By Shannon Longworth
Medill Reports

Memorial Day weekend in Chicago has typically seen the year’s first major spike in gun violence in the city, and this year was no different. More than 40 people were shot, five of them fatally, over the holiday weekend.

It’s one of the reasons Good Kids Mad City hosted an open mic on the Saturday night of Memorial Day weekend. The non-profit is a group of minority high school and college students from the west and south sides of Chicago. Their work involves publicly demonstrating as well as hosting programs for teens in their communities. Open mic events are intended to keep young people away from situations that put them at risk.