CHICAGO — Chance the Rapper called bait trucks “racist” and is encouraging kids to get free shoes during an anti-bait-truck event.
The Sunday event is being hosted by rapper Vic Mensa’s SaveMoneySaveLife foundation, which collected thousands of pairs of shoes and plans to pass them out to children in need. The foundation created the event after Norfolk Southern Railroad Police and Chicago Police set up a truck with boxes of shoes in Englewood, then arrested people who got into the truck.
Videos of the “bait truck” went viral on social media and led to public outcry, with politicians and residents saying the truck created crime and questioning why resources were spent on the program in an area plagued by gun violence.
Chance, a Chatham native, took to Instagram on Wednesday night to criticize the use of bait trucks and promote the SaveMoneySaveLife foundation’s event.
“Vic’s nonprofit @savemoneysavelife collected literally THOUSANDS of shoes to GIVE AWAY in Englewood in response to that racist ass f—— Bait Truck CPD put out in the street to lure IMPOVERISHED & UNDERPRIVILEGED kids to steal from so they could ARREST AND CHARGE THEM,” Chance wrote on Instagram. “It sickens me to think about it but we must do for our own.”
Norfolk Southern has said it doesn’t plan to use bait trucks in the future, and Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson has said the department will take “a hard look” at the practice going forward.
The anti-bait-truck event runs 4-7 p.m. Sunday at the West Englewood Community Center, 2050 W. 59th St. Shoes will be given away to children in need during the event.