The Rink in Chatham

The video above from WBEZ is about The Rink at 1122 East 87th Street, in fact just across the street from the former stock car race track shared with you last week.

I hate to say it I've never been to The Rink. In fact I've never learned to even roller skate. I've been to a couple of rinks in my life especially to one on the north side that is no longer in operation (thanks a lot progress).

It's great to share on this blog places you should know about. Especially places that are important institutions for the community or at least to those who have patronized these places over the years. Also it's great to note places that are Black-owned and have remained successful over the years.

Perhaps one day I will visit The Rink and learn to roller skate, to be honest one of my early youthful goals had been to play hockey. It was one dream I never achieved because I never learned to skate let along take a wrist shot, however, now I know of one place nearby to learn to roller skate.

Marynook 1962: "Decision at 83rd Street"

[VIDEO] 56 years ago Hugh Hill produced this documentary for CBS Chicago (or WBBM-TV) looking at racial integration in Marynook. On the other hand, what is seen here is an anatomy of "white flight". It's mentioned that realtors are "block busting" they're attempting to stir fears in white homeowners that Blacks are coming to buy homes on their blocks. Of course as we know in the 50+ years most of the south side is mostly Black today.

I can consider the many communities of the south side that since the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, or even 1980s experienced white flight. We can talk about Englewood, Woodlawn, Chatham, South Shore, Roseland, or Auburn Gresham. All of those communities experienced this "white flight".

I also want to note the example of Pill Hill - remember this was a neighborhood that at one point had a high prevalance of doctors working at a nearby hospital. I would recommend this book The South Side: The Racial Transformation of an American Neighborhood to see another angle to white flight. I had checked this book out of the library over a decade ago. The author contacted me years ago to clarify some points I made on another blog.