Block 1: “The Stage”
Block 1: “The Stage”
I pulled up on the block and right away a couple of older guys asked me for t-shirts. That’s one of the things I’m known for in Chicago–apparel with the logo of my nonprofit “My Block, My Hood, My City” printed across the chest. Years of this work should have prepared me. I know better.
This particular block was in the Bronzeville community, Chicago’s heralded “Black Metropolis,” and it’s where I met a neighbor named Ernie for a tour of his community garden. His is a beautiful block, and unique. I feel like the buildings are a combination of those tightly packed Washington, D.C. row homes mixed with the vibrant pops of color you’d find on the Amalfi Coast of Italy. Ernie’s been here for 65 years and so I asked him how things have changed over that time. “I done seen things go from bad to worse to bad to good," he tells me.
The block has this beautiful field of grass right in the middle with a slab of concrete at the front that neighbors like to call "The Stage." In the back is where the actual garden is. There’s something like 19 plots and every neighbor takes care of their own bed. Some of the more zealous folks tend to their portion starting in March while others really take to it in the summer. Across those 19 garden beds you can find everything from bell peppers to tomatoes to collard greens.
Ernie wasn’t asking for help, but I am here to listen and I could tell that the condition of some things in the community garden could be improved. He admitted that they could use some support with a "petilla." because the older neighbors needed some shade when gardening. I asked what a "petilla" was and he pointed to a broken-down wooden structure some ways away. "Oh! A pergola!" He didn’t know how to say it, but it's all good because I didn’t even know what a pergola was until about six months ago. This is why I love to be on the block–we're out here learning and growing together.
My goal to visit 100 blocks in 100 days is really just about getting back to doing what I love: spending time with the good people of Chicago in order to better understand the needs and concerns of the block clubs my organization supports. The plan is to just pull up, walk, and talk. And so I told Ernie I’d see what we could do to get the good folks some shade from the sun.
