Martin Luther King, III
Notes from the Road- 3rd Stop: Chicago, IL
Standing on the corner of 16th and Hamlin in Chicago's Lawndale area, in an empty lot that used to house a building I called home for a few weeks in 1966, it was easy to see what brought my father to the capital of the Midwest. Dr. King came to Chicago to protest the conditions in the slums and bring the movement North; it was not his most successful effort, and some things have gotten no better. Standing on the scrubby grass in the midday sun, a local resident points to an "affordable housing" development down the block. "They say it's 'affordable' at one-hundred-sixty-nine-thousand? Man, who has that?"
For Chicago's working poor- of all races- precious few. Later that day, I met with Alderman Ricardo Munoz, whose 22nd Ward is 25% Black and 75% Latino. A quarter of his 60,000 constituents don't have jobs, but he won't call them unemployed- he calls them "underemployed." Why? Because these people want to work, according to the Alderman. And if the economy isn't providing jobs, they create them- selling cd's on the street, roasting corn on the cob and selling it for a dollar-a-head. Those that do have jobs work 2-2.5 on average, by the Alderman's estimate, to try to cobble together something close to a living wage.
The crisis in Chicago is reflective of the crisis everywhere: even as prosperity booms for a small segment of our population, the industries and economic engines that poor and working communities depended on are disappearing, and little is being done to replace them.
There are very important ways, however, that Chicago is working hard and smart to assure that the Windy City stays righteous. My father's difficult negotiations with Mayor Richard J. Daley are a matter of historical record. But the city leadership that I met, led by Mayor Richard M. Daley, was unmistakably galvanized by its mission to serve all of Chicago's citizens. In a conversation that lasted over an hour, with an increasingly excited affect, Mayor Daley told me about inventive and forward-looking programs in education, convict reform, and housing. And when I had a chance to see for myself the work that Chicago is doing in that final category, it was hard not to share his excitement.
The Chicago Housing Authority (CHA), under the leadership of Terry Peterson, is making a whole-hearted effort to redefine public and affordable housing in Chicago. By leveraging Federal Hope IV grants into sizeable development funds, the CHA is refurbishing or replacing over 25,000 units of public housing. The core value of this transformation- as I understand it- is to create mixed-income communities in which residents can take pride, and link this shift to social services designed to assure a smooth transition for everyone. From what I saw, the results are promising. The grim monolith high-rises of a previous era of public housing are being replaced by two- and three-story units, laid out carefully and interspersed with stretches of green. One community we visited, Oakwood Shores, will even have its own charter school (sponsored by the University of Chicago).
The impact this has on residents was also evident. In the last open tower of ABLA homes, it was all too evident that the hallways and elevators had seen frequent use as urinals. By contrast, a member of our team accidentally stepped on a patch of grass in a small public courtyard in the newly completed Roosevelt Homes- an example of the new developments. A group of young men relaxing in the sun immediately shouted out- friendly but firm- to "Get off the grass!" We all were careful to, from then on.
Many questions remain, of course. One by-product of tearing down massive towers and replacing them with many small buildings is a replacement ratio of less than one-to-one: there are families who will be displaced, not for an improved public or affordable unit, but for a similar apartment in a different Chicago tower or to enter the private market (with a Voucher from the CHA). Mr. Peterson makes a convincing case that the CHA is serious about allowing all its residents know their rights and providing them with recourse to legal counsel. Nonetheless, the process will inevitably be disruptive for many, and its ultimate success must be measured against how well it can salve the costs of this disruption.
Healthcare, education, and housing are frequently mentioned as the core demands of those who aspire to a more equitable America. That Chicago is thinking creatively about how to provide these to the underserved in new and empowering ways is exciting. But that excitement must be measured against neighborhoods like Lawndale. The city's leadership is right to think dynamically about how to improve its citizens' lives. But, looking around Chicago and its outer neighborhoods, you see communities suffering from problems deeper than those any Mayor can solve.
Martin Luther King, III: Author Bio | Other Posts
Posted at 8:00 AM, Jul 26, 2006 in
Community Development
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