CTA Holiday Train on the Green Line

 

[VIDEO] I'm sorry I missed this video from YouTuber msibnsf Harrison showing the CTA Holiday Train terming this the 2020 version of this tradition running on the CTA Green Line especially on the Englewood/Ashland branch from 59th street west side of the Dan Ryan which was uploaded on November 28. The Holiday Train ran on the Green on Nov. 27, 28 and Dec. 1.

Here's a schedule for when and where you will see the Holiday Train & Holiday Bus on the CTA.

You Saturday viewing: "Chicago's South Side" by Geoffrey Baer

 

[VIDEO] Allow me to state from the jump that I found this video on YouTube as opposed to sharing the video on WTTW's page for this documentary. I believe this aired on WTTW in 2015 and didn't find this until doing a Google search on the Roseland neighborhood.

Basically this documentary focuses on the south side neighborhoods of Brighton Park, Chinatown, Ashburn, Bridgeport, Bronzeville, Hyde Park, Washington Park, Woodlawn, Englewood, Auburn Gresham, Beverly, Washington Park, Roseland, South Shore, Pullman and the southeast side. Basically the south side is divided up into near southwest and southeast and far southwest and southeast.

I know over the years Geoffrey Baer has done documentaries of interest such as Chicago by L (of which there was another edition produced in 2020 according to his wikipedia page), he did one on the Chicago Lakefront, I think he even did one that featured the Illinois & Michigan Canal that runs through the southwest side.

I guess my takeaway without watching having yet watched this is I wish he had some other neighborhoods on this such as Chatham. Perhaps there wasn't enough material for him to really document the neighborhood as he had Englewood, South Shore, Hyde Park, Auburn Gresham, or even Ashburn. However it has my attention and plan to watch this documentary with you all.

How many of us depend upon the Dan Ryan?

[VIDEO] Well it's no big statement to say that the Dan Ryan Expressway is a major highway through Chicago's south side. Sometimes I wish we could have the traffic that currently runs on the expressway even during normal times.

We see artistmac doesn't see much dimished traffic on the expressway and notes some damage done on 47th by careless drivers.

Chicago Reader: Roseland’s transformation captured in 1970 student film

Via thechicagoneighborhoods.com

I tweeted about this last week and unfortunately it doesn't say about when this film will see the light of day. Roseland - like say Englewood - had seen better days though residents of both communities I'm sure want to see better days returns. And certainly Englewood is working to make their community better.

On the other hand Roseland is looking for a jumpstart which could be the red line extension whenever CTA gets the necessary funding to start the project. However, that future project will be one development among many to bring Roseland back to what it used to be 50+ years ago.

Read this article from the Chicago Reader also there is a podcast where these students two men who shot this film in the 1970s were interviewed talking about this film. Give it a listen.

"You knew that if you went out into the streets of Roseland with a camera, you were gonna see something." https://t.co/KQLjSYwEnB

— Chicago Reader (@Chicago_Reader) June 6, 2018

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.

"The American Nurse" at SMG Chatham

Got this e-mail with a flyer to be posted below about an event this coming weekend at Studio Movie Grill Chatham on 87th.

NursingInspired🏾‍ is intentionally hosting an event during National Nurses Week 2018, as an effort to increase interest in the career of Nursing among underrepresented youth in Chicago!

ATTENTION organizations serving urban, underserved & African American youth (age 14-24),

high school students, pre-nursing, traditional & non-traditional college students, professional nurses and community members are all welcome:

Announcing a NursingInspired🏾‍

1st Annual Movie and Educational event Screening the documentary "The American Nurse (2014)"
at the Studio Movie Grill-Chatham, Chicago, IL


Mark your calendar

The event is on Sunday, May 6th
Doors Open at 2pm, Film starts at 2:30pm

NURSES| 1 CE credit for watching the film through Walden University!

Flyer below:

Reason: Little Pink House

[VIDEO] As stated with an earlier video from Reason magazine, one of the things I pride myself in doing with this blog is presenting ideas that get you to think. With that last video it illustrated ways that bigotry can prove to be expensive and proved to be an opportunity for an enterprising real estate entrepreneur in the 20th century.

This video takes a different track. John Stossel in his recent video with Reason talks about eminent domain. You may have heard that term fairly recently with regards to the former Dominick's on 71st/Jeffrey as there was significant interest in getting another grocery store to that space.

What Stossel discusses in this video is a movie called Little Pink House. It's about a woman who lost her house in an eminent domain fight that went all the way up to the Supreme Court of the United States. Basically the city of New London, Connecticut wanted to condemn an entire neighborhood for redevelopment which as you see in the video above still hasn't happened even in 2018. You can read up on the Supreme Court case here.

Could this be how many low-income Chicago neighborhoods can ultimately become relatively affluent neighborhoods? Is this what could happen to Englewood or Woodlawn? Is it what's happening with Bronzeville?

Let me elaborate with Bronzeville, that area for many years contained those notorious housing projects that have been demolished in the course of the past decade. Now granted these were government housing projects - and certainly not a case of eminent domain - that unfortunately trapped crime, social issues, etc and now the land where these projects stood are up for grabs. Will the future developments on these lands be housing for the rest of us or will they be for the affluent?

Feel free to chime in on what you think about the video. Better yet feel free to chime in on the "dreaded G word".

Documentary on violence in Englewood

[VIDEO] For Victor Maggio who continued his series of the top 10 violent neighborhoods (or really community areas) with Englewood at #4. As per his other video he generally will give a history of each neighborhood especially ethnic history and then of course he discusses how these areas became crime ridden and violent.

BTW, if you don't want to watch this 24 minute video he does mention the "murder castle" of H.H. Holmes that formerly stood at 63rd & Wallace. This piece of trivia was a bit controversial when we shared the neighborhood brand for Englewood where this piece of history was used as a background image. Of course as well all know there are activists who are looking to shed Englewood of its violent and crime ridden reputation.

Like with the Roseland video, Marathon Pundit shares this and expresses his family connection with Engelwood noting not only the shopping district of 63rd & Halsted but the late Southtown Theater.

Finally this video is controversial as there are some who are aware of Maggio's political leanings. Bear in mind that he offers his opinions on what he sees as the start of an anti-police narrative. One incident he documents happened not long after the police shooting of one Laquan McDonald. Of course he notes in this video other incidents were people came out to protest police.

Also I recognize that what he covers involved inner city violence and there are people who have been touched by this vicious cycle. What I expect in Maggio sharing his stories of Chicago violence is that he wants a solution to this tragedy. We all want a solution to this violence.

For the record Maggio gets his stats from HeyJackass.com

Also related

• Re: Maggio News documentaries posted to Nextdoor 
• Check out this site for crime stats

From Self-Help - Seaway Bank: A Legacy of Empowerment

[VIDEO] Believe it or not, it has been over one year since Seaway National Bank (aka Seaway Bank & Trust Company) failed and was purchased originally by State Bank of Texas in an FDIC orchestrated auction. Thankfully the new owners Self-Help FCU honors the legacy of the former Black-owned lender in this video.

The above Self-Help video also shows the various people who were a major part of Seaway's History. Moses Profit, Ernest T. Collins, Jacoby Dickens, George Jones, Dr. James Buckner. There's also an appearance by one of the former owners of Milwaukee's Legacy Bank - Margaret J. Henningsen. Legacy Bank was also taken over by Seaway Bank in 2011 via an FDIC orchestrated auction.

Also we see interviews with Josephine Wade of Captain Hardtimes restaurant, Joseph Caldwell of Tailorite, Eli Washington of Chesterfield, Ed Calahan of Calahan Funeral Home, and Victor Love community activist. All of those names are either Seaway Bank customers or had served on a Seaway board - if not on the board of directors of Seaway Bancshares which had been the holding company.

Of course the story ends ultimately with Seaway being bought by State Bank of Texas and then - in an effort to preserve the history and legacy of Seaway Bank - branches and customer deposits were purchased by Self-Help. Great documentary of at one point a very significant financial institution.

BTW, I got wind of this via an ig post from Self-Help and through a Google search found the video you see above. You can find more of our posts about Seaway Bank here. You can also see more of Self-Help stories from their vault here.

#ComingSoon from #SelfHelpsVault The story of Seaway Bank, a once-prominent SouthSide Chicago financial institution that at its height rose to become America’s largest Black-owned bank. Watch recent releases from the Legacy Credit Union Documentary Series @ http://community.sh/selfhelpsvault

A post shared by Self-Help Credit Union (@selfhelpcreditunion) on Feb 2, 2018 at 10:30am PST

Documentary on violence in Roseland

[VIDEO] Saw this video over at John Ruberry's Marathon Pundit. Ruberry though he's a suburbanite today has roots in the Roseland community.

All the same this documentary produced by Victor J. Maggio - and I would like to see his statistics - lists Roseland as the 8th most violent neighborhood in Chicago. He breaks down the history of Roseland and how it's a wonderful community with such violence. 

The description for this video:

The Roseland neighborhood is home to the Lowden Projects, the wild 100s.

The Roseland neighborhood by far has one of the best outward physical appearances then most of the other top ten neighborhoods.

Roseland has a decent economic base, good homes and schools, this goes against all the usual arguments of why violence is happening in this neighborhood.

He mentions a number of incidents that take place in the areas north of 95th Street and I'm sure some of you reading this blog might be offended by being lumped in with Roseland. So allow me to share a map with you below which is of the Roseland Community area which is a larger area than of what's considered the Roseland neighborhood further south. So another reason why I want to have a map to reference for your benefit.

Roseland community area

This video does especially mention the murder last year of a Cook County Judge at his home in West Chesterfield. Also mentioned is the murder of a man who owned a non-profit on 95th Street. Eye opening video. Another mention are the Lowden Homes that are west of the Dan Ryan on 95th near Wentworth, cited as the source of these crimes.

BTW, check out this video on Greater Grand Crossing in compiling his list it's listed just below Roseland at number 9. Just like Roseland, Maggio goes through the history of this community.

Update on the restore the #63rdL petition...

[VIDEO] I wanted to replay this video in light of this online petition launched this summer to restore the East 63rd Green Line east from Cottage Grove. In January 2013 artistmac posted a video driving from Morgan/63rd east to Stony Island. To keep this vid germane this video should start at about 4:25. The total duration is over 9 minutes.

When the L was destroyed beyond Cottage Grove the neighborhood was likely much different than it is now. The East 63rd corridor was very blighted and largely vacant though in the past decade there has been construction with single family houses. Then fairly recently driving through I see a building under construction at 63rd & University - once the site of an L stop.

As of now it appears the CTA while a spokesperson at first said they're always looking to explore expanding service also indicated extending East 63rd green line service to Stony Island isn't currently in the cards. Just click on this tweet by Curbed Chicago for more information.

CTA says it has ‘no plans’ to restore Green Line service to Jackson Park https://t.co/sKDda8kfWS

— Curbed Chicago (@curbedchicago) August 21, 2017

The petition started by Reuben Lillie earlier this summer currently has 743 signatures per the statistics shown on the petition page. My personal appeal if you support extending the red line past 95th then also consider supporting the restoration of East 63rd green line service to Stony Island. Tourists and Chicago resident should have much easier access to the future Barack Obama Presidential Library.

And while the petition is linked above I'll post this tweet below to make it easier for you to add your name to this also.

Thanks. This one's for all of us. It's time to make plans and get community input in the proper order: https://t.co/HeCwRIaZ39

— Restore the #63rdL (@63rdStL) August 22, 2017

Against All Odds: The Fight for the Black Middle Class

[VIDEO] One of the main reasons why I started The Sixth Ward was to in some way highlight the middle-class aspects of the 6th Ward as it was drawn between 2002 to roughly 2015. Chatham isn't the only community with a solidly Black middle-class population, but it has often been considered a bastion of the Black middle-class.

This documentary was mentioned on the ig profile for the new owners of the former Seaway National Bank - Self-Help FCU - doing a quick mention of this documentary Against All Odds: The Fight for the Black Middle Class. It's available for viewing either on pbs.org or you can watch it through the PBS app available on iPhones & iPads and likely Android also.

President of R.A.G.E. featured on a documentary about Whole Foods Market Englewood #teamwfm

Below I will share both screencaps shown from the R.A.G.E. instagram page. Unless someone from R.A.G.E. corrects me there didn't appear to be any advanced notice that this documentary was going to are on WCIU Too! Hopefully as indicated in the gram that was reposted to The Sixth Ward's ig we may learn about future replays.

The Whole Foods store in Englewood has been open since September 2016 to great fanfare.

Disclosure: One of the bloggers here is a Whole Foods Market team member.

A post shared by R.A.G.E. (@rage_englewood) on Apr 23, 2017 at 7:03am PDT

Spotlight on Englewood now on WCIU Too! It's a documentary about the opening of Whole Foods...#EnglewoodRising

A post shared by R.A.G.E. (@rage_englewood) on Apr 23, 2017 at 6:53am PDT

Streets by VICE: Halsted Street

[VIDEO] Starting in Bridgeport and then through roughly Auburn Gresham then up near the West Loop then back to Altgeld Gardenx and then back to the former Stockyards and then back north to Boystown we get a look at Halsted Street long considered Chicago's backbone. We see all that's available along this long street in Chicago whether entertainment, dining or even a shoeshine. We especially look at pockets of wealth and poverty and the segregation. An interesting look at our fair city.

Chicago Stars Ep. 4 - Century of Progress // MBMHMC tv

[VIDEO] Unfotunately Mr. Jahmal Cole didn't go to the area where the 1933 Century of Progress Fair was held which was Northerly Island/Adler Planetarium/former Meigs Field. According to Cole anything built for the fair over 80 years ago is no longer standing. It's still recorded as the fourth star on Chicago's flag.

In this edition Cole pays a visit to the predominantly latino Little Village neighborhood. He purchases donuts from La Central Bakery and ask customers what the fourth star on the Chicago flag represents.

Another message from this video is basically how to break down the segregation in Chicago. Our city basically is divided into thirds between latinos, Blacks, and whites. And regardless if we cluster on the south, north or west sides of towns we all reside in this great city. The best ideas come when people of diverse backgrounds come together and share ideas.

Is this something we've failed to do in Chicago in recent years? Perhaps through this little project Cole could bridge the gap between different communities of Chicago. He says shop local and as he does in most of his videos he visits local eateries.

In the meanwhile it's time to buy myself a shirt. And you all should consider doing the same. His activities is far more than interacting with Chicago residents or even tourists. Cole has also helped innercity teens leave their neighborhoods and explore the many communities and cultures that exist in our fair city. Expand their horizons and that's certainly something we can support.

Chicago Stars Ep. 3 - The World Columbian Exposition // MBMHMC tv

[VIDEO] In this episode Jahmal Cole goes from the ferris wheel at Navy Pier to the Museum of Science & Industry. The significance the third star on the Chicago flag represents the World's Columbian Exposition.

There was a ferris wheel at the exposition which took place in the Frederick Law Olmstead designed Jackson Park. The Museum of Science & Industry is the last remaining structure of that event held in 1893 which formerly housed not only the Palace of Fine Arts but also an early incarnation of the Field Musuem.

Finally Cole ends this episode at the south side's Chef Sara's Place located at 7201 S. Exchange Ave. And here's hoping the many eateries Cole visits in his many episodes of My Block My Hood My City gets much more business.

VIDEO: Chicago Stars Ep. 1 - Fort Dearborn // #MBMHMC tv

[VIDEO] Jahmal Cole asks Chicagoans what the first star on the Chicago flag represents. That star represents Fort Dearborn located near the Chicago River at Wacker & Michigan. The fort was named for a former Secretary of War who served in the cabinet of President Thomas Jefferson, signer of the Declaration of Independence. Let's see how many people Cole meets that knew this information.

The city's flag you will see above in the header of this blog and you will see another version below. The flag is part of this great city's identity.

VIDEO: Whole Foods Englewood and Starbucks Grand Opening

[VIDEO] JP Paulus was at the grand opening of the new Whole Foods Market Englewood on Wednesday morning. Hopefully he'll be ready to share his thoughts on this historic and exciting occasion at the intersection of 63rd & Halsted.

There are a few shots shared on ig regarding the grand opening provided by this blogger. Unfortunately I didn't get there in time for the grand opening and arrived just as the rain got heavier.

In the meanwhile, artistmac was there to shoot 33 minutes of video of the grand opening. He did this previously with the opening of Walmart stores in West Chatham and Pullman also. He was also there for the ground breaking at Englewood Square which took place in 2014.

Anyone else visited the store on the first day? How was your experience on the first day? Will the Englewood shop be your store in the future?

DISCLOSURE: One of the bloggers here at The Sixth Ward is a Whole Foods Market team member.

Hope Dealers documentary

Hope Dealer Trailer from Lawrence Trapp on Vimeo.

[VIDEO] I've written about this group from time to time and I got wind of a future documentary of which you see a preview here. This is what's posted to the video page:

Hope Dealers, a non-profit organization that aims to help areas through community service. The group was created by Corey Hardiman, a Morehouse graduate and native of Southside Chicago. Although looking to eventually expand, the group for the past three years has primarily performed service in Southside Chicago, Ill.

Now to find out when this documentary is coming and if it will be shown exclusively on the internet or shown at a movie house near you.

Jahmal Cole visits Washington Park #MBMHMC

[VIDEO] Jahmal Cole in his ongoing webseries My Block My Hood My City visits Washington Park. Before he heads to the court for a game of hoops he visits two establishments Currency Exchange Cafe & RTW Veteran's Center. A recurring theme when Cole visits the many Chicago communities is to find an eating establishment. And we also see a very touching story regarding how the veteran's center came into existence.

BTW, we also get some man on the street interview on how the Washington Park community has changed. It has changed for the better, but many still describe the surrounding area at least west of Washington Park as still "the hood".