Resurrection Basketball League

In 1998, TRP created the Resurrection Basketball League (RBL), a Friday night youth sports league, to give young people positive recreational alternatives to a Friday night on the streets.  In collaboration with the Chicago Police Department and other community based and civic organizations, RBL takes over 100 youth ages 8-18 out every Friday evening from June to September to play basketball in areas specifically chosen because they are considered “hotspots” of gang and violence.

RBL efforts are primarily focused on promoting safe alternatives to gang violence for area youth.  On Friday nights, youth discover, on the blocks they are taught to avoid, there are alternatives to the guns and violence that contaminate the neighborhood.  For example, one mother approached an RBL volunteer to tell the story of her son who had stopped in at a local fast-food restaurant and had begun to be harassed by neighborhood gang members.  Before things got out of hand, one of the youth stopped his friends and said “no, wait, I know this guy – we played basketball together last summer—leave him alone.” 

Sports are a good vehicle to reinforce good values in our youth of today

Picture a whole city block, closed down for the youth to bond over sports and art activities, eat hotdogs and hamburgers, and dance to the DJ’s music.  Teens make new friends, stay out of trouble, and learn positive alternatives to life on the “street”.  Families join in, often helping barbecue or acting as built-in cheerleaders for the teams playing in shifts on the courts. Volunteers flip burgers and keep score.  Chicago police officers referee the games and mingle with onlookers.  Pros Arts, a local youth-oriented arts organization, provides arts and crafts for those youth not participating in the basketball games.  This is a picture that the TRP-Chicago Police Department collaboration has helped paint:  a safe, well-lit, crowded night on a city block that otherwise would be overrun with gang activity. 

Finally, RBL has been successful in building relationships between and among community residents and police officials.  Throughout the summer, Chicago Police Department officers supervise the RBL tournaments.  Youth and parents learn to trust the police force because of the weekly interaction, and the police learn to understand the needs of the community.  This mutual respect and trust are essential to reducing violence and crime over the long term.  Also, the rotating system wherein every week a different block hosts the tournament allows youth living in areas controlled by different gangs to meet and interact in a safe environment. 

Young girl cheers for her favorites at our last RBL tournament

RBL has been able create this healthy environment for 10 years.  This year,  The Resurrection Project celebrates RBL’s ten years of success and looks forward to continuing providing positive recreational alternatives to youth in the Pilsen, Little Village and Back of the Yards neighborhoods.