The Chicago Project

" I don't think I have learned anything as well as I have learned about racism today."
-Codie Hagerman, 2002 Participant-

 

 

"I know that it is wrong to let people say racist jokes and use the "N" word. I can tell people why not to say them and how awful it is. People just need the learning experience that we have had this year."
-Codie Hagerman, 2002 Participant-

 

 

"I have discovered one prejudice I had was that blacks chose to be poor and live in the ghettos. I never knew about the red lining or how whites (back then) wouldn't let blacks work or live near them."
-Codie Hagerman, 2002 Participant-

 

 

"We are the generation that can change the way things are today."
-Codie Hagerman, 2002 Participant-

 

 

"We have learned the true meaning of racism, and can now change things by our actions. We know how things can be and we have to stand up for what we believe in."
-Codie Hagerman, 2002 Participant-

 

"I never realized that blacks were randomly picked to be lynched if they (whites) did not know who did the crime. " -Codie Hagerman, 2002 Participant-

 

"I have realized that when my friends say things racist I need to tell them… the truth. I have learned to stand up for what I believe in."
-Codie Hagerman, 2002 Participant-

 

"It (the poetry slam) was a great experience. I was thinking that I'd feel out of place and uncomfortable, but they welcomed us and made us welcome."
-Codie Hagerman, 2002 Participant-

 

 

"I had a bad attitude going to the high school. I thought the students would be rude and not want us there. But Christine (my student ambassador for the day) was like a real friend of mine. She and her friends made me feel so welcome… I wish they could come to our school." -Codie Hagerman, 2002 Participant-

 

"I was very scared. I felt out of place and I wanted to go back where I belong. Now that we have seen what we have been studying for six months, it's a major reality check."
-Jenna Fosnot, 2002 Participant-

 

"Mr. O'Hare really made me feel welcome and equal to everyone. And the card he gave us- I just hope and wish I could live my life like that. I totally agree that you live for today and not what happened yesterday or what might happen tomorrow."
-Jenna Fosnot, 2002 Participant-

 

"I have learned more by being forced to examine myself, my beliefs, and my morals than I ever would have learned from a textbook."
-Jenna Fosnot, 2002 Participant-

 

"The thing that amazed me the most was that Mother Mobley (the mother of Emmett Till) does not hate the two white guys that killed Emmett. She feels that there is not enough time to hate anyone in this world. She said, 'the only way anyone can be free is if everyone is free." That is something I totally agree with. And our job once we leave here is to make sure EVERYONE is free."
-Jenna Fosnot, 2002 Participant-

 

"At first, when we were going to the high school, I was afraid of what was going to happen and their reactions to us. Especially since there are NO white students. I really got to experience what it was like to be the minority at a specific place. When [I] would walk into a classroom, I felt as though everyone was starring at me."
-Jenna Fosnot, 2002 Participant-

 

"Sometimes I think that because cops carry the title of police officer, they feel they have special privileges. Just the way white people, as a race, have acted superior to other minority groups."
-Jenna Fosnot, 2002 Participant-

 

"(The Poetry Slam) was amazing, fun, powerful, emotional, and inspiring. The energies, aura, what ever you want to call it, were amazing. Amazing!"
-Stephen Howard, 2002 Participant-

 

"(Upon entering North Lawndale) I was kind of scared at first. There was a lot of buildings with bars on the windows and boarded up windows."
-Christy Atwood, 2002 Participant-

 

"I realized (after talking to Dr. Reverend Lincoln Scott) that there were a lot of positive things happening in North Lawndale that you never hear about."
-Christy Atwood, 2002 Participant-

 

"I think he (Ira Rogers) had the biggest effect on me because he didn't sugar coat everything. I mean, so far yeah, we've heard about slavery, riots, and beatings and so on. But tonight it really hit me that slaves were kinda like me personality wise (like the young girl being bid on)."
-Christy Atwood, 2002 Participant-

 

"I've realized that to stop terror from other countries we must first stop terrorism in our own country. And by the way things look, this could take hundreds of years."
-Christy Atwood, 2002 Participant-

 

"I felt kind of like an intruder because church is the one place where blacks can get away (from white racism)."
-Christy Atwood, 2002 Participant-

 

"I learned a lot about black history just from walking around this museum (at the DuSable Museum of African American History). My view of blacks definitely changed. Instead of seeing blacks as slaves, criminals, or people to fear- I now see blacks as athletes, photographers, military men, policemen, pilots, etc… I see that even though blacks were segregated, they still achieved."
-Christy Atwood, 2002 Participant-

 

"Everyone has different personalities, different morals, different cultures… but once we come together and learn about one another's' differences, we might stop being so racist and prejudice (toward each other).
-Christy Atwood, 2002 Participant-

 

"For once (attending Marshall High School) I actually knew what it was like to be the minority."
-Christy Atwood, 2002 Participant-

 

"(In responding to prejudicial comments), I can't just lecture someone because that will push them away even more. Instead I should show them how not to be racist by being a good example."
-Christy Atwood, 2002 Participant-

 

"She taught me not to hate (speaking about her time with Mamie Till-Mobley)"
-Christy Atwood, 2002 Participant-

 

"Before I went on the trip, I thought that most blacks were criminals, druggies, and all on welfare. I've been proved very wrong. Also, I thought that (poor) blacks chose the way they live and they were only on welfare because they were lazy. However, after seeing how the police and the society treats them, it's easy to see that it's not their fault."
-Christy Atwood, 2002 Participant-

 

"I have had to put up with people being negative toward me because I was involved in The Chicago Project, however, I did not let them stop me."
-Christy Atwood, 2002 Participant-

 

"This trip has changed my life forever. I know that I need to learn all I can about people. Thank you (The Chicago Project) for opening my eyes to a whole new world."
- Christy Atwood, 2002 Participant-

 

"It has really showed me a lot of stuff that I probably would never learn about or experience on my own." -Kelly Karnetsky, 2002 Participant-

 

"I have seen a lot of what it would be like to be called racist names, or beat nearly to death, or even lose some you love."
-Kelly Karnetsky, 2002 Participant-

 

I saw a whole new story and it made me think. From all that I learned, I will look at white people (and myself) different when they use their privilege."
-Kelly Karnetsky, 2002 Participant-

 

"This place has made me look at slavery in a total different way. I have now seen the effects of what whites have done to blacks during slavery."
-David Bender, 2002 Participant-