{"id":603555,"date":"2026-05-18T14:15:32","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T14:15:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/?p=603555"},"modified":"2026-05-18T14:15:32","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T14:15:32","slug":"project-h-o-o-d-chicago-pastor-brings-hundreds-of-men-to-declare-100-violence-free-zone-on-south-side","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/?p=603555","title":{"rendered":"Project H.O.O.D. Chicago pastor brings hundreds of men to declare \u2018100% violence-free zone\u2019 on South Side"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/div>\n

Chicago\u2019s South Side became ground zero for a mass gathering of men coming together to declare a \u201c100% violence-free zone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pastor Corey B. Brooks hosted former gang members, fathers, mentors, and hundreds of men, along with Project H.O.O.D., for the \u201c1000 Men Unity Gathering\u201d on Sunday.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is bigger than a building,\u201d Brooks said at the gathering held at the Robert R. McCormick Leadership & Economic Opportunity Center.\u00a0\u201cThis is about creating a culture where men stand together to protect families, mentor young people, reduce violence, and build something that will outlive us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

(Video Credit: ABC 7)<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are declaring that this community deserves peace, opportunity, and hope,\u201d the Chicago pastor added.<\/p>\n

\u201cViolence does not own our neighborhoods. Hopelessness does not define our future. Division does not have the final word,\u201d he wrote in a social media post. \u201cThis gathering is about unity. It\u2019s about leadership. It\u2019s about accountability. It\u2019s about protecting the next generation. We are building more than a center on O\u2019Block. We are building a culture shift. Join us as men from across Chicago stand together and declare this area a Violence Free Zone focused on peace, mentorship, workforce development, entrepreneurship, education, and opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

This is bigger than a meeting.
\nThis is bigger than a building.<\/p>\n

On Sunday, May 17th, 1000 men are coming together inside the nearly completed Robert R. McCormick Leadership & Economic Opportunity Center to make a public declaration:<\/p>\n

We are taking our communities back.<\/p>\n

Violence\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/PNdlJPnR3Y<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Corey Brooks \u201cRoofTopPastor\u201d (@CoreyBBrooks) May 12, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cIn 2014, the Chicago Sun-Times wrote an article saying this was the most dangerous neighborhood in all Chicago, and it happened to be this block,\u201d Brooks told Fox News Digital. \u201cSo, we decided to transform it, and that\u2019s what\u2019s been happening.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think this center is going to be an example of what we can do across America in urban areas,\u201d he said of the nearly completed facility.\u00a0\u201cIf we don\u2019t wait on government and take responsibility for ourselves, we can change the trajectory of these neighborhoods and urban centers.\u201d<\/p>\n

The center, which is scheduled to be ready by October, will reportedly include a swimming pool, dance studio, theatre, a basketball court, and even a trade school.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe declared that this is going to be a peace zone, a nonviolent zone, a violence-free zone,\u201d Brooks said, according to Fox News. \u201cSo the young kids can come to the center and have peace of mind knowing they don\u2019t have to worry about their safety.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chicago\u2019s South Side became ground zero for a mass gathering of men coming together to declare a \u201c100% violence-free zone.\u201d Pastor Corey B. Brooks hosted former gang members, fathers, mentors, and hundreds of men, along with Project H.O.O.D., for the \u201c1000 Men Unity Gathering\u201d on Sunday. \u201cThis is bigger than a building,\u201d Brooks said at… Continue reading Project H.O.O.D. Chicago pastor brings hundreds of men to declare \u2018100% violence-free zone\u2019 on South Side<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":603556,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[17,22,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-603555","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-border-security","category-immigration","category-immigration-reform","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/603555","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=603555"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/603555\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/603556"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=603555"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=603555"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=603555"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}