March 16, 2017
Community organizations come
together to denounce Obama Presidential Center CBA proposal
Michele Thomas speaks out on lack of community involvement
in recent development decisions for the Obama Presidential Center at a
community meeting, Thursday, March 16. – Christopher Amati
By CHRISTOPHER AMATI
Staff Writer
Representatives of three south side
community organizations that work in communities surrounding the future home of
the Obama Presidential Center (OPC) in Jackson Park came together at Island
Terrace Apartments, 6430 S. Stony Island Ave., Thursday morning, March 16, to
denounce the formation of a new organization that they said excludes them from
being a part of efforts to have community input in the building of the Obama
Presidential Center in favor of well-connected operatives promoted by special
interests and Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
About 40 people were in attendance
at the meeting, which was held in the first floor social room of the apartment
building. During the meeting, several speakers described what they see as an
attempt to leave them out of any plans for the redevelopment of the neighborhood
in the wake of the building of the Obama Presidential Center.
Representatives from Southside
Together Organizing for Power (STOP), Kenwood Oakland Community Organization
(KOCO) and Prayer and Action Collective (PAC) spoke against what they see
as outsiders and politically connected local power brokers working with the
current city administration to exclude real voices from their community.
“It’s a shame, there is no need to
create an organization to try to undermine the community,” Jeanette Taylor
said.
She said community residents have
been meeting two or three times a week since last summer but were not informed
about the Next Street organization, which recently gave a presentation at the
5th Ward meeting at the South Shore Cultural Center and will present again
at the upcoming 8th Annual Woodlawn Community Summit on Saturday, March
18.
During the 5th Ward meeting on March
9, representatives from Next Street, an organizational consulting firm, gave a
presentation outlining a proposal for a new, yet to be named organization that
would “drive and manage the growth” seen as coming to the neighborhoods of
South Shore, Woodlawn and Washington Park in the wake of the construction of
the Obama Presidential Center (OPC).
During the March 9, presentation Next
Street representative Charisse C. Johnson said the
new organization is envisioned as a way to “encourage growth on the south side”
and “tap into the urgency and the energy of these times.
Investment and involvement in the
community, an assessment of each neighborhood’s strengths and needs and “growth
without displacement” were some of the ideas and concepts mentioned at the
March 9, meeting.
“It’s a shame that the Obama
foundation would not do its job and seek out the community group that has been
working in the community and who has a real community based process,” Taylor
said. “Instead they choose to put together the usual suspects who like to be
the face of their false community involvement. It excludes voices that
disagree.”
Taylor named Rev. Byron Brazier and
Torrey Barrett of K.L.E.O Community family Life Center as two of the
individuals who are pretending to represent the community without actually
doing so.
“These people need to wake up,” she
said of the Obama Foundation. “They are not getting our input. We do not need a
CBA that doesn’t help the young black and brown people of the community we need
a CBA that will properly respond to the needs to the community that will be
impacted.”
William Thomas, a student and the
University of Chicago and a member of the Prayer and Action Collective, said
the university should help make sure the CBA has true community involvement.
“The University of Chicago has a
history of supporting development projects that have pushed a lot of people out
of the neighborhood, especially black people,” Thomas said. “It has a
responsibility to support its neighbors by signing a legally binding agreement.
”
Michele Williams added some
historical perspective, saying she had seen black people moved from their homes
and seen the promises made to them broken time and time again in her 75 years
as a Chicagoan.
“We have been removed from
neighborhoods over and over,” Williams said. “They tell us ‘you can come
back.’” I don’t care who lives here, I just don’t want to move.”
Williams said the foundation has
“come to us as a community. We want you to include us, not exclude us.”
Williams also complained about the
lack of involvement from the Ald. Leslie Hairston (5th).
She has meetings but what about the
people who can’t get out?” Williams said.
Williams expressed her love for
former President Barack Obama but made a distinction between the man and his
Presidential Center.
“When it’s built, who’s going to be
running it?” Williams asked. “The little people do care about you but we just
don’t want to go out of our neighborhood.”