Greetings,
When a municipal election day falls in Black History Month, we should heed the message that every vote counts and our history must be remembered. Black History Month reminds us of the people who actually died for our right to vote. Medgar Evers was shot in the front yard of his home. Countless men and women were lynched in retaliation for going to the polls and voting. We now have the right to vote freely, and that right came with the blood and tears of many of our ancestors. Because we’re a non-profit publication, we can’t suggest who you should vote for, but we can urge you to get out and vote. If you can, vote early. Otherwise, be sure to vote on Election Day. You owe it to yourself, your family, your community, and to the ancestors!
This Black History Month we are also paying tribute to Josie Brown Childs. Josie is known for founding the Mayor Harold Washington Legacy Committee, but she did so much more, and you can read about it in this issue, as we pay tribute to her. Josie Childs was an iconic figure in South Shore Chicago and was dedicated to preserving the legacy of Mayor Harold Washington, and we continue to embrace and perpetuate that legacy.
We are always delighted to welcome Salim Muwakkil as a guest journalist. He is Senior Editor of In These Times Magazine and host of the Salim Muwakkil Show. You will appreciate his article “Remembering Harold Washington” and will want to include a copy of his book “Harold: Photographs of the Harold Washington Years!” in your family library.
One of the joys of my life, as we take on the responsibility of being your Guide to the Good Life, has been time spent in our Chicago South Side parks. I’ve been a biker, a swimmer, boater and was co-leader of the Girl Trek/South Side Rising walking group that walked the lakefront from 71st Street to 59th Street every Saturday, April -November for three years, Prior to that and for years our work with Real Men Cook included celebrations with thousands honoring fathers and father figures on Father’s Day. Our event filled every room of the South Shore Cultural Center; the side corridor and the entire grounds. It was the restoration that restricted our work inside the beautiful destination.
The former Country Club is still standing and available to the public, and is an actual Park District stable revenue source, thanks to activists who would not allow it to be destroyed when The Country Club occupants fought to keep Black residents out.
Today, we invite readers to join Park Advisory Councils to heal our community with programming that fully utilizes it and other Park District locations. While north side beaches are packed and fully utilized with rich youth and family programming, the south side is home to some of the most beautiful parks and beaches in the city, yet we are in a constant fight for equitable distribution of services and resources.
After reading our article on the parks and how to use them, it is my hope that you will get out there and take a walk, or a hike, or maybe even participate in beautifcation and other volunteer opportunities with the entire family, perhaps get your children engaged in swimming or enjoy a game of golf. Our South Shore Tourism Center & Visitor’s Bureau loves doing southern shore tours and partnering with Park Advisory Councils to do them.
As we celebrate legacies this Black History Month, we pay homage to the soul of Black Chicago – that special place we know as Bronzeville. Kay Humphries takes a look at what Bronzeville once was, what it became, and what it is now. Its recent national designation caused me to reference Paula Robinson as the Queen of Bronzeville, and the late Harold (Buzzy) Lucas as King. I trust in the plans are tribute statues and endless acknowledgments in the works. I’m a witness and a long-time participant in activities including the 2016 Great Migration Centennial, which helped deliver the actions of Congress, a bill for President Joe Biden to sign establishing Bronzeville as a National Heritage Area. I’m looking forward to understanding how this fits with the mayor’s Office of Racial Equity’s announcement of the Black Chicago Heritage Initiative.The term, “investing in people,” has become quite popular as we head toward this very important election. Yet, there are almost as many ideas about what the term means as there are people talking about it. Mark Wallace, co-host of The People’s Show, has a specific idea about how a city should invest in its people, with a specific example of how the plan was implemented, and how very successful it was. His take on what’s possible in Southeast Chicago is one worth considering. It’s where my father’s (and perhaps your family member’s) DNA might still exist, as he worked at the steel mills and auto plants. That’s during a time when nearly all Black men worked. We see his ideas as a pathway to the Good Life Chicago.
