This article from Chicago Magazine is a Q&A with Luis Gutierrez, CEO of Latinos Progresando, about the GCI report Fuerza Mexicana: The Past, Present, and Power of Mexicans in Chicagoland. Gutierrez was asked on many topics of the report, such as how young the Mexican population is, Mexican households, representation and visibility, employment and political influence.
From Chicago Magazine (To go to the actual article, please click on this link.)
Chicago 7 interviews GCI Senior Fellow Juan González and GCI Director Teresa Córdova on the report Fuerza Mexicana: The Past, Present, and Power of Mexicans in Chicagoland. The two speak on the impact Mexicans have in Chicago, such as how Mexicans make up about 70% of all construction workers in Chicago, among other important findings and history covered in the report.
From ABC 7 Chicago (To go to the actual article, please click on this link.)
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Tuesday, September 17th, 2024
8:00 AM to 2:00 PM
University of Illinois Chicago – Student Center East, Illinois Room
750 S. Halsted St., Chicago, IL 60607
Dr. Teresa Córdova, Director, Great Cities Institute
Dr. Teresa Córdova is Director of the Great Cities Institute at the University of Illinois Chicago and Professor of Urban Planning and Policy. In addition to strategies for community and economic development, her work focuses on global/local dynamics and the impacts of global economic restructuring on local communities, including impacts of resource extraction. She is an expert in methodologies of engaged research. She publishes in the fields of Community Development and Latino/a Studies.
Dr. Elena Gonzales, Curator of Civil Engagement and Social Justice, Chicago History Museum
Dr. Elena Gonzales is the Curator of Civil Engagement and Social Justice at the Chicago History Museum. She is also the author of Exhibitions for Social Justice and is currently curating the Aquí en Chicago exhibition, which plans on opening in Fall 2025. The exhibit is the result of the Rudy Lozano Student Protest in 2019, where high school students criticized the museum’s lack of Latino history representation.
Luis Gutierrez, CEO, Latinos Progresando
Luis Gutierrez is the son of Mexican immigrants, born and raised in Chicago’s Little Village. In addition to founding Latinos Progresando, Luis is an innovator in the nonprofit space, building diverse coalitions across communities and sectors, including the Marshall Square Resource Network, the Excellerator Fund, and the One Lawndale movement. In addition to serving on several nonprofit boards, Luis is also a Commissioner with the Chicago Housing Authority.
Linda Xóchitl Tortolero, President and CEO, Mujeres Latinas en Acción
Linda Xóchitl Tortolero is the president and CEO of Mujeres Latinas en Acción,the longest standing Latina organization in the U.S. During her tenure, Mujeres became a national Culturally Specific Sexual Assault Center under the FVPSA program of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. With this work, Mujeres provides training and technical assistance to Latine communities and organizations across the U.S. She also serves on the Action Council of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, and the Women’s Advisory Council and Gender Based Violence Taskforce of the Mayor’s Office for the City of Chicago.
José M. Muñoz, Executive Director, La Casa Norte
José M. Muñoz is the Executive Director of La Casa Norte, one of the largest youth and family service providers for housing instability and homelessness in Chicago, as well as a Commissioner for the Chicago Park District. Muñoz has over 20 years of experience in executive management, government affairs, and public relations. He has previously worked for Casa Central as the Chief Marketing Officer and Vice President of External Affairs as well as served as Vice President of The Resurrection Project.
Adrian Soto, Executive Director, Greater Southwest Development Corporation
Adrian Soto is the Executive Director of the Greater Southwest Development Corporation, a community development organization aimed at improving living conditions in southwest Chicago. He oversees all strategic, operational, management, and regulatory responsibilities. He formerly worked as a Chief Strategy Officer at Esperanza Health Centers.
Cristina de la Rosa, Executive Director, Erie Neighborhood House
Cristina de la Rosa is the Executive Director of Erie Neighborhood House, a nonprofit supporting immigrant and low-income Chicago families through social services. She is on the Board of Revolution Workshop and the Chicago Women’s History Center. De La Rosa is also on the Program Advisory Committee for UCAN Chicago.
Moderator: Dr. Xóchitl Bada, Professor, Latin American and Latino Studies, UIC
Dr. Xóchitl Bada is a Professor in the Department of Latin American and Latino Studies at the University of Illinois Chicago and author of Mexican Hometown Associations in Chicagoacán: From Local to Transnational Civic Engagement. She specializes in migrant access to political and social rights, migrant organizing strategies, violence and displacement, and transnational labor advocacy mobilization in Mexico and the United States.
Carrie Ward, CEO, Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault, (ICASA)
Carrie Ward, M.A., is the Chief Executive Officer of the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault (ICASA), a network of sexual assault crisis centers across the state of Illinois. As CEO, Carrie works with ICASA on strategic planning, governance/policy, serves as ICASA’s spokesperson and works to further ICASA’s legislative agenda. Carrie represents ICASA on statewide task forces and committees including appointments to the Forensic Science Task Force and Missing and Murdered Women in Chicago Task Force. Carrie serves as Treasurer for the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence (NAESV) representing ICASA and rape crisis organizations nationwide.
Norma Hernández, Illinois State Representative, 77th District
Representative Norma Hernández serves the 77th District in the Illinois House of Representatives and Co-Chair of the Illinois Latino Legislative Caucus Foundation. Before joining the General Assembly, Representative Hernández worked as a Community Development Planner at the University of Illinois Chicago’s Great Cities Institute. Through her work at UIC, she engaged in the intersection of academic research, community engagement, policy analysis, and program development through various projects to help address urban issues across the Chicagoland area. She is the first Latina representing the 77th district and has earned her Bachelor of Social Work, Master of Urban Planning & Policy from the University of Illinois Chicago. She was a former Board Trustee of Triton College.
Andrea Ortez, Program Officer, Woods Fund
Andrea Ortez is the Program Officer of Woods Fund Chicago, a foundation supporting local organizing and advocacy through grants. Most recently, she served as the National Program Manager and Coach for Success Bound to support the national expansion of Success Bound, a program geared to help middle school students explore their identities, passions & interests as they aim to reach their high school and career goals. Since 2021, she has served on the Illinois State Board of Education’s Professional Review Panel.
Moderator: Sayeed Sanchez, Advocacy Manager, Mujeres Latinas En Acción
Sayeed Sanchez is the first full-time bilingual Advocacy Manager for Mujeres Latinas en Acción and organizes Mujeres’ advocacy initiative at the local, state, and national level. This includes advocating on the behalf of Mujeres’ community members, staff, and program services, specifically around the issues of immigrant justice, economic justice, women’s health, and confronting gender-based violence. His professional accomplishments at Mujeres include leading the writing of ¡Actívate! as well as accomplishing the 40-hour training for the Culturally Specific Training for Advocates for Survivors of Sexual Assault.
Maria del Socorro Pesqueira, President, Healthy Communities Foundation
Maria del Socorro Pesqueira serves as the President of the Healthy Communities Foundation, dedicated to promoting health equity throughout Chicago and the western suburbs of Cook County. Previously, she held the position of President at Mujeres Latinas en Acción and led the Development and Marketing Team at The National Museum of Mexican Art.
Ambassador Reyna Torres Mendivil, Consul General of Mexico in Chicago, Consulate General of Mexico
Ambassador Reyna Torres Mendivil is the Consul General of Mexico in Chicago. During her diplomatic career, she has held various positions in the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including General Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, Deputy General Director for International Policy on Human Rights, and Deputy Chief of Staff to the Secretary of Foreign Relations. She was Deputy Chief of Mission in the Mexican Embassy in the Czech Republic, and political liaison in the Embassy of Mexico in the United States. Ambassador Torres also served as General Director for Protection of Mexicans Abroad.
Dr. Daysi Ximena Diaz-Strong, Assistant Professor, Jane Addams School of Social Work
Dr. Daysi Ximena Diaz-Strong is an Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois Chicago within the Jane Addams College of Social Work. Her research examines the educational and developmental trajectories of undocumented immigrants. Before coming to UIC, she worked within the community college system helping students with limited resources gain access to better educational opportunities and improve their academic outcomes.
Moderator: Dr. Lilia Fernández, Professor, Department of History
Dr. Lilia Fernández is a History Professor in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Illinois Chicago. She is the founder of the Latino New Jersey History Project at Rutgers University, which was made up of student-led oral histories and web-based public history projects, where she led the project for six years. She also authored Brown in the Windy City: Mexicans and Puerto Ricans in Postwar Chicago. Her current research focuses on Latino history in the Chicago area, specifically on cross-ethnic interactions among other Latinos, their labor politics, class dynamics, activism, and strategic articulations of a panethnic identity.
Rob Paral, Senior Research Specialist, Great Cities Institute, UIC
Rob Paral is a Senior Research Specialist at the Great Cities Institute at the University of Illinois Chicago and nonresident fellow in the Global Cities program of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. He is also the Principal of Rob Paral and Associates, which aids non-profit, philanthropic, and government organizations with data they need to help communities. He is a former Senior Research Associate of the Washington, D.C. office of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials and Research Director of the Latino Institute of Chicago.
Introduction Dr. Patrisia Macías-Rojas, Associate Professor, Latino and Latin American Studies
Dr. Patrisia Macías-Rojas is an Associate Professor in Sociology and Latino and Latin American Studies at the University of Illinois Chicago. She is a research affiliate with the Binational Migration Institute at the University of Arizona. Her current project examines the long-term effects of twenty years of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) policy and practice on border communities. Her research focuses on the global politics of race, migration, and borders.
José Miguel Acosta-Córdova, Doctoral Candidate, Geography, University of Illinois Urbana Champaign
José Miguel Acosta-Córdova, author of The Chicago Latino Neighborhoods Report, is a Doctoral Candidate in Geography at the University of Illinois Champaign where he is studying transportation equity, mobility justice, and labor. He also wrote Lower Wages and Continued Occupational and Industrial Segmentation of Latinos in the Chicago Economy and is a Co-Founder of the Latino Planning Organization for Development, Education, and Regeneration (LPODER) at the University of Illinois Chicago.
Introduction Dr. Patrisia Macías-Rojas, Associate Professor, Latino and Latin American Studies
Dr. Patrisia Macías-Rojas is an Associate Professor in Sociology and Latino and Latin American Studies at the University of Illinois Chicago. She is a research affiliate with the Binational Migration Institute at the University of Arizona. Her current project examines the long-term effects of twenty years of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) policy and practice on border communities. Her research focuses on the global politics of race, migration, and borders.
Jessie Fuentes, Alderperson of Chicago’s 26th Ward and former Co-Chair Puerto Rican Agenda
Jessie Fuentes is the Alderperson of Chicago’s 26th Ward. Her primary focuses are investing in public safety, affordable housing, and supporting small business and anti-displacement efforts. She is the first woman and youngest Alderperson of the 26th Ward. She formerly served as the Director of Policy and Youth Advocacy and Co-Chair of the Puerto Rican Agenda.
Dr. Ralph Cintrón, Emeritus Professor, Latin American and Latino Studies and The Department of English, Fellow, Great Cities Institute
Dr. Ralph Cintrón is Professor Emeritus of English and Latin American and Latino Studies and, as well, Senior Researcher at the Great Cities Institute at the University of Illinois Chicago. He is a UIC Co-PI on a $25 million, 5-year grant (CROCUS) with Argonne National Laboratory and the United States Department of Energy. The focus of the grant is on urban climate science. He is the author of Angels’ Town: Chero Ways, Gang Life, and Rhetorics of the Everyday; Democracy as Fetish; joint author of an urban studies report, Puerto Ricans in Chicagoland; and co-editor of Culture, Catastrophe, and Rhetoric: The Texture of Political Action. He is a former Rockefeller Foundation Fellow; an honorable mention winner of the Victor Turner Prize for Ethnographic Writing (American Anthropological Association); and a Fulbright Scholar. He is currently a Fellow of the Rhetoric Society of America.
José Lopez, Executive Director and Co-Founder, Puerto Rican Cultural Center
José Lopez is the Executive Director and Co-Founder at the Puerto Rican Cultural Center (PRCC), which aids in the economic development, education, and housing issues of Chicago’s Puerto Ricans. In 2023, the PRCC celebrated 50 years of operation. Lopez is also an Adjunct Lecturer in the Latin American and Latino Studies Department at the University of Illinois Chicago, Northeastern Illinois University, and Columbia College.
Juan González, Senior Fellow, Great Cities Institute; Author, Harvest of Empire; Co-Host, Democracy Now
Juan González is the Co-Host of Democracy Now! and author of Harvest of Empire: A Untold History of Latinos in America. He is currently a Senior Fellow at the Great Cities Institute at the University of Illinois Chicago and a co-author of the recent GCI report Fuerza Mexicana: The Past, Present, and Power of Mexicans in Chicagoland. He’s the founder and past President of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, which represents and supports Latino journalists. He also co-authored News for All the People: The Epic Story of Race and the American Media.
Celina Villanueva, Illinois State Senator, 12th District
Senator Celina Villanueva is a State Senator for Illinois’ 12th District and the Senator Chair of the Illinois Latino Legislative Caucus. She previously worked at the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR), which provides and advocates for immigrant and refugee rights. At ICRR, Villanueva led the largest immigrant civic engagement program in the state. She also helped pass the Keep Illinois Families Together Act, which prevents local police from acting as ICE agents.
Omar Aquino, Illinois State Senator, 2nd District
Senator Omar Aquino is a State Senator for Illinois’ 2nd District and is the youngest Latino member of the Illinois State Senate. He is the Co-Chair of the Illinois Latino Legislative Caucus Foundation. He previously worked as a Bilingual Case Manager at the Jane Addams School of Social Work and as Outreach Coordinator for Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth. His primary areas of policy are focused on education, elderly services, and human services.
Norma Hernández, Illinois State Representative, 77th District
Representative Norma Hernández serves the 77th District in the Illinois House of Representatives and Co-Chair of the Illinois Latino Legislative Caucus Foundation. Before joining the General Assembly, Representative Hernández worked as a Community Development Planner at the University of Illinois Chicago’s Great Cities Institute. Through her work at UIC, she engaged in the intersection of academic research, community engagement, policy analysis, and program development through various projects to help address urban issues across the Chicagoland area. She is the first Latina representing the 77th district and has earned her Bachelor of Social Work, Master of Urban Planning & Policy from the University of Illinois Chicago. She was a former Board Trustee of Triton College.
Dagmara Avelar, Illinois State Representative, 85th District
Representative Dagmara Avelar is a State Representative for Illinois’ 85th District. She is also House Chair of the Illinois Legislative Latino Caucus and a member of the Restore, Reinvest, and Renew (R3) board. She formerly served as leader of The New Americans Initiative, which assists a variety of civic issues for low-income immigrant families and in joint with ICIRR, and as Director of Programs for the ICIRR.
Oswaldo Alvarez, Executive Director, Illinois Legislative Latino Caucus Foundation
Oswaldo Alvarez is the Executive Director of the Illinois Legislative Latino Caucus Foundation, which aims in cultivating future generations of Latino leadership and giving voice to the community. Prior to this role, Alvarez served as the Census Director for the State of Illinois. With nearly 20 years of experience, he specializes in the implementation of philanthropy and public policy.
Dr. Ignacio López, Executive Director, Puerto Rican Arts Alliance
Dr. Ignacio López is the Executive Director of the Puerto Rican Arts Alliance (PRAA), which supports and promotes Puerto Rican art programs, exhibitions, and performances in Chicago. Dr. López’s background in public education keeps the PRAA’s goals in line with that of the community and in the interests of fostering next generation of Puerto Rican artists. He authored Keeping It Real and Relevant: Building Authentic Relationships in Your Diverse Classroom and The EQ Way: How Emotionally Intelligent Leaders Navigate Turbulent Times.
Alberto Morales, Co-Chair, Nuestro Futuro
Alberto Morales is the Co-Chair for Nuestro Futuro, the largest Latino philanthropy affinity fund in the U.S. He is also the founder of Morales Consulting, a social sector consulting firm primarily working with foundations, investors, and nonprofits, and on the Executive Board. He previously worked for Cristo Rey Network’s School Growth office to launch new schools across the country.
Michael D. Rodríguez, Alderman, City of Chicago, 22nd Ward
Michael D. Rodríguez is the Alderman of Chicago’s 22nd Ward. His primary focuses as Alderman are public safety, accessibility, public education, affordable housing, and environmentalism. He serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Chicago Latino Caucus Foundation, which aims to expand access to higher education for Latino youth.
Rossana Rodríguez-Sanchez, Alderwoman, City of Chicago, 33th Ward
Rossana Rodríguez-Sanchez is the Alderwoman of Chicago’s 33rd Ward and Chair of the City Council’s Committee on Health and Human Relations. In her first term, she secured improvements to schools, affordable housing, and immigrant support, while championing local democratic initiatives like Participatory Budgeting and Community-Driven Zoning. She also serves as Chair of the City Council’s Latino Caucus, which focuses on expanding access to higher education for Latino youth. At City Hall, Rossana passed legislation protecting abortion and gender-affirming care and secured investments for mental health crisis response through the Treatment Not Trauma initiative. A lifelong activist and independent voice in the council, she is originally from Puerto Rico, a mother, and currently pursuing her Master of Social Work.
Report on Mexicans in Chicagoland Released on 70th Anniversary of Operation Wetback in Chicago
On September 16, 1954, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) unleashed its terror on Chicago’s Near West Side Mexicans as they prepared to celebrate Mexican Independence Day with parades and bailes. Those detained were thrown in Cook County Jail for 2 days and then deported. The immigration sweep continued for the next several months until 20,000 to 40,000 were deported from Chicago.
This is just one of the many things we learn in a report released today, September 16, 2024, at the National Museum of Mexican Art. Latinos Progresando, Mujeres Latinas en Acción, Greater Southwest Development Corporation, Casa Norte, Erie House, and the National Museum of Mexican Art commissioned the Latino Research Initiative of the Great Cities Institute to produce a report that provides research to illuminate the conditions and contributions of Mexicans in Chicagoland. The report, Fuerza Mexicana: The Past, Present and Power of Mexicans in Chicagoland, is an 88-page report with several significant findings and policy recommendations.
Among the many jewels in this report is the opening statement in its “Summary of Findings” section:
The rapid growth of Chicago’s Mexican population has been a remarkable bright spot in this city for the past 50 years, at first as a counterpoint to its post-industrial decline and population loss, then as an unheralded force of low-wage workers and business owners who quietly buttressed the city’s economic revival in the 21st century.
One might say that the Mexican population “saved” Chicago and contrary to the anti-immigrant rhetoric of yesteryear or today, have played and do play an extremely important role in the economic vibrancy of this highly important urban area.
Please join us on Tuesday morning at 8:30 a.m. at Latino Research Initiative Summit 2024, to hear more about the significance of this report from the Executive Directors that commissioned it in a panel moderated by Xóchitl Bada, UIC Latin American and Latino Studies Professor and faculty affiliate of GCI’s Latino Research Initiative. The keynote address of the Summit 2024 will be delivered by Juan González, who will speak to the significance of the Mexican presence in Chicagoland in a larger socio-political context.
We invite you to attend the whole summit, if you can. We will convene at 8:00 a.m. at Student Center East Illinois Room, 750 S. Halsted and adjourn at 2:00 p.m. for dessert and networking. You can see the full agenda here, where you can also RSVP.
In recent years, numerous academic studies have explored the state of Chicago’s Latino community, but the unique contributions and circumstances of the city’s Mexican population have often been overlooked. Despite the fact that Census data indicates Mexicans account for 21.5% of Chicago’s population and nearly 74% of its Latino residents, their specific experiences are frequently overshadowed by broader statistics on Latinos as a whole. This general approach tends to obscure key differences in areas like education, employment, health, and housing between Mexicans and other Latino groups, such as Puerto Ricans, Cubans, Ecuadorians, Colombians, and Central Americans.
This report aims to address this significant gap by providing a detailed and current overview of the social and economic conditions of Mexicans in Chicago and Cook County, alongside comparisons to other Latino groups. Additionally, the report includes data on the collar counties, as these areas are experiencing the most rapid growth in the Mexican population across Illinois.
Juan González
Senior Fellow, UIC Great Cities Institute
Teresa Córdova, Ph.D.
Director, UIC Great Cities Institute
Matthew D. Wilson, Ph.D.
Associate Director of Economic & Workforce Development, UIC Great Cities Institute
Elham Pilegar
Research Specialist, UIC Great Cities Institute
David Segovia
Visiting Research Specialist, UIC Great Cities Institute
José Miguel Acosta-Córdova
Doctoral Candidate in Geography and GIS, University of Illinois Urbana Champaign
The report highlights significant demographic and economic changes in Chicago’s Latino neighborhoods between 2017 and 2022. Notably, Logan Square and Irving Park transitioned from majority Latino to predominantly non-Hispanic White, contributing to a broader decline of over 15,000 Latinos citywide and 36,000 across 14 studied neighborhoods. However, areas like Chicago Lawn, Garfield Ridge, New City, and East Side saw Latino population growth. Median household income for Latinos in Chicago is $62,046, below the city average of $71,673 and significantly lower than non-Hispanic Whites at $104,734. Income disparities are pronounced, especially in Logan Square, where non-Hispanic Whites earn nearly $70,000 more than Latinos. Employment patterns reveal that a high proportion of residents work outside their neighborhoods, limiting local economic benefits. Public transit usage remains lower than city averages, except in a few neighborhoods, underscoring transportation challenges. These shifts reflect broader trends of gentrification and economic pressures on Latino communities.
José Miguel Acosta-Córdova
Doctoral Candidate, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Matthew D. Wilson, Ph.D.
Associate Director of Economic & Workforce Development, UIC Great Cities Institute
Latino Research Initiative Summit 2024 Kicks Off Hispanic Heritage Month
On September 17, 2024, from 8:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. the Latino Research Initiative at the Great Cities Institute will hold its Summit 2024 at Student Center East, 750 S. Halsted. The event is free and open to the public.
The purpose of Summit 2024 is threefold: 1) to highlight the various partnerships of the Latino Research Initiative; 2) to provide our partners an opportunity to speak about their work; and 3) to provide an opportunity for networking.
Juan González, Senior Fellow at Great Cities, the co-host of Democracy Now, and the author of several books including the Harvest of Empire, will offer a keynote speech beginning at 11:30 a.m.
The keynote speech will be followed by a panel with the leadership of the Illinois Latino Legislative Caucus and the Illinois Latino Legislative Caucus Foundation.
Kicking off the morning is a short presentation by Elena Gonzales on ¡Aquí Chicago!, a forthcoming exhibit at the Chicago History Museum.
UIC Professor Xóchitl Bada, author of Mexican Hometown Associations in Chicagoacán: From Local to Transnational Civic Engagement, will then moderate a panel with five local community organizations that commissioned the Great Cities Institute to produce a report on Mexicans in Chicago. The report, Fuerza Mexicana: The Past, Present, and Power of Mexicans in Chicagoland, will be released on September 16, exactly seventy years after the 1954 unleashing in Chicago of Operation Wetback by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS).
We are very excited to hear about the further impact of the report that we co-produced with Mujeres Latinas en Acción, ¡Actívate!: A community data-driven guide to help Latinas and their families thrive. Mujeres continues to do the important work of addressing gender-based violence. A panel on their work includes Carrie Ward, CEO, Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault, (ICASA); Norma Hernández, Illinois State Representative, 77th District; and Andrea Ortez, Program Officer, Woods Fund. The panel will be moderated by Sayeed Sanchez, Advocacy Manager, Mujeres Latinas En Acción.
Lilia Fernandez, UIC Professor and author of Brown in the Windy City, will moderate a panel on the growing presence of Latinos in the suburbs. Ambassador Reyna Torres Mendivil, Consul General, Consulate General of Mexico, will be joined on the panel with Maria del Socorro Pesqueira, President, Healthy Communities Foundation and Dr. Daysi Ximena Diaz-Strong, Assistant Professor, Jane Addams School of Social Work.
Other highlights of the Summit include updates from Rob Paral on serving recent immigrants and José Miguel Acosta-Córdova on the changing dynamics of Latino neighborhoods in Chicago. Professor Patrisia Macias will introduce both Rob and José.
Alderwoman Jesse Fuentes, 26th Ward, will headline a panel discussing the efforts in preserving the presence of Puerto Ricans in Humboldt Park through the creation of Puerto Rico Town, a state designated cultural district.
Alberto Morales will also share with you our work with Nuestro Futuro on a Latine philanthropic landscape scan.
The vibrancy of arts and culture is an important part of Latino presence in the region. Ignacio López, Executive Director of the Puerto Rican Arts Alliance, will speak about the very important Latino Arts and Culture Alliance Summit.
The Latino Research Initiative Summit concludes with remarks by Aldermen Michael Rodriguez and Rossana Rodriguez, co-chairs of the City of Chicago Latino Caucus.
Please join us for what promises to be a very interesting and exciting day. Feel free also to pass the word to your friends and associates.
You can view the whole agenda here.
See Latino Research Initiative main page here.
This article from Block Club Chicago discusses a recent development where Starbucks is set to open a new location in Little Village, a predominantly Latino, working-class neighborhood. Some residents oppose the move, fearing it will contribute to rising prices and gentrification, as seen in nearby Pilsen. Critics argue that big corporations like Starbucks displace local culture and push out longtime residents. Starbucks officials claimed their commitment to the community through local hiring and partnerships with nonprofits, but this did not appease all concerns. Balthazar Enriquez warned, “People from Pilsen are now getting pushed into Little Village because of high rents,” reflecting worries about similar demographic shifts.
“People from Pilsen are now getting pushed into Little Village because of high rents.”
“The Lower West Side community area, which includes Pilsen, decreased from 88 percent Hispanic or Latino in 2000 to 71 percent in 2020, according to the UIC Great Cities Institute.”
“Starbucks is driving gentrification. Starbucks, Christopher Columbus, they’re the same kind of colonizers.”
From Block Club Chicago (To go to the actual article, please click on this link.)
All Eyes on Chicago
Today, August 19, 2024, marks the first day of the 2024 Democratic National Convention. It is expected that upwards of 50,000 people will descend upon Chicago including delegates, media, and protestors. We are taking this opportunity to invite you to view the video, photos, and a set of interviews from an event that the Great Cities Institute hosted, exactly fifty years after the 1968 Democratic National Convention.
On the night of August 28, 1968, thousands of young, primarily white, activists headed for the Democratic National Convention in downtown Chicago, intent on protesting the Vietnam War. Mayor Richard J. Daley dispatched an army of police officers and called upon the National Guard and U.S. Secret Service. Activists appealing for peace were greeted by nightsticks and tear gas, as were reporters and Eugene McCarthy convention delegates, as they tried to exercise their First Amendment rights. The debacle was televised and triggered outrage around the nation. The protestors chanted: “The Whole World is Watching.”
In Chicago in 2024, there will be many protestors against the War on Gaza. While we do not expect a repeat of the 1968 debacle, we do think that reflecting on 1968 reminds us of the interplay between protest and repression in a democratic society.
On August 28, 2018, exactly 50 years after that infamous 1968 Convention, UIC’s Great Cities Institute hosted a provocative and urgent program exploring why “The Whole World is Still Watching.” Participants included organizers of the 1968 protests who brought personal accounts, including reflections on the period leading up to that day. These and other panelists discussed the personal and historical significance of these events. Key to the discussions were questions about the role of social protest in a civil society. Moderator Laura Washington also asked questions about the legacy and lessons learned from their experiences.
We invite you to watch the discussion held in the University of Illinois Chicago with panelists who provided firsthand accounts and fifty-year reflections. This link also gives you access to sit-down interviews with Cha Cha Jimenez, Che Brooks, Mary Scott-Boria, and Don Rose.
As Mary Scott-Boria says on the panel, “Democracy is a verb.” It requires action – from all of us who value it.
The Great Cities Institute at the University of Illinois Chicago will host a film screening of “Come and Speak to Me of What You Felt” (2021), “Guardian Angel” (2022), and “Trading Memories Part I” (2022) by 2023 Villa Albertine Resident Olukemi Lijadu. This event, which is open to the public, will be held on Tuesday, August 6th, 2024 from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM CDT at the Great Cities Institute (412 South Peoria Street, Suite 400, Chicago, Illinois 60607-7067). Click here for the downloadable PDF of the flyer. To RSVP, click here.
About the Films:
The work, Come and Speak to Me of What You Felt (2021), the artist weaves together fragmented threads of Black music. Come and Speak to Me of What You Felt is an exploration of the search for one’s history and how music can communicate feelings beyond words across time and distance.
A multi-screen projection and multi-sensory live performance, Guardian Angel (2022) is a commissioned film that explores the artist’s relationship with religion, informed by her grandmother, study of African philosophy and Catholic upbringing.
Trading Memories Part I (2022)is a moving image work and soundscape that incorporates film, sound, and photography, based on a collection of photos of a middle-class family in Lagos. These photographs were discovered in 2021 at an antique market in London’s Notting Hill, where they were sold among piles of otherwise discarded goods for just two pounds. The striking nature of these images, functioning as a time capsule far from their original context, immediately conveyed to the artist that they depicted a Nigerian Yoruba family from the early 2000s. The core inquiry of this series centers around the concept of ‘just knowing.’ In Trading Memories Part I, the artist explores the photographs not merely as artifacts of memory and family history, but as sites of encounter between themselves and the images. The work dissects moments of recognition, focusing on the artist’s personal reflections and connections with the photographs. A recurring theme in Trading Memories Part I is the close-up, which emphasizes these moments of recognition. Elements such as the harmattan dust on polished black buckled shoes, the texture of a birthday girl’s tulle dress, crates of soft drinks in glass bottles, white socks, and a Barbie birthday cake are motifs that resonate with the artist’s own childhood experiences in Lagos.
About the Filmmaker:
Olukemi Lijadu is a visual artist, DJ and music producer who performs under the moniker KEM KEM. Lijadu engages with sound as a transcendent conduit of memory and reconnection for the fractured African diaspora and work as a form of accessing Atlantic memory. A trained philosopher; she holds a masters degree in Philosophy from Stanford University. She lives and works between London and Lagos. Over the years, her work and performances have been held at ICA London, Frieze Cork Street and Mariane Ibrahim Chicago. Her original compositions have been played on the runways of Copenhagen fashion week and are woven into her films. As a DJ, KEM KEM has performed in and for the Luma Museum, Tiwani Gallery and Corvi-Mora. She was selected as a 2023 Villa Albertine resident where she is currently researching and developing a body of work around the West African influence on Chicago House music.
Reinventing artists’ residencies, Villa Albertine is creating a network for arts and ideas spanning France and the United States. It offers tailor-made residencies for global creators, thinkers and cultural professionals. For more information on Villa Albertine, please click here.