The Gate Newspaper by The Gate Newspaper

2 | TheGateNews October 2018

INSIDE THIS ISSUE Poet, JosĂŠ Olivarez turns out crowd for book signing Group of Angolan entreprenuers visit Back of the Yards Special Service Area #13 celebrates Stockyard-area businesses El Fantasma De-van-te China town post-graduation adventures South Siders rally for long-term mental health services Chicagoan youngest to partner with Jewel-Osco

GateNews

The

Dependable Community Journalism Serving Back of the Yards, Little Village, Pilsen, Brighton Park, Archer Heights, Bridgeport, Stockyards, and West Englewood since 2010.

1823 West 47th Street Chicago, IL 60609 773-523-4416 www.thegatenewspaper.com

PUBLISHED BY

The Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council Craig Chico, BYNC President cchico@bync.org Edwin Garcia, BYNC Director of Finance egarcia@bync.org Gloria Talamantes, editor editor@thegatenewspaper.com

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t October 2018 TheGateNews | 3

Poet, José Olivarez turns out crowd for book signing

Before the event starts, a few people line up to place their orders while some high school students take a selfie with their free copy of Citizen Illegal. (The Gate/Vanessa Burciaga)

José Olivarez meets local street vendor during book signing. Local street vendor, Carlos Olmos is also a poet and writer. (The Gate/Vanessa Burciaga)

By Gloria Talamantes More than 50 youth from across Chicago visited Back of the Yards to attend a book signing of Citizen Illegal, a poetry book by José Olivarez released on Sept. 4. The book signing brought in youth from universities like Northwestern and high school’s like Jones College Preparatory, Back of the Yards College Preparatory, Richards Career Academy and other neighborhood schools. More than 50 copies of the book Citizen Illegal were given away to youth and other attendees the night of the signing, with support from Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council and The Port Ministries. As the room filled up and people purchased their drinks, there was a brief introduction by The Gate News of two Chicago youth poets, Sammy Ortega, and Matthew Wilbourne. Both Ortega and Wilbourne took the audience’s attention with poetry about the neighborhood, segregation, about themselves, society and their experiences. After a couple of poems, Olivarez commanded the stage and read his poetry from his book. Everyone turned to each poem from the book they received. Olivarez joked and said it reminded him of church. In

collective harmony, everyone laughed. After he read a few of his poems, the night ended with a line that spanned the length of the coffeehouse. Attendees waited and enjoyed posing their questions answered and their feedback heard by the author. Olivarez’s book is relatable to many youth who come from immigrant families or share the immigrant experience. The poetry gives reassurance that culture and the immigrant experience matter. Events like this are essential because they allow youth to see people like themselves doing things that can seem unattainable. Furthermore, arts and culture in Back of the Yards can be a strategy for businesses to create an educational component that can bring in new customers from the neighborhood to try something new. In times where parents are concerned about the neighborhood’s safety, it is essential for organizations and community to work together to create these experiences for young people who are breaking barriers. But parents like Norma Diaz said that bad news creates fear. However, she mentions that she has the privilege of having a vehicle. This gives her the option to pick up her kids from after-school activities.

“There is fear, but I allow my kids to stay after school or go to the library and other places, but it’s because thankfully, I have a car and I can pick them up,” said Diaz. She is a longtime Back of the Yards resident who has two high school teens who attend Richards Career Academy, six younger children who are in elementary school and two who are too young to participate in school. While this book signing event was created with youth in mind, it also attracted educators, neighborhood residents and a local street vendor. Educators who attended were there to take back the material to youth in their classrooms for Hispanic Heritage month. A local street vendor, Carlos Olmos, whose poem you can find in this month’s issue of The Gate was also in attendance. There were also attendees from various parts of the city who came to hear José Olivarez. Gloria Valle, 20, who previously worked as a teaching artist in Back of the Yards came to attend Olivarez’s book signing. She said the event made her realize that being able to engage the author also made her aware of the type of mind who wrote the book, which in turn, motivated her to grab his book. “If I would’ve been exposed to something

like this in high school, it would’ve made me more interested in reading as I would not feel like I’m getting a book tossed,” she said. “It is very inspirational to see people from Chicago succeed and when they come and show us that we can do that too, it’s amazing.” The same can be said of the Back of the Yards Coffeehouse business and its coowners. The two Back of the Yards residents are actively working on changing the narrative of their neighborhood through a unique and thoughtful business model. The coffee shop is creating space for locals to participate in various cultural events and host some of their own. The coffee shop hosts pop-up readings for children, an open-mic every second Wed. of the month as well as a storytelling gathering every first Thursday of the month. If you’d like to partner with The Gate, please email us at editor@thegatenewspaper. com. We are looking to co-create more opportunities to promote literature and writing in Back of the Yards. We are also interested in coordinating experiences to help drive customers to support local businesses in the community.

4 | TheGateNews October 2018kyards . West Englewood

Angolan entrepreneurs visit Back of the Yards

Angolan entreprenuers speaking to BYNC’s progran director Sonya Eldridge. (The Gate/Gloria Talamantes)

After a meeting at BYNC, the group walks to Back of the Yards Coffeehouse to see a business model in practice. (The Gate/Gloria Talamantes)

By Gloria Talamantes From Angola to Chicago, business entrepreneurs learn about best business practices in Chicago’s Back of the Yards neighborhood. On Monday, Sept. 24, a group of small business owners from Angola came to visit the Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council (BYNC) to learn about fiscal transparencies in business, research business models and best practices for communities in large cities like Chicago. The group is part of the United States Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership (IVL) program, a program that provides opportunities to learn about political, cultural, social and economic diversity in the United States for emerging professionals around the world.

Angolan business entrepreneurs who participated ranged in businesses like a travel agency, marketing company, physical therapy center and many more. During the visit to BYNC, they learned about local businesses like Rumi and the Back of the Yards Coffeehouse. Recently, these businesses won the small business FedEx award for their local and global impact business models. After a brief Q & A to learn about city services that are provided for local small to medium businesses, they visited Back of the Yards Coffeehouse and Roastery, where they saw one of the business models in practice. Having the opportunity to visit the business also gave them a chance to speak to Jesse Iñiguez, co-owner of the coffee house. This

experience allowed them to ask him specific questions that helped support some of the things they had already learned during the visit to BYNC. Cleonice Vilinga, is the owner of a mediumsize family business, where she manages the day-to-day activities and supervises workers in the clothing production shop. She’s a technical designer for the tailoring and design business activity for African outfits and believes that taking back what she’s learned in Chicago and implement back home in Angola. “What we are learning here in Chicago is helping us a lot because we have a few difficulties in our country to start with the ideas we have. As we are seeing, we are learning a lot and when we go back we’re going to start,” said Vilinga. She also believes

that those who have the opportunity to share with the world should do just that. “Go on, take on what you learn here [you should] take to Africa and the world.” This program focuses on teaching best practices for small and medium sized businesses that have a transnational focus. The IVL exchange program is funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The crosscultural project was organized by World Chicago in collaboration with the Bureau of Educational and Cultural affairs.

Special Service Area #13 celebrates Stockyard-area businesses By Gate News

Stockyard-area businesses network during the first two hours of Stamp Eat 2018. (The Gate/Vanessa Burciaga)

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On Thursday, Oct. 7 the Special Service Area (SSA #13) celebrated local businesses. Managed by the Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council, SSA#13 also organized the annual Stamp Eat. The event took place at the Stockyards Garage, Chicago’s only motorcycle-themed venue. Local elected officials, State Sen. Tony Muñoz and Ald. Raymond Lopez (15) came to support the Stockyard businesses. Stamp Eat was also attended by mayoral candidate and former mayoral chief of staff to Mayor Daley, Gery Chico. Every year, Stamp Eat brings Stockyardarea businesses together for an evening of networking, food, raffles and giveaways. For more information about SSA#13 visit www.bync.org

SSA#13 commissioner, James Matanky announces the raffle winners (The Gate/Vanessa Burciaga)

October 2018 TheGateNews

6 | TheGateNews October 2018Stockyards . West Englewood

El Fantasma

De-van-te

By Carlos Olmos

By Sammy Ortega

En, el aire, en los ruidos, en los colores, percíbelos con nueva atención; porque siempre, siempre junto a ti estará, un fantasma Mira, escucha, observa, percíbe Percibeme porque yo…estoy de vuelta Tal vez en ese vientecillo que te revuelve el pelo o tal vez, en ese rayo de luz de sol que se desliza a lo largo de tu pelo trenzándose en ėl.

Estate atenta y reza, porque Ahí puedo ir yo.

dark brown skin on the brown side of the neighborhood cool with by brown men his age when his mouth was shut

Escrito en el hospital Providence Cook County de Chicago en el Invierno del 2010.

because De-van-te talk black

huracanado al pasar corriendo por la calle y azotando las ventanas iba gritando tu nombre

No hispanics aware of color talked to him in the open if you understood gangs well, you probably didn’t hang out with De-van-te

Cuando camines calle abajo sintiéndote triste y sola, y un pájaro parado en una rama te observa atentamente a lo largo de tu paso, estate atenta a esos ojos, porque ahí puede haber consuelo, porque ahí puedo estar yo.

every hispanic teen think since De-van-te is black talk black dress black he is black stone

O tal vez cuando sentada en El banco de un parque un cachorillo Alborozado llegue a jugar con tu zapato, acarícialo, porque en esos mimos, puedo estar yo O cuando en algún cálido día de Primavera una llovizna pertinaz y tibia tamborilee tu ventana ábrela y recíbela en tus palmas porque puedo ser yo besando tus manos. Y cuando en alguna noche cerrada en medio de la tormenta despiertes sobresaltada porque Creíste escuchar, que el viento

Carlos Olmos, 69, es un escritor, poeta y vendedor ambulante Mexicano local en Back of the Yards. Estudió ingeniería industrial en la ciudad de México. La escritura es su don. En 2010, pensando que iba morir después de un infarto, en un cuarto de hospital, el escribió este poema para su hija.

loose fit khakis, black low top air force ones Could do it With no laces De-van-te didn’t want another detention for not wearing a belt he used laces would hate if he missed another layup in the milk basket rim attached to a tree so he used laces Never said NO to a game of HORSE with us, the elementary kids we prayed at every shot he took, fearing if he missed the milk basket he would not be brown enough to hang with hispanics he would not be good enough a ball player to be black

Elementary kids don’t know what a black stone is De-van-te played pick up with elementary kids after school. bell rung at 2:45 De-van-te crossing the youth over in unbuttoned tilden high polo

Sammy Ortega is a 19-year-old writer from the South Side of Chicago. Much of his work focuses on the Back of the Yards neighborhood, and the viaduct on 49th Street that segregates the Brown and Black communities. He is a member of the Kuumba Lynx Performance Ensemble. In last years LTAB competition he competed with Kuumba Lynx and won the team finals competition. His poem “Water Pressure” was recently published in the South Side Weekly and the Chicago Tribune. Three of his poems recently released in the much-anticipated poetry anthology “The end of Chiraq” published through the Northwestern University Press in May 2018. Sammy is a firm believer in taking a risk with the things he loves. He is currently a freshman pursuing a Bachelors of Arts in Creative Writing with a concentration in Poetry at Columbia

China town post-graduation adventures By Carlos Ramirez, 15

(The Gate News)

When I graduated 8th grade, my mentor and friend Ricky promised that he would take us out to get Chinese food from Chinatown to celebrate before we all went to high school. So, Eric, Adriel, Ricky, Cynthia and myself set out to celebrate. Eric and Adriel are my good friends from San Miguel school. We all grew up in the Back of the Yards neighborhood together. Cynthia is our friend and mentor who worked at San Miguel with Ricky. We finally decided where to eat. We went in and ordered our food. While we were waiting for our food, we talked about the future and how we were going to each live our lives. We talked, laughed, and had some of the best food I have ever tasted in my life. When we finished eating, we decided to explore Chinatown. Eric, Adriel, and I decided to run off on our own, we saw some pretty girls and tried to see who could get their numbers. Eric and Adriel chickened out as we approached them, but I kept going. Once I was face to face with one of them, I introduced myself and asked for her number. She giggled and asked for my age when I told her I was

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14 she laughed and said she was too old for me. It was a little embarrassing, but I am pretty proud of myself for trying. Since that didn’t work out, we met up with Ricky and Cynthia again and walked to the park right by the river. It was dark already when we got there, but we were still excited to run around. Out of nowhere, Adriel told us he would jump in the river for $20. Ricky and Cynthia told us not to, but it was too late, the idea stuck in my mind. Adriel, Eric, and I kept saying we were going to do it but couldn’t find the courage actually to do it. That’s when out of nowhere I just sprinted full speed towards the river and jumped. As I was in the air, I looked back and saw Adriel right behind me. We splashed into the river, I felt fearless and free but also disgusted by the murky water that stunk. Still, I felt so accomplished, and that is a moment I will never forget. The problem was how to get out from the river and up to the park. The river is two feet down from the edge of the park. Thankfully, Ricky and Eric pulled us out easily.

But then, Eric decided to jump in with us, so we had to do it all over again. This time it was a lot harder for Ricky to pull us out because we were all wet and slippery. After Ricky pulled one of us out, we all helped each other get out of the river. It was time to call it a night and we headed towards the car. Still wet, we stunk up the car so much that Cynthia and Ricky had to cover their noses with their shirts. We rode all the way back home with all the windows down and smiles on our faces.

This story was written during a Toltecas Checagou storytelling workshop. Toltecas Checagou offers free storytelling workshops to youth who reside in underserved communities. Their goal is to inspire self-reflection and dialogue about our histories, encourage healing, build relationships and celebrate our lives.

October 2018 TheGateNews

South Siders rally for long-term mental health services By Gloria Talamantes On Sept. 27 in Back of the Yards, a group of people from various neighborhoods across the South and Southwest Sides of Chicago rallied to demand long-term mental health and trauma-informed services. The group’s initiative is to bring awareness and address the lack of access to mental health care as well as redefine what that the services match the needs of the community. Asociación Colaborativa para el Bienestar Comunitario or Collaborative for Community Wellness (CCW) is a group consisting of community residents, local organizations, and mental health professionals. The group convened in the morning and together they took their demands to the streets of Back of the Yards. Amongst a few different chants, the group rallied north on Ashland Ave. And chanted in Spanish, “Que queremos?! Salud Mental! Cuando? Ahora!” (What do we want?! Mental Health, When do we want it? Now!”). The group made their way from The Port Ministries on 50th and Hermitage Ave. to 43rd and Ashland Ave. Once in the parking lot of the plaza, community organizer, Andrea Ortiz, with the Brighton Park Neighborhood Council, introduced Linda Coronado who demanded the re-opening of mental health clinics. “What’s symbolic about being here on

43rd and Ashland is that one of the mental health clinics [here] was closed. In particular this community, for example, we’ve had ICE raids,” said Coronado. “Where are people supposed to go for services?” Coronado is a long-time resident of Back of the Yards, activist and organizer throughout the Southwest Side. In April 2012, Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s budget consisted of closing six of 12 mental health clinics, four of them being on the South and Southwest Sides. Currently, the city of Chicago has five mental health clinics and one in Roseland, which is operated by Cook County. The crowd continued chanting in-between statements made by various community organizers and activists. Advocate and activist Diane Adams said that she lost her son, Deondre Adams to a drive-by causing her to go through substantial periods of grief for years without knowing how much a trauma like that could affect her mental well-being. Through years of counseling, she is now able to speak about mental health awareness and advocate on behalf of it. “I live in Park Manor, but I was living in Washington Heights when my son got killed,” said Adams. “It took me 13 years to get to where I’m at today, 13 years.”

(Port Ministries) Adams has shared her story with the crowd minutes earlier and she was able to overcome some of her anxieties because of the mental health services she’s received. “By having a therapist who listened to me, not giving me feedback but just listen to me and let me work out my own problems, I became a stronger person,” said Adams. Her therapist taught her about mental illnesses and credited her for her ability to understand how important mental health is. “I started making goals. I have a support system, it’s my mother and my cousin, so they keep me focused,” she said. “That’s why I became an activist because I know what

mental health [awareness] can do for you because it’s done it for me.” The collaborative came together with the efforts of The Center for Community Wellness which is financially supported by Saint Anthony Hospital. For more information about CCW visit the partner organizations or visit http:// sahchicago.org/

Chicagoan youngest to partner with Jewel-Osco

Photo: Moon Meals

By Gloria Talamantes As the youngest Chicagoan to partner with Jewel-Osco as a prepared food supplier, LaForce Baker, 29 says that his passion for cooking began at home in his grandmother Eunice Rucker’s kitchen. “She made some of the best rolls, she would have to make the dough and then let the dough rise and then cut out each of the rolls,” said Baker. Rolls were his favorite food to prepare alongside his grandmother. “So, I would like helping her make that dough and cut out the rolls so she could put them in the oven. They would always come out crispy and flaky. It wasn’t the healthiest meal [but] I

liked helping her bake.” It wasn’t long before he realized that the cooking was a bit unhealthy.” Realizing that the foods he was eating weren’t the healthiest, during his high school years he began to make changes in his diet and lifestyle. He started growing vegetables with his grandmother in her garden and began preparing healthy meals. “I would help my grandmother garden so we could eat fresh vegetables, so instead of deep frying it or something I would turn it into salads,” said Baker In 2014, as a young adult, he began a fouryear journey with his business, Moon Meals Inc. Moon Meals began as a small delivery service that delivered a healthy meal as an alternative to

pizza late at night. Hence the name Moon Meals. “It was a healthy meal under the moon,” said Baker. It wasn’t until a huge lunchtime catering order was requested when Moon Meals business changed. Baker said we’re called “We’re Moon Meals, not Sun Meals.” But after learning that the lunch was for 800 people, he said: “We’re Sun Meals today!.” The catering order is what changed the trajectory of the business. The young entrepreneurstarted doing daytime catering and kept the same mission, to have healthy meals more accessible to people. Wanting to get people a lower price for their meals and having it be accessible to individuals rather than only groups, they soon started delivering the product in wholesale to small coffee shops. After a successful year and collected data, Baker took that information to major retailers like Jewel Osco and they gave them the opportunity to sell their product. Moon Meals ended up being one of their top-selling products in prepared food as well as vegetarian food. Growing up, Baker remembers the opposite of healthy. Baker recalls growing up in Washington Heights, a working-class neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side that he also describes as a food swamp because there is access to mostly unhealthy food and snacks. He remembers running around Euclid Park with his friend and not being able to keep up during a football tryout. Now he runs marathons and says his grandmother is proud of him. “She’s proud of me because I’m an example to not only my family but to the community that I grew up in. It’s an example that you can make an impact on the world,” said Baker.

He graduated from Morgan Park High School and received a full-ride merit and leadership scholarship to attend Denison University in Ohio where he majored in Communications. “When I was growing up, I was one of the smartest kids in my class, there was never a question of whether or not I’d go to college it was more a question of what college would I go to. However most of the people in my neighborhood did not go to college, so, I always felt like I stood out from the pack,” said Baker. “I’d be talking about doing after-school programs or math and science and research programs.” His first after-school job wasn’t the typical first-time job like bagging groceries or flipping burgers. He was working as a lab assistant at the University of Illinois at Chicago’s (UIC) Craniofacial Genetics Lab. His daily routine consisted of going to school, working at the lab, then later at night walking home to a neighborhood of kids who were standing around outside. Chef LaForce Baker credits his mentors, and his Communication major that helped him structure his thoughts and ideas. He also uses the skills to articulate his business model to retail chains about the Fiesta Wrap and his company’s mission. “I feel like my degree helped me to do that and I also feel like it helped me to write effectively, to give presentations, and to be able to present them effectively,” he said. The Fiesta Wrap, a burrito-like meal is healthy and affordable he says. He wants to make it easier for people to access a healthy meal, something he said was hard for him to attain when he was young. Pick up the Fiesta Wrap at one of 187 Illinois-