The Community Report: Inside Chicago’s plans for Woodlawn neighborhood
Yet, there is one part of Taylor’s legacy that was literally erased – the affordable housing project erected in his name. According to South Side Weekly, a nonprofit newspaper that highlights Chicago’s South Side, “[t]he twenty-eight Robert Taylor Homes made up the largest housing project in the U.S. at the time of their completion in 1962.”
While considering this troubling history, I constantly wonder: what impact did this have on the community? Whenever I speak to people who have lost their homes, there is always noticeable melancholy in their tone.
Now, as Woodlawn is slated for changes, history seems to be repeating itself. “These are not new plans,” Madison said about the prospective Barack Obama Presidential Center. Housing is a human right, Madison too noted. As a ten-year Woodlawn resident, she vows to fight for her community because Woodlawn has become her home.
“This is where I’ll stay,” she stated.
Madison, who serves as an aldermanic aide to 20th Ward Alderman Jeannette Taylor, added that Woodlawn is a mixed-income community. On her block, she said, there is public housing, condominiums, and POAH housing. POAH, which stands for Preservation of Affordable Housing, is a nonprofit group advocating for affordable housing on Chicago’s South and West sides.
Groups like POAH have influenced change, Madison further stated. To Madison, it is possible to have a mixed income community that is not rigged for well off residents. “The examples are in the neighborhood,” she noted. Alas, the city is stalling, Madison posited.
She reflected on how organizers have spent years advocating for a CBA housing ordinance, and the public favored the ordinance in a referendum on the ballot for the last mayoral election, yet the City has not made changes. “Let’s move forward,” she stated.
Akilah Perry, a South Side resident, offered a slightly different take. “We really need taxpaying entities,” she said. Yet, in both Washington’s and Perry’s sentiments remained a truth: prioritizing the community. Washington spoke of commissioning local artists to help beautify Woodlawn while Perry focused on jobs that would be accessible to the entire community.
Although Perry is not a Woodlawn resident, she stated, “I’m South Side…I want to know what’s going on in my backyard.” Perry’s remarks highlight the fact that while Woodlawn was the focus of this Open House, these changes will affect the larger Chicago community.
From Hyde Park to Logan Square, gentrification has been a sad reality for many poor Black and Brown Chicagoans. While some see this as an unfortunate casualty of urbanization, others argue that there can be shields put in place to prevent gentrification altogether. One question remains: which side are you on? ~ℝ
JAVANNA PLUMMER, RWEBEL IN CHIEF
Javanna is the editor of “Rwebel Magazine,” the architect behind “Rwebel Radio,” and the pioneering force of “Xscape.” Through her words, Javanna hopes to inspire creativity, passion and forward-thinking.
RELATED LINKS
Thanks for reading! To continue engaging with this topic, be sure to check out these great companion pieces. And don’t forget to leave a comment!
We Want Advancement, Not Displacement
Where Jay Z, Chicago, and gentrification intertwine “We don’t go out, can’t wish us away,” sang Jamila Woods on “BALDWIN,” a song from her album LEGACY! LEGACY! In a later line, she added, “Condo climbing high, now the block the block is erased.”
Author
About This Rwebel
This is a really great article. I am not for gentrification to the Woodlawn area; as I feel it would be a lost to the community spirit.
Thank you! Make sure to check out the rest of our articles.