The Chicago Project

The Chicago Project

Friday Night

The monotony of the six-hour drive from Jamestown was broken when the lights of Chicago appeared ahead.  Conversations about school and friends faded away, replaced by questions of what the evening would bring.  As we made a large turn on route 90 and headed due north, the Sears Tower rose above the horizon, and all thoughts of the long trip and hard work to earn it evaporated.  The next half hour was a rising tide of lights, traffic, buildings, and city noise as we neared downtown. 

 We rolled into North Lawndale around 9 PM Friday evening. The lure of the city’s lights, energy and night life went abruptly silent when we exited the highway onto Homan Avenue. The hum of cars gave way to honking horns and vibrating bass. Students pulled their faces away from the windows, suddenly conscious (probably for the first time in their life) of their skin color— that they were the ones that stood out and were markedly different from the rest of the neighborhood.

We arrived at our home base for the next few days: a community center.  After we unloaded, Kirk Reynolds, the owner of the center, met with us.  Kirk welcomed us to the community center and the neighborhood.  He told us about the history of North Lawndale, and of the current regentrification occurring. Kirk also gave us people new to the inner city some important guidelines for our understanding and safety.  Afterwards, we rolled out our sleeping bags, turned out the lights, and listened to the unfamiliar and unsettling din of the city.