Emeline Posner
- • Best Wall
- • Best Ever-Expanding Ministry
- • Best Resurrection
- • Best Parade, Period
- • Best Coffee Shop for Everyone
Best of Woodlawn & Washington Park 2016
Washington Park
Best of Woodlawn & Washington Park 2015
Juliet Eldred
It is no secret that Washington Park and Woodlawn have seen better days. Economic depression and consistently declining populations since the 1970s have led to collective downturn. Currently, the neighborhoods are caught in the crossroads of the lingering memory of a thriving local culture and middle class and the issue of how exactly revival can be effectively stoked. Two newly fashioned courses point to answers: one fostered by communal organizations of both neighborhoods, and the other led by the University of Chicago.
Best Village: Blacks in Green
Greetings, cousins!” Naomi Davis’s voice booms across the crowd seated on folding chairs and hay bales at the Green Village Pavilion, a space of calm tucked into a corner of the African Festival of the Arts in Washington Park. Out on the festival’s pathways, women double-dutch in the shade. Reggae music floats over from the booth down the lane.
Woodlawn & Washington Park
JULIET ELDRED
Woodlawn and Washington Park sprung up in the late-nineteenth century, accompanied by a rapid influx of (primarily European) immigrant populations and increased industry driven by the 1893 World’s Fair. During the twentieth century, Woodlawn and Washington Park served as a hub of political and cultural activity: important figures from Saul Alinsky to Jesse Owens are associated with the area. Continue reading
Building a Bronzeville Cooperative
An agricultural utopia struggles to find its footing
Walking down Oakwood Boulevard in Bronzeville, Danielle Kizaire-Sutton seems to know every house we pass. “That one’s just been renovated,” she says, pausing to cheerfully greet a passerby. “And the family in there helped organize the block party last year.” Continue reading
Sonic Memorial
David Boykin honors Sun Ra and looks ahead
COURTESY OF THE ARTIST
David Boykin, one of this year’s three artists-in-residence at the Arts Incubator in Washington Park, got a late start in the music world. Continue reading
Students Speak
Young Chicago Authors celebrates a book release
ISABEL OCHOA GOLD
Before the show, Walker Post crosses the presentation space with long strides, making sure everything is in order for his speech. Continue reading
Loud and Clear
The Clear the Airwaves Project fights negative influences in hip-hop
DWIGHT TAYLOR
There’s always a decently sized Saturday morning crowd at the McDonald’s at the corner of Stony Island and Marquette. Continue reading
The Art of Development
In Washington Park, a new café opens under Theaster Gates
JULIET ELDRED
In the next month—maybe a few weeks more, maybe a few less—Currency Exchange Cafe will open in Washington Park at the site of its namesake, the long-closed Write-on Currency Exchange. Continue reading
Ink Better Spilled
Black Ink Book Exchange prepares to launch at the Incubator
ISABEL OCHOA GOLD
Savannah Wood sifts through crates and crates of books, trying to create a library featuring the works of black authors. Continue reading