My experience visiting Bronzeville did little in terms of altering and/or affirming my perceptions of Chicago as a whole. However, through my research and general knowledge of the area where Bronzeville is located, I had developed apprehensive expectations as to how safe the neighborhood would be. Not to impose any rash stereotypes but Chicago’s South side is known for being rather violent. Once we visited the neighborhood, my perceptions were certainly altered. Bronzeville is quite nice!
Bronzeville is similar to my hometown (Springfield, Illinois) in that it was well developed and had several strips for its residents which included many mainstream shops such as Starbucks, Jimmy Johns, and even a froyo shop! However, it was quite different from my hometown in that fact that the White Sox stadium was just down the street from the L stop we got off at!
The surprises we encountered while researching the community was the wealth of African American history rooted in Bronzeville. I had no notion of Bronzeville contribution to African American culture. For instance, the moment we got off the L, we saw this beautiful mural of all the African American individuals who once, and still do in some cases, called Bronzeville home. Additionally, as mentioned previously, I was surprised to find the White Sox stadium in Bronzeville! I suppose I focused so much of my research on the history of the area that I never realized the stadium would be right there! My dad and his siblings grew up on the South side because that is where many of the Irish immigrants (his parents being no exception) settled when they came to America. Therefore, we are HUGE White Sox fans! I grew up visiting the stadium for games with my family so it was a nice surprise that my UNIV group got assigned to the very neighborhood in which it is located!
In terms of social justice issues, we happened to sit next to a resident of Bronzeville on our way back to Loyola. She was a 24-year-old South sider named Taylor and she discussed with us the very real, painful reality of gun violence in the South side. She has lost cousins and friends to gun violence and she expressed how it has become a daily battle in coping with and accepting this new reality.
Bronzeville is similar to my hometown (Springfield, Illinois) in that it was well developed and had several strips for its residents which included many mainstream shops such as Starbucks, Jimmy Johns, and even a froyo shop! However, it was quite different from my hometown in that fact that the White Sox stadium was just down the street from the L stop we got off at!
The surprises we encountered while researching the community was the wealth of African American history rooted in Bronzeville. I had no notion of Bronzeville contribution to African American culture. For instance, the moment we got off the L, we saw this beautiful mural of all the African American individuals who once, and still do in some cases, called Bronzeville home. Additionally, as mentioned previously, I was surprised to find the White Sox stadium in Bronzeville! I suppose I focused so much of my research on the history of the area that I never realized the stadium would be right there! My dad and his siblings grew up on the South side because that is where many of the Irish immigrants (his parents being no exception) settled when they came to America. Therefore, we are HUGE White Sox fans! I grew up visiting the stadium for games with my family so it was a nice surprise that my UNIV group got assigned to the very neighborhood in which it is located!
In terms of social justice issues, we happened to sit next to a resident of Bronzeville on our way back to Loyola. She was a 24-year-old South sider named Taylor and she discussed with us the very real, painful reality of gun violence in the South side. She has lost cousins and friends to gun violence and she expressed how it has become a daily battle in coping with and accepting this new reality.