The Chicago Project

Life in North Lawndale:
Above is picture of the block we lived on for five days. The “park” where the kids play is a series of five empty lots filled with bricks, rocks and lots of broken glass. However, this is where we spent time getting to know some of the younger kids in the neighborhood. We played football (touch, not tackle), basketball and just hung-out with them. Many of the kids here are allowed to go out and play by themselves as early as five years old.

 Upward Bound Community Center:
This is the community center where we stayed. Kirk Reynolds, who lives above it, runs it. He and others that work with Upward Bound sponsor homework club twice a week and a Bible club once a week, both in which we participated.

South Community Art Center and DuSalbe Museum of African American History:

On Monday we visited numerous cultural sites in Chicago. The DuSable Museum of African art and culture had a large exhibit of African quilts and cloth. The South Side Community Art Center was founded in the mid-thirties under President Roosevelt’s WPA programs. It was the first all African American art studio in the nation. It boasts a long and rich history of famous and influential black artists. The curator, Gerald Sanders, gave us a tour of the gallery, a history of the building and a private art lesson. Educational and fun.  

 

During the week we spent time with many of the neighborhood kids. They came over to the community center for a couple hours. Some of the activities we did included helping the kids read, write, and develop social skills. During the Bible club night we sang songs and danced together. Kirk topped off that evening with a Bible story and an important lesson about how to treat others. All of the fun and games contributed to meaningful one-on-one time with the kids.

 

Hooking Up with Marshall High School:
One of the most powerful nights of the trip was inviting a group of students from Marshall High School. We talked about what life was like between the city and the country and discovered that we had more in common than we thought. We shared typical high school pranks and jokes and brought some back with us to Jamestown. Most importantly we made a permanent teacher contact at the school, Mr. Scott Kroman. Both he and Mr. Wilson from our high school are committed to developing a long-term relationship between the two schools. One of the goals of this shared interest is to bring Marshall students down to Greeneview in the 1999-2000 school year.