Editor's note.

For leaders of color, it appears to be a thin line between selling out and succeeding.

Somehow, Lillian Calhoun, our founding co-editor, kept that line clear during her years as both a journalist and an activist. Calhoun, who died in January at age 82, didn't shirk from attracting attention to herself-if it would further a cause.

And whether people got angry with her didn't matter much. At least, that must be true for a woman whose family became the first African Americans to move into suburban Kenilworth on the North Shore. She must have gained some notoriety for her efforts, but the cause remained supreme for Calhoun. And agitation was her weapon of choice.

But times have changed.

Take this month's profile of the United Neighborhood Organization, known as UNO. Reporter Casey Sanchez spent months learning about UNO s past and present, painting a picture of an agency that has become a major player among the city's business and civic leadership.

Critics, Sanchez found, question whose interests UNO truly represents-the Latinos in the communities it serves, or the politicians and others who benefit from its networks. Executive Director Juan Rangel counters by pointing to the schools it runs, the young leaders it trains and the citizenship program it provides, among many other efforts.

But the discussion about UNO resonates far beyond those constituencies.

Six years ago, the Reporter raised hackles by revealing that a number of the city's most prominent African American ministers were in the same quandary. At that point, Mayor Richard M. Daley had been in office for 11 years and helped steer nearly $10 million to 14 predominantly black congregations and their nonprofit affiliates.

The ministers responded that these dollars funded important community services, and that having a seat at city hall's table was critical. But their critics questioned how much those neighborhoods were truly benefiting.

The ministers fired back at us--in a big way-for that story. But exploring the relationship between communities of color and their leaders, in our opinion, remains a critical issue. Reporter Jeff Kelly Lowenstein's exploration of much that hasn't changed since Martin Luther King Jr.'s visit to Chicago lends even more credibility to that argument.

We hope that these leaders can view our questions in that spirit, instead of taking it personally.

After you've read this month's articles, let us know if you think we gave them a fair shake. I wonder what Calhoun would think.

Alysia W. Tate

Editor and Publisher