham neighborhood. Despite Chance the Rapper’s early emergence into the Chicago hip-hop scene, he did not achieve his current level of fame until releasing his most radio friendly collection of music to date in which he creatively entitled Coloring Book. Although Chance chose to address relatively lighter natured issues in this mix-tapein comparison to the more brutally realistic approach he took when illustrating Chicago in more dated albums such as Acid Rap and 10 Day, Chancellor Bennett’s social and political influence have never been more greater.

In a nearly paralleled fashion to how Chance’s career as musician gained steam, it took until Mr. Bennett acquired a certain degree of fame for anyone to recognize his achievements as a political activist. Chance’s Father, Ken Williams-Bennett, worked as an aid for both Chicago’s former Mayor Harold Washington and for Barack Obama during his time as an Illinois Senator. Ken Williams-Bennett continues to heavily associate himself with Chicago politics by working as deputy chief of staff for current Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Needless to say, Chancellor grew up in a very politically motivated household.

In the case of Chance the Rapper and his father Ken Williams-Bennett, the apple did not far from the tree. In 2014 Chance the Rapper received one of his first political accolades, being named winner of Chicago’s Outstanding Youth of the Year award by none other than Rahm Emanuel himself. Lil Chano’s political connections don’t stop there, because on April 16^th, 2016, Chance the rapper was invited to the White House to discuss a federal program supporting community leader’s ability to confront the unique challenges facing young men of color around the country with President Obama entitled, My Brother’s Keeper Challenge. Outside the world of shaking hands and taking names, Chance has also been avid about using his influence to make a difference on social media, working with the 2014 anti-gun violence initiative called “#SaveChicago” and 2016’s similar campaign known as “#May23”, and these are just his lesser known political achievements.

The real purpose of this article is to draw attention to the current issues menacingly looming over the city of Chicago, and to demonstrate how we can all start doing our part to become the change we wish to see in the world, so I figured what better way is there to accomplish that task than to provide the inspiring story of how Chance the Rapper - a rap star like none other the world has ever seen – so suddenly ascended to the status of Chicago’s own south side media sweet heart. After all, even with Chano’s Father’s employment under Mayor Emanuel in mind, Chance would have never secured the roughly 40 minute meeting he had with Governor Rauner on Friday if he had never started making music and spreading his influence. Chance the Rapper requested this meeting in order to facilitate a dialogue surrounding the declining state of CPS. It was expressed that Chance had hoped this conversation would result in Mr. Rauner recognizing these community’s pleas for help by supplying struggling schools with immediate financial relief. Although Gov. Rauner seemed to only have words of approval when referencing back to this meeting of influential titans, labeling his time with Chance as “a good exchange of views” the events which took place in the following days set a much different tone.

On March 6^th, 2017, following his meeting with Gov. Rauner, Chance the Rapper pulled out his checkbook and boldly wrote CPS a check for one million dollars as a self-proclaimed “call to action” for other wealthy Chicago natives. So far, Derrick rose, former Chicago Bulls player and one-time NBA MVP, has been the only big name to respond by donating a matching one-million dollars to Chicago after school programs. Chance continued to provide further insight into the reasoning behind his donation to CPS by speaking at Westcott Elementary School, claiming “Gov. Rauner still won't commit to give Chicago's kids a chance without caveats or ultimatums…Gov. Rauner, do your job.” Chance insinuates here that Gov. Rauner was unable to discuss CPS’s dire status within their meeting, instead turning their dialogue into a negotiation, requiring his own demands be met in exchange for providing CPS with the financial assistance they so desperately need. Gov. Rauner’s absolute refusal to protect those communities within his control who are put most at risk due to their surrounding financial climate demonstrates the great societal need for more men and women like Chance who seem to be the change they wish to see in the world as if it were their second nature. There aren’t many people who have a million dollars lying around to donate, or can rap with the genius of Chance the Rapper, but we can all facilitate change in our own way. After all, Chancellor Johnathan Bennett did not become Chance the rapper over night, and I’m sure we can all make a difference by taking a page out of Chance the Rapper’s coloring book.