SOUTH SHORE & WOODLAWN Compiled by Malik Jackson, Neighborhood Captain
71ST ST BUS STOP. PHOTO BY JASON SCHUMER
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his shared introduction comes at an interesting time when both South Shore and Woodlawn residents might feel that their neighborhoods are in flux. For some, this was probably always the case, but the recent groundbreaking of the Obama Presidential Center has intensified sentiments that the conditions of these neighborhoods today might be different tomorrow. ‘For better or worse?’ remains the question, but defining either outcome would require an up-to-date understanding of both neighborhoods. For a long time, both South Shore and Woodlawn were characterized by what they lacked, like grocery stores and other neighborhood amenities. Recent developments in these neighborhoods have certain publications crowning them comeback kids. But we know that there were always assets in these neighborhoods, despite what the system deprived them of. Highlighting these assets is the objective of Best of the South Side. These neighborhoods cradle one of the largest and most gorgeous parks in the city, Jackson Park. South Shore boasts beaches and rich architecture, Woodlawn is dotted with small parks, gardens, and historic buildings. If you step into the South Side YMCA, or the fields along the easternmost edge of Jackson Park on Stony Island, you’ll see people of all ages enjoying Woodlawn’s amenities. This is the case despite narratives that have been created to suggest the park and the neighborhood are “underused” and “under-utilized.” The narrative is a sure contradiction because, if not for the neighborhood’s involvement and strength in numbers, they wouldn’t have been able to win a significant housing preservation ordinance in the face of gentrification. In South Shore, new efforts are ramping up to build people power behind an ordinance of their own, with the same goal in mind: staying in the neighborhood they know and love. In 2020, BoSS highlighted the food, jazz, and activism that came out of South Shore and Woodlawn. If BoSS happened in the 1970s, it’d be the same story. Despite changes in population and housing makeup, the culture has always been rich, and that spills out of historic establishments like Daley’s, and the Jeffery Pub. And sometimes the good things don’t have to be housed in a building. Sometimes they’re a table stand 82 SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY
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on the side of the road, sometimes it’s the simple atmosphere of a park. Sometimes the sights of your morning walk are enough to keep you enamored with a neighborhood forever. These are the feelings of home that one gets when walking through Woodlawn and South Shore. Neighborhood captain Malik Jackson is the housing editor at the Weekly
BEST CUSTOMER SERVICE
Taco King
Always under shade, you can grab your curbside taco somewhere along 67th St. east of Jeffery Ave., depending on where the King sets up shop. For most, the blue and yellow sign draping from the foldable table that reads “Taco King” can only be read if you bend over and lean around. Since the sign is too long for the height of the table, the bottom of it is a bit hard to make out. This won’t be a deterrent though, because the smell of shrimp and chicken and the sounds of soul music will be enough to make you stay, and the spread of sauces and lettuce, onion, and pineapple will be enough to kickstart your imagination: “How many tacos do you want?” The King of Tacos, the Taco King, decisively steps away from his grill with his own inquiry. He knows why you’re here, he just wants to know what you want from him. And his tone is almost hurried, like he wants you to get going, even though there’s no one else in line. The music is so loud behind him that he asks you to repeat everything you’re saying, at least once, maybe four times and on the third “Huh?” you can’t help but think, “Maybe that music’s too loud, man.” But it’s okay, because the shrimp is grilled and the sauce is green and from the way the Taco King lays it all on the tortilla, it doesn’t seem like he makes too many considerations for portion size.
