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AUSTINWEEKLY news ■ Congressman Davis endorses U.S. presidential candidate, PAGE 2
Vol. 33 No. 39
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July 31, 2019
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austinweeklynews.com
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Also serving Garfield Park
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Austin ti G Green Team T seeks k volunteers, page 12
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West Side clergy highlight legacy of 1919 race riot
Riot’s root causes haven’t been addressed, community leaders say By MICHAEL ROMAIN Editor
On July 27, several hundred people gathered at Christ the King Jesuit College Preparatory High School, 5088 Jackson Blvd., for the bi-annual West Side Peace Tournament and Resource Fair sponsored by various community organizations, including the Leaders Network, the Westside Branch NAACP and the Chicago All Stars Project. During a press conference held inside Christ the King’s gymnasium at noon, a group of West Side ministers and community leaders emphasized the day’s historical significance. One hundred years earlier — on Sunday, July 27, 1919 — Eugene Williams, 17, drowned in Lake Michigan after a white mob hurled stones at the Black teenager, because he was swimming on the “white side” of a segregated beach near 29th Street. Williams’ death touched off a week-long riot on the South Side that resulted in 38 fatalities — 23 Blacks and 15 whites — and more than 500 people injured. See RIOT’S LEGACY on page 4
SHANEL ROMAIN/Contributor
A song for you
Maurice Kitchen, right, organized a tribute to beloved Farragut High School music teacher Connie DuBose (also known as Miss D), center, during the 30th Annual Farragut Reunion Picnic held July 27 in Douglas Park, at the corner of Ogden Ave. and Sacramento Blvd. A 100-voice alumni choir comprised of DuBose’s former students, some from 60 years ago, serenaded the teacher with an array of songs. More photos on page 11.
A plan to keep East Garfield Park affordable? Metropolitan Planning Council, other organizations confront gentrification By IGOR STUDENKOV Contributing Reporter
During a housing affordability workshop held July 23 at 345 Art Gallery, 345 N. Kedzie Ave., officials with the Metropolitan Planning Council brainstormed with East Garfield Park residents about ways to manage the gentrification happening in the West Side community. The organization’s representatives also
announced intentions to develop a plan for avoiding the displacement that often comes after gentrification. Several of the roughly 40 people who attended last week’s meeting pointed out that, while residents want more businesses, more job opportunities, more amenities and more investment in their community — they’re leery of the rising property taxes and rents that tend to accompany those positive forces.
The Metropolitan Planning Council is a nonprofit based in the Loop and founded in 1934 in order shape “a more equitable, sustainable and prosperous greater Chicago region,” according to its website. “Our hope is to convene a communitydriven process to make sure that new development that comes to East Garfield Park also benefits current residents and See EAST GARFIELD PARK on page 10
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