Chew's Views with Richard Chew (Featured Interviews)
Oct 16, 2026 · 25 min · 8 segments
Richard Chew is joined by **Katanya Raby**, executive director and CEO of the Al Raby Foundation. On Friday, October 16, the City of Chicago dedicated the 6300 block of…
Katanya RabyGuestRichard ChewHostYeah, you know, Ms. Raby, the thing that I think is-- what you just said is so important and so many things went through my brain about it and I have, you know, a ton of questions to ask you which we won't get to.
Being the third largest city in the country, being right in the middle, so to speak, of the country, it brings so much energy to-- What we bring to the country is so important.
And folks like your grandfather and folks like Harold Washington and others that we could list are instrumental beyond people's belief when it comes to how cities grabbed ideas, and I mean this in a positive way.
A lot of folks did not realize and haven't until recent years that Chicago had that because of our neighborhood systems.
Had a very, you know, a strong amount of bias in terms of where people could go.
Your grandfather was one that stood in the void, is a phrase I like to use, and said, "No, that's, that's not acceptable." And he made it clear, particularly when it came to education, that we have to raise the standard, and it starts with making sure that our educational, uh, our schools and our educational systems are properly funded and not always getting the crumbs.
I mean, you, you know, you were saying earlier, yeah, that, okay, that's Grandpa, but he, he really set a new-- uh, was one of the voices that helped to set a new standard when it came to our schools need to be funded better.
Um, you know, growing up as a young person in, um, you know, Woodlawn, the Woodlawn community on the South Side, uh, my grandfather pretty much got his start in, in starting to see the disparities.
You know, just kind of realizing that there were some things that weren't quite right in his own community.
Um, and then, you know, he, he wound up dropping out of school, um, becoming a hustler, trying to, you know, kind of figure out his life.
Um, but he also was illiterate, and he wound up having to, um, kind of figure things out when he got to the military because he wanted to advance in that role and was not able to due to the illiteracy.
And so he, when he left the military, he decided that he was going to do something about that, and he taught himself how to read.
He taught himself how to, um, you know, get back into that educational space, and he went back to high school, finished up his high school diploma.
Um, and then he carried on with that by going to Chicago Teachers College and continuing his education, and he knew how important it was to have that diploma, to have that education, and im- the importance of education for young people.
Yeah, you know, Ms. Raby, the thing that I think is-- what you just said is so important and so many things went through my brain about it and I have, you know, a ton of questions to ask you which we won't get to.
Being the third largest city in the country, being right in the middle, so to speak, of the country, it brings so much energy to-- What we bring to the country is so important.
And folks like your grandfather and folks like Harold Washington and others that we could list are instrumental beyond people's belief when it comes to how cities grabbed ideas, and I mean this in a positive way.
A lot of folks did not realize and haven't until recent years that Chicago had that because of our neighborhood systems.
Had a very, you know, a strong amount of bias in terms of where people could go.
Your grandfather was one that stood in the void, is a phrase I like to use, and said, "No, that's, that's not acceptable." And he made it clear, particularly when it came to education, that we have to raise the standard, and it starts with making sure that our educational, uh, our schools and our educational systems are properly funded and not always getting the crumbs.
I mean, you, you know, you were saying earlier, yeah, that, okay, that's Grandpa, but he, he really set a new-- uh, was one of the voices that helped to set a new standard when it came to our schools need to be funded better.
Um, you know, growing up as a young person in, um, you know, Woodlawn, the Woodlawn community on the South Side, uh, my grandfather pretty much got his start in, in starting to see the disparities.
You know, just kind of realizing that there were some things that weren't quite right in his own community.
Um, and then, you know, he, he wound up dropping out of school, um, becoming a hustler, trying to, you know, kind of figure out his life.
Um, but he also was illiterate, and he wound up having to, um, kind of figure things out when he got to the military because he wanted to advance in that role and was not able to due to the illiteracy.
And so he, when he left the military, he decided that he was going to do something about that, and he taught himself how to read.
He taught himself how to, um, you know, get back into that educational space, and he went back to high school, finished up his high school diploma.
Um, and then he carried on with that by going to Chicago Teachers College and continuing his education, and he knew how important it was to have that diploma, to have that education, and im- the importance of education for young people.
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