GAGE PARK
BEST UNDER-TAUGHT HISTORY
Martin Luther King Jr.’s March in Gage Park
I learned recently, through an article that resurfaced in social media, that during the height of the Chicago Freedom Movement, Martin Luther King Jr. led a march for fair housing through Gage Park and Marquette Park. It felt especially relevant this past summer as the topics of racism and police brutality took over, and protests erupted in Chicago and across the country due to the police killing of George Floyd and others. Who knew that Gage Park held a rally for fair housing in the ‘60s?! I certainly did not, and I bet that many other community members are not aware because I know them well. Having gone to Nightingale Elementary School in Gage Park, I wish myself and my classmates living in the neighborhood were exposed to their neighborhood history. Instead, we received the watered-down history lesson on MLK. There is so much more to this neighborhood that many do not know. It feels good to know that Gage Park was part of the Chicago Freedom Movement. (Maritere Gomez)
A Community Art Project by 2020 Threewalls Fellow Chandra Christmas-Rouse
The South Side’s Greatest Word Game FILL IN THE BLANKS!
I live in _____________. My neighborhood feels like A NEIGHBORHOOD
a community when I go to ______________ and hear A PLACE
____________ and smell ____________. I wish more A SOUND
A SMELL
people knew about the history of ________________ AN EVENT
in this neighborhood. In the future, I hope that every street corner has a ____________________________.
LUIS SINCHI
LA VILLITA Compiled by Jacqueline Serrato, Neighborhood Captain
I
t was a tough year for Little Village in many respects. Due to the pandemic, 142 people have passed away. Street vendors who people thought were immortal died. A negligent implosion of a smokestack had vulnerable people coughing and in pain. Shootings went up, with twenty-four reported homicides so far this year as of press time. Struggling businesses were sent over the edge, forced to shut down or retire early, and storefronts that were empty last year because of high rents remain empty today. Some responded to the civil unrest with violence, others with empathy. On top of it all, profit-driven developers planted their flags in huge plots of land when nobody appeared to be looking. What this section shows, however, is that there are still things to celebrate, there are still people helping, there are still businesses giving it their all, there are still youth planning a better future, there is still hope. As immigrants, community members have learned that when times are tough to always keep it moving. But a concept that this community is still learning is that it can’t keep running forever. It can’t keep running from ICE, it can’t keep running from gangs, it can’t keep turning its cheek to corruption, it can’t keep evading the voting booth, it can’t keep giving up its sense of place. We’re learning to plant roots, to stand up for ourselves, to face our fears, to question those in power, to create mutual aid when we lack safety nets, to organize, to create solidarity, and to look within. ( Jacqueline Serrato) Neighborhood Captain Jacqueline Serrato is the editor-in-chief of the Weekly and co-manages the largest neighborhood page on Facebook.
AN OBJECT
LEAVE A VOICEMAIL OR TEXT YOUR ANSWERS TO 312-869-2584 NOVEMBER 25, 2020 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 53
