Until I can finish up a few of my longer blog posts, I wanted to offer up a quick note about how much I’ve enjoyed Chicago, especially its diversity. Although I’ve traveled to many places in the world, I’ve never been to Chicago. This acknowledgment leads most of my friends and students to give incredulous looks and comments of “Really? How can that be????” I’m a bit surprised myself given my proximity and the frequent Southwest specials from Nashville. But…there you have it.
Yesterday we checked out Taste of Chicago, The Art Institute of Chicago, and the Sears Tower (holy heck it‘s high!!). By nightfall, most of us where bone tired from all the walking we’d done. Today was a bit more relaxed--our primary goal was to wander through different neighborhoods looking at architecture and other identity markers (e.g., bill boards) associated with each place.
We started off in Chinatown with its bubble tea stores, Chinese restaurants, and pharmacies full of Chinese herbs not found in your typical Walgreen's store. Heading back downtown for lunch we passed by Arabesque, Chicago’s annual Arab festival. We were short on time, so nobody got henna tattoos but we did wander through the “souk,” or marketplace, looking at incense, belly dancing chains, and middle eastern desserts.
We took the train to a Hispanic/Latino neighborhood on the edge Wicker Park, a once working class neighborhood now gentrified and featuring many a hip “bo-bo” (bourgeois and bohemian) boutique. In Wicker Park, even the dentists are hip:
From there I broke off from the group for a quick walk just past Roberto Clemente high school where the boutiques promptly ended and empty lots and rundown buildings began. It was, perhaps, the most obvious shift of neighborhood. Turning around, some of us got lucky and stumbled upon Holy Trinity Cathedral, a lovely Russian Orthodox church built by famous architect Louis H. Sullivan. (I asked Chris to take some photos that would do the cathedral justice. I'll post them soon.)
Just around the corner we came across a local (and fun!) block party on the edge of Chicago’s “Ukrainian Village.”
Having working up a hunger, we headed back into the city for deep dish pizza at Giordano‘s!
If Chicago weren’t so darn cold, I could definitely think about living here. It’s got a good vibe--hustle and bustle downtown and tree-lined neighborhoods and lovely parks when you want something more serene. Much like the rest of our country Chicago is diverse. In my mind, that is one of its most desirable features and the one I may remember the most.
A few days ago we visited Mt. Rushmore, a monument to U.S. history called the "Temple to Democracy" by some. But, it's certainly not our entire history. Nearby, members of the Lakota Tribe are constructing their own monument to Crazy Horse, their leader who is best known for his role in the Battle of Little Bighorn. In part, the crafting of this monument is their response to being left out of the dominant "stories" of our past. In other words, they are literally carving out space for themselves and their people. I get that. It hurts to be left out of a game or not invited to a party. Can you imagine being left out of history in major ways? That doesn't just hurt the Lakota as a people, it hurts all Americans. Because if we don't *truly* know our past, how do we know how we got here and who we truly are as a nation?
That said, while it's important that we acknowledge, honor, and sometimes atone for our past we can't be stuck in the past. We need to have one foot firmly in the present--and be headed into our future. So, to bring it back to the start of this post, I've been pondering ways we can acknowledge and affirm the diversity of our past and of our present without carving up another mountain. Perhaps we could print new money--something that most people see on a regular basis. It could include drawings of teachers, farmers, slaves, coal miners, artists, doctors, retail clerks, scientists, and so on. (And, while we're at it, let's make the money prettier--pinks, blues, silver, spring green, etc.) What do you think? What ideas do you have for celebrating the diverse peoples who built and continue to build the United States?
That said, while it's important that we acknowledge, honor, and sometimes atone for our past we can't be stuck in the past. We need to have one foot firmly in the present--and be headed into our future. So, to bring it back to the start of this post, I've been pondering ways we can acknowledge and affirm the diversity of our past and of our present without carving up another mountain. Perhaps we could print new money--something that most people see on a regular basis. It could include drawings of teachers, farmers, slaves, coal miners, artists, doctors, retail clerks, scientists, and so on. (And, while we're at it, let's make the money prettier--pinks, blues, silver, spring green, etc.) What do you think? What ideas do you have for celebrating the diverse peoples who built and continue to build the United States?
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