SSW Radio: HUEY Gang, Black Mental Health Care, and More

This week on SSW Radio, we spoke with the HUEY Gang team, learned about mental health in Black communities, and investigated the racist origins of a childrens song

Team first schemes last.” That’s one of rap collective HUEY Gang’s mottos. Lawrence Mead, who goes by “The Law of HUEY,” considers HUEY Gang to be than just a group of artists; it’s a brotherhood. “I’m more closer to them than some of my family members,” Mead told South Side Weekly’s Erisa Apantaku. She sat down with several HUEY Gang members to discuss the challenges of being a collective and learn about HUEY Gang’s aspirations for the future.

Later in the hour, SSW’s Olivia Richardson interviewed Camesha Jones (Sista Afya) and Dr. Obari Cartman about their upcoming Black Mental Wellness Weekend. “There is a lack of access to quality,” Sisa Afya told Richardson. With the Illinois Department of Health Care and Family Services taking a 1.9% decrease in the 2018 fiscal year budget, Jones believes the effect on accessing mental health care will be severe.

Jones, a social worker, recognized that she knew many mental wellness practitioners that community members don’t know of. She says that part of the purpose of Black Mental Wellness Weekend is to build “the connection for people, so that they actually know who are the people in their communities that are doing the work that they would need.”

In this week’s episode, the Weekly Read comments on the racist origins of a popular ice cream truck song.

SSW Radio is the Weekly’s radio hour, featuring stories and interviews from the people of the South Side of Chicago. SSW Radio airs Tuesday afternoons from 3pm-4pm on WHPK 88.5 FM.

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