Englewood State of Mind vs. Englewood Victim Syndrome (EVS)

Since my last post, I have received tons of feedback both positive and negative about the things mentioned in the Englewood Manifesto: Volume 1.0, which is what I expected....That tells me that folks are actually reading my blog, which is greatly appreciated...This blog has been my virtual journal of my experiences as a driven, passionate, community strategist here in Englewood....For the most part each experience has been a lesson that's been added to my wisdom toolbox....

I may have went a little hard with the Manifesto, but it was only to remind people that when you live in a community like Englewood, there is a state a mind that comes with the territory ...Similar to the "Brooklyn State of Mind"...

RAGE Founding Member Dj Dap at NIU Teen Summit

The Englewood State of Mind is a complex state that sometime borders on a survival mode filled with resilience and pride in the midst of hopelessness and despair....This Englewood State of Mind is a unique trait of many of the people who live here....Now don't get this confused with the Englewood Victim Syndrome commonly known as EVS....If you live, work or go to school in Englewood, you have been a witness of this syndrome...I usually see the signs at community meetings, bus stops, gas stations, etc., when the "no one cares about Englewood" statements start to fly....As if there is a secret agenda to wage war specifically on Englewood as if we are targeted more than any other black community in urban cities...We are no different from what's happening in Austin, Washington Park, Detroit, Philly, etc.  

Cooking & Chilling at Hamilton Park

The Englewood State of Mind, is a state that involves awareness, strategies, humbleness, and a sense of pride so strong that we will defend any negative perceptions or stereotypes that come our way....That's the Englewood State of Mind...This is what many of the students who come from all over the world wants to understand and use as a case study for school....for any researcher or journalist who is fascinated by the unwavering faith that many of us of 60621 and 60636 possess....

As I continue this work, I hold this state of mind with great value, love and pride...So when I see others take advantage of the people who have caught the Englewood Victim Syndrome and capitalize from our ills, I get a bit testy...Case in Point, Englewood Manifesto Volume 1.0....

Below you will find evidence of the Englewood State of Mind....Enjoy!

Message Board on 63rd & Halsted

Englewood Education Summit 2.0

Resident Tesha Dickerson at Design to Engage Workshop

       RAGE members Pat & Lauren Designing to Engage

RAGE H.S.Intern at Design to Engage Workshop

RAGE member Sonya Harper gracing the Mayor with a RAGE "I AM ENGLEWOOD" band

       See Potential Project at Kusanya Cafe - 69th & Green

See Potential Project at Kusanya Cafe - 69th & Green

The Message Board to Englewood on 63rd & Halsted

Bucket Boy on 71st & Racine

Students from Urban Prep at Greater Englewood Unity Clean Up Day

Message Book from Englewood 

Messages from Englewood

Greater Englewood Unity Clean Up Day

Volunteer at Imagine Englewood IF

Greater Englewood Unity Clean Up Day

RAGE Young Professional Taskforce Chair - Michael Johnson

Design to Engage Workshop -Kelly Library

RAGE Member sporting the I AM ENGLEWOOD gear

RAGE Members Joyce Scott and Deborah Payne at NIU Teen Summit in Dekalb

RAGE Member Justeen Pelt and Myself at NIU

NIU Teen Summit

RAGE Member Sonya Harper at Design to Engage Workshop

RAGE Member Sonya Harper at Design to Engage Workshop

Design to Engage with the Institute of Design

Volunteer at National Block Club University

Design to Engage to Workshop

Design to Engage to Workshop

Design to Engage to Workshop

The Englewood Manifesto Volume 1.0

I have tried to keep my composure and optimism  as I sit back and observe many of the ills that impact comprehensive community/locality development here in Englewood.  As my blog readers know, I've been volunteering in Englewood and blogging about all the GREAT things happening for the last 4 years. Believe me, it's been a rewarding, comical, learning, and sometimes draining experience.  Giving so much of yourself for the betterment of the neighborhood in which you live in can easily take a toll on someone.  It takes a toll on the folks who are actually are paid to do this work, let alone folks like me who have a day job and do this work because of my deep rooted passion to see a positive change.

My reasoning for doing this work can be viewed by some as a selfish mission....Yes, I am selfish because I want to create a space within the boundaries of my neighborhood that would be peaceful, vibrant, with a booming economy, high quality schools, police who care and neighbors who know each other on and off of their blocks....If that is a selfish mission, by all means I'll take that critique with a smile....

I wanted to create a neighborhood like this because my daughter is now 15 and I long for her to STAY in a neighborhood as an adult.  However, the problem with TRUE change in Englewood, does not stem from the poverty, crime or failing schools....It stems from a lack of true collaborative efforts that is driven by a spirit of hope, innovation, and collective action for change....The individuals and organizations that have some power or influence refuse to implement a comprehensive plan for the neighborhood...

I can't say that Englewood doesn't have a plan, because plenty of them exist....The question is who are these plans really for?  And who is driving a real plan to achieve sustainable results that supports the basic needs for a quality neighborhood? Jobs, good schools, safety, healthy food options, etc. I cannot say with utterly confidence that all of our elected officials, faith based institutions, businesses, or even us stakeholders are taking on that task....It's a pretty big one and as much as I adore the work of R.A.G.E. our capacity is limited.  Therefore, a real CALL TO ACTION for collaborative strategies is essential....When will the EGOS that kill progress be put aside? When will the community take a STAND to ensure the resources dumped in Englewood is allocated properly?  When will the residents, organizations and businesses get on the same page to transform Englewood to be the GREAT neighborhood it was destined to be? 

As you know there is plenty of GOOD things happening in Englewood, but it is a scattered approach which makes it hard to measure the impact of these efforts.  Through organizing, planning, networking, aligning resources and assets, I still struggle with the mindset of so many of our so called leaders....I would prefer to call these folks brokers not leaders...They broker deals that are NOT in the best interest of our community and find a way that ultimately benefits them personally...The classic approach that is strangling the efforts of revitalization. 

Their church will get a kick back, their 501c3 will get a few pennies, a designated TIF district will be granted, or they'll take get some undeserving meaninglessness recognition....It's sad to see how our people have completely lost the concept of collective planning and action....No one is taking an asset based approach to help redesign the landscape of Englewood.

Everyone is begging or marching for a hand out, instead of creating our own opportunities...How are you "helping" anyone and your hands are only open to receive? We should be creating our jobs that we need so bad, we should be managing our schools that we are begging to keep open, if we need a trauma center, what resources can we as a community pull together to fulfill that need?  We should be holding ALL institutions, non-profit orgs., elected officials, businesses, and residents accountable for the current state of our community....This is our mess that we need to clean up...

This year, I will be shifting my focus to strengthen community power from the bottom up....R.A.G.E. has done an outstanding job in engaging residents on the issues that impact the community and built social capital through this process. Now its time to take things up a notch with some legislative and policy action, a bigger focus on accountability, being more vocal about the entities that are standing in the way of progress....I want this Englewood Manifesto to serve as a tool to bring awareness, expose the deals being brokered, and most importantly spark some conversations around sustainable development with an emphasis on land, property, and institutional ownership for the community.  

There is no need to beg when we can demand and act accordingly.  If we want an alderman office, we need to create that space; if we want more jobs, we need to tap into to our industrial resources; if we need funding, we need to demand that the monies from our TIF districts are used for what they are design to do...

We are on the brink of a true transformation not only in Englewood but the city as a whole...The energy and emotions people expressed after the fatal shooting of Hadiya Pendleton has activated our young people and even the folks who wouldn't normally care....We just need to start weeding out the "grieve hustlers", "poverty pimps", "grant chasers", "faith scammers", or whatever name we want to call these infiltrators in our community...They are only deal brokers with an agenda to keep things as-is, stagnant....  

Either way, its time for the BS to be out in the open so they can move out of the way of PROGESS....Stay tuned for volume 2.0....This will be a continuous examination of the problem which is quite different from my solution based approach....However, if we do not truly explore the real problem of race, class, poverty, egos, economic deprivation, etc., we will never be able to achieve the real solutions we need to make our community or any other black community viable....

So are you ready to take the journey with me? I hope so....

Englewood on the Rise for 2013!!!

This year has been another year to celebrate and I must say Englewood has been at the forefront of many accomplishments in 2012.  As you can see from this blog, the Englewood Portal, Everyblock.com and other outlets that are reporting great news, many fantastic things are happening in our neighborhood and I am proud that I was part of many of these successes!  

For starters, there seems to be a heighten energy filled with positivity that has been sweeping throughout Englewood...The crime is decreasing, we have our very own Rhode Scholar, our schools are improving, and there are really some cool projects in motion! 

Link to article about the Rhode Scholar from Englewood: http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/16477683-418/from-englewood-to-rhodes-scholar-its-huge.html

The Invest in Englewood Campaign being managed by the Greater Englewood CDC is in full effect and after a series of community meetings we are implementing a few action items focused on rebranding Englewood...

Now you all know that I am very excited to see the campaign get off the ground, because I want residents recognize the true value, history and beauty that lies within both Englewood and West Englewood.  One of the first steps of the campaign was creating our very own logo for Englewood.  Although there are a few Englewood logos flying around, we felt it was important to have the youth of Englewood create the logo for their own community. 

The contest allowed students of Englewood from grades 7th-12th who live or go to school in the Englewood neighborhood to submit entries. We are working to create signage, banners, yard signs, t-shirts, etc. and hope to have a symbol/logo that represent the pride, hope, and opportunities in the community.  We received over 20 entries and will announced the winners in January.  See the photo for a few of the entries:

It has been amazing to see the entries that were submitted, our youth is bursting with creativity and we as adults need to find more ways to hone in on these skills...Then used these artistic expressions to beautify our community!  This will not be the last time R.A.G.E. or the Greater Englewood CDC sponsored an art-based contest or activity...This was so much fun!

In other news....I am sure you are all aware of all the mess happening with our schools...We have a new CEO, yet again at CPS and there has been so much talk about school closings and consolidations...Side note, I wonder if we can use the same utilization guidelines to close some of the churches in Englewood...Many of these institutions are only open on Sundays and these are spaces that are completely "under-utilized"....I know this would not sit well with our fellow clergymen but it's just a thought....

Anyway back to the schools, of course any school actions raises a red flag for Englewood, as we have soooooo many schools that are considered "under-utilized"....Actually its over 60% of our schools, which makes me think Englewood may not even have any schools by 2017, if we look at CPS's track record of closings...

However, even with all the turmoil within the district, Englewood is still rising and working towards transforming our schools for the better...

Latesha Dickerson and I at the 1st Annual Englewood Empowerment Summit

The Englewood CAC which has been led by Latesha Dickerson and I, recently hosted a "lock down" educational retreat with educators, concerned citizens, parents and even students...We outlined the goals we as the community can work on implementing and hopefully the district will eventually support them...In this work, I am always turned off by the politics and egos that surfaced when we speak about the education of our future leaders....If we all want the students to succeed why is it so much adult drama that hinders this process...Anyway, I won't spend much energy complaining about the "adultism" garbage that goes on with education issues, because I think as community folks we are really becoming concerned about the state of Education, which is a great thing!

To view some of Englewood's school data or even the presentation we used at the lock down link here: http://www.englewoodportal.org/Education0.html 

R.A.G.E. Did It Again In 2012!!

I am always so proud to see another great year from R.A.G.E., as you know it has only been 2 years that R.A.G.E. has existed and we continue to make an impact in our neighborhood on a consistent basis...Here are only a few highlights from the year!

Englewood Votes in Action!





R.A.G.E is an active partner with the “Englewood Votes” campaign where we hosted a deputy registrar training with over 20 residents who were trained to be Deputy Registrars. We participated in several voting registrations drives that register at least 100 new voters and actively made residents aware of their voting rights.

Englewood Votes in Action!

We coordinated and led two community clean-up days where organizations, residents and youth participated in Greater Englewood Unity/Clean Up Day and clean the 69^th street corridors. Over 100 volunteers spent the day cleaning streets and vacant lots. R.A.G.E. also distributed school supplies during the fall clean-up event.

 

R.A.G.E. serves as technical support for the residents of the Englewood Railway Coalition who are residents being displaced and in opposition to the aggressive land grabbing and abuse of eminent domain policy by Norfolk Southern Railroad.

We created our first publication titled “The Englewood Call”, which is a newsletter that highlights the history and positive news from Englewood. We were proud to developed a student club at Wentworth Elementary with a focus on leadership and civic engagement in Englewood for 6^th-8^th grade students. We also introduced the Green Healthy Neighborhood Land Use Plan to the students at Urban Prep Englewood Campus who in turn presented recommendations for land use in Englewood.

We had a great time partnering with the Acts of Love Tour and distributed over 500 books to youth in Englewood.

We recently partnered with several organizations like the Lupe Fiasco Foundation, IMAN, True Star Media, Black Youth Project, Ladies of Virtue, and the National Block Club University to form the Chicago Peace Movement to address violence and the negative perception of black youth in the media and Hip Hop. 

The Chicago Peace Movement launched several listening tours in Englewood and Austin High Schools where we discussed how to change the image Chicago has as being Chi-Raq.  A few weeks ago we assisted Senator Mattie Hunter with the planning and execution of a youth driven solution based town hall meeting that address these issues.

 

R.A.G.E. met with the leaders of the Greater Englewood Business Group to form an alliance between residents and business owners. We submitted detailed recommendations to CMAP and the City of Chicago regarding the Green Healthy Land Use Plan that outlined focus areas around housing, retail, culture, food, green infrastructure and transportation. 

Several R.A.G.E. members continue to serve in leadership roles of the Kusanya Café and partnered with See Potential to install large documentary photos on the windows of the café. Kusanya Café is set to open in the Spring/Summer of 2013.

See Potential @Kusanya Cafe Installation Party

See Potential @Kusanya Cafe Installation Party

As you see its been a great year in Englewood and 2013 will only be better....I will continue my work and try to report as much possible so you can hear the positive news that is happening around the community....Stay tuned for more innovative projects and some more fun events happening in the neighborhood...Englewood is definitely on an upward path to GREATNESS and I will continue to TAKE ACTION to CREATE the community I truly desire~

Have a prosperous New Year!!!

Aysha~