This last day in Chicago seemed to have the biggest impact. We took a driving tour of Southside Chicago and were able to see just how many disparities exist all within a 15 mile radius. Some Black residents of Southside live without the basic necessity of fresh groceries, while others are trapped within the confines of a complex because to venture into the Bridgeport neighborhood that is predominately Irish American is a death sentence. It is amazing to me to think that such extreme cases of segregation still exist today. For me, I have always known that segregation still exists, but I have never seen such a stark contrast of segregation within a neighborhood. You could actually see the differences within neighborhoods by just crossing a street. It isn’t until seeing a driving tour of Southside that I truly realized that Chicago is legitimately one of the most segregated cities in the nation. Fortunately, I was also able to see the more unknown affluent neighborhood of Southside Chicago. I passed by the homes of powerful political leaders such as Reverend Jesse Jackson, and was also able to see the former homes of Hugh Hefner and Muhammad Ali alike.
Next, we became familiar with the Christian Community Development Association (CCDA). The CCDA is a networking non-profit that is providing a way for people who want to restore under-resourced communities around the world. This organization has spread across America and offers a community outreach approach that carries Christian beliefs. This organization hit so close to home for me through its ideas that closely resemble those of the Act Six Scholarship Initiative that is stationed in Tacoma. Educate leaders that will come back and serve their community while also looking within the community for help. Such an organization as CCDA gives me hope as an Act Six Scholar that we are not alone in trying to restore the communities in which we see are under-resourced.
The finale of the trip was dinner and poetry at Soul Vegetarian! We started the night off with vegetarian/vegan twist on traditional soul food. But the best part of the night had to be the POETRY!!!!!!!! We were able to see the vibrant spoken word movement of Chicago up close and personal. It was refreshing to hear about common problems that we all face in an entire different city, but also hear from a Chicagoan’s perspective the difficulties they face living in a large urban city. Also, two of us, including myself, got up and shared our own poetry to show them Gonzaga’s poetic styling. Overall, Soul Vegetarian was the greatest way to end this trip. The poetry tonight was some of the greatest I’ve ever heard and its great experience to walk away from. Today, might have just been the best day of the trip, or just could have been me clinging to a trip that I think went way too soon…
Chare