■ Changes at Austin Weekly News PAGE 7
FREE Vol. 39 No. 5
February 5, 2025 ■ Also serving Garfield Park ■ austinweeklynews.com
@AustinWeeklyNews
@austinweeklynews
$$11M in MacArthur h grants, page 8
@AustinWeeklyChi
Bertha Purnell, gun violence activist in Austin, dies at 64
Congressman Danny K. Davis (IL-07) takes the podium alongside West Side Black elected officials.
She founded Mothers on a Mission 28 and was a pillar in Austin in the fight against gun violence By JESSICA MORDACQ Staff Reporter
BLACK LEADERS TRASH TRUMP
CHARLES THRUSH / BLOCK CLUB CHICAGO
The Austin community and greater West Side have lost a bold activist and community advocate in Bertha Purnell, who died Jan. 18 at age 64 from cardiac arrest. Purnell is survived by her daughter Theandelia and her sons, Marcus Purnell and Terry Lee. Purnell was an Austin resident and went to school to be a nurse, but changed her career path after her youngest son, Maurice, 28, was killed in 2017 by gun violence. That same year, Purnell launched Mothers on a Mission 28, a West Side nonprofit that helps victims of violence get holistic support and services. “She just wanted to bring support to families who have lost their loved one – not just mothers, but anyone who has lost a loved one due to gun violence,” Theandelia told Austin Weekly News. “She had a strong passion to help, to speak out, to See BERTHA PURNELL on page 6
West Side elected officials say, ‘We are not going back’
By CHARLES THRUSH Block Club Chicago
U.S. Rep. Danny Davis stood alongside a group of Black leaders from Chi-
cago’s West Side Friday to denounce a slew of Trump administration policies speakers described as discriminatory and fascistic. Davis and other elected officials gath-
ered for a press conference in the ward office of Ald. Emma Mitts (37th), who leads the West Side Black Elected Officials group. Speakers rejected many of See BLACK LEADERS on page 9
Follow us on Instagram! @austinweeklynews Top stories, local government, features, events, dining, art, and schools right at your fingertips!