Thousands of Teens and 20-somethings in Chicago Sitting Face to Face with Some Top CEOs.
HARLOW: In today's American opportunity segment, a glimmer of hope from Chicago. We went to the windy city this week to see what is being done to put Chicago's unemployed youth back to work. In a city plagued by violence, are jobs the solution.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Welcome to Starbucks. My name is</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They are here to offer you all jobs so that we can change our future.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The trick is, we want to pour this milk into the cup.</s>HARLOW: You got hired today.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're welcome.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I actually got hired today</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Today is really big for me because I've been looking for a job since I have been back, since moved back in May.</s>HARLOW: These are the faces of Chicago's future, America's future.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want to be in film or anything behind a camera.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to get my PhD in physical therapy and become a physical therapist.</s>HARLOW: That chance came this week. For some of these young men and women it came for the first time. From Starbucks, to Nordsrtrom, to Taco Bell, companies hiring hundreds at Chicago's opportunity fair. And they got a shot at a face-to-face with top CEOs. What does it feel like to be here, to feel like you're getting a shot?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's great. I actually walked in and I talked to Nordstrom's. And one of the guys, he just, he liked me. So that was a good experience for me and that gave me confidence.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You want to feel like a person. And when you're unemployed, especially when you are young and unemployed, you don't always feel like a person because everyone looks down on you for some reason or another.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If Chicago can have more jobs, I think the violence will actually stop in Chicago.</s>HARLOW: How big a part of solving the violence problem in this city are jobs for young folks?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's no doubt, I mean, like few across the country where you have poverty, you have violence. Where you have poverty, you have lower educational obtainment. So my whole thing is, these kids they have so much higher expectations for themselves than sometimes we as a city have for them. And that part of this is making sure they have something to contribute. And need to see that I think we should define them for their future where they seek opportunity is they have something to offer and they just can't shut off.</s>HARLOW: And if we don't, what happens?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You lose a generation that had something to contribute. More than a quarter of 16 to 24-year-olds in Chicago are unemployed.</s>HARLOW: More than a quarter of 16 to 24 years old in Chicago are unemployed.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's unacceptable. And they're losing out because they have some to offer and we're losing out of their potential.</s>HARLOW: Grammy and Academy winner common and Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz are driving forces in this effort. This is all about the future of this country really. This is not just about putting young people to work. This is about the future and the trajectory of this nation, right?</s>COMMON, RAPPER/ACTOR: Yes. A job and an opportunity gives a person hope. It gives them something concrete to be able to make a living. It helps them to succeed in like being able to provide for their families. And I mean, we all -- when we get a job, feel good about ourselves, you know. So there's something powerful in being able to create these opportunities. So this is the future of America.</s>SCHULTZ: I think there is a cultural divide and there are racial injustices today. We should see opportunities for people irregardless of their station in life or color of their skin. And I think the fact that there are 5.6 million kids in this country who do not have an opportunity, it's a tragic situation. And to me, it's un-American.</s>COMMON: The American dream, it hasn't been extended to a lot of the young people here. And a lot of it has been color barriers. In some shape, form, or fashion, America throughout some of the history has looked at black and brown people as not worthy of receiving equal treatment, equal opportunities.</s>HARLOW: Lot of people don't know you're born in Brooklyn. Not a lot of money at all. Born poor in Brooklyn.</s>SCHULTZ: I've said many years that growing up in the projects imprinted me with both the motivation and desire to exceed the expectations that perhaps my parents had in their own life. But at the same time, I've also said publicly that I had the scars and the vulnerability and the insecurity of being that poor kid.</s>HARLOW: That still --</s>SCHULTZ: I still have that today. But I think here's the difference. When I grew up, the promise of America and the American dream wasn't just a slogan and words. It was aspirational and you really felt as a young kid on the other side of the tracks that that was available to you and you had hope. When I look at the situation now and I hear 5.6 million disconnected youth in the country, not in school, not working, mainly African- American and Latino, I ask myself, does the American dream and the promise of America, is it as relevant and accessible to those kids right now as it was when I was coming up. And I think the sad answer is no.</s>HARLOW: Have you heard enough about youth unemployment and lack of opportunity from the candidates running for the White House?</s>COMMON: We can't depend on politicians. Obviously, that's not on a lot of politicians' agenda. So, you know, we can't wait for them. We have to create that change ourselves right now and hopefully they'll follow suit.</s>HARLOW: What about you, Howard? Have you heard enough from the candidates on this issue?</s>SCHULTZ: I don't think we've heard anything about this issue. I don't think we've heard any candidate speak about the almost six million disconnected youth in the country, many of whom are African- American and Latino.</s>HARLOW: What do you want to hear from the candidates about youth unemployment in this country?</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would love to hear someone who says, hey, I'm going to help you because that's -- anyone wants that out of their president. They want someone who is going to help them work for them.</s>HARLOW: Are you hopeful?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm hopeful that I get a chance to succeed.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We haven't invested in our kids. We just haven't. And I think we're paying a price as a country across race, class, geography and incomes for not investing in the greatest potential we have, which is our kids.</s>HARLOW: More than 4,000 of Chicago's youth were there and 600 got job offers on the spot. It is not a panacea but with each job comes so much more than just a paycheck.</s>COMMON: We bringing these worlds together. We bringing the corporations to Chicago. Do you understand what I'm saying? They coming to see you all. They here to see you all and make that change. So I want you all to continue to stand up and make some noise for yourselves right now.</s>HARLOW: It was a privilege to sit down with those young folks in Chicago this week. I want to know your ideas for putting America's youth back to work. Tweet me @PoppyHarlowCNN. Let me know what you would do. Coming up next, before there was Jerry Springer, there was Morton Downey Jr. Ahead, I will talk to brilliant filmmakers reviving the memory of the king of shock television.