A Visit to the Windy City (Visiting a Culturally Significant Location) (Class of 2028)

 

This summer, I had the pleasure of visiting Chicago, Illinois. Some call this place home, others know it as one of the most popular U.S. cities, but Chicago has always meant something to my family and I. Although we currently reside in Atlanta, GA, my grandfather never fails to mention his upbringing in Illinois and how Chicago helped shape him as a Black man.

During the period of the Great Migration in 1910, my great-great-grandmother moved to  Cairo, the southernmost city in Illinois. 30 years later, she helped raise my grandfather in that same city. My grandfather "worked" as a waterboy for the sharecroppers in his neighborhood from the age of 2. He recalls his summer days as brutal, but fun because he would hang out with his sister. Although his dad wasn't in the picture during his childhood, my grandfather told me in his teenage years he would go to visit his dad in Chicago. A 5 hour bus ride from Cairo, my grandfather would meet his dad, my Great- Grandpa Cozy, in the jazz club where he played saxophone. This was how my father was first introduced to the city of Chicago. The hustle and bustle of life in Chicago immediately caught his attention. And after he graduated from Southern Illinois University, he moved to Chicago and joined the National Guard. My grandfather was a part of controlling crowds at the infamous Democratic National Convention of 1968, known as a "sinking Titanic" of DNCs. The crowds were protesting the U.S's involvement in the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights Movement, and other issues. When he wasn't working in the National Guard, he hung out on the southside of Chicago, where he resided. 

When he reconnected with my grandmother, they got married and moved to Atlanta, GA, making stops in Denver, CO (where my mom, aunt and uncle were born), and Omaha, NE. They had my other aunt in Atlanta, GA and have lived in the same house ever since. Now, my aunt works for Pepsi Co. in Chicago, IL. My grandfather often teases her for living lavishly in the West Loop neighborhood of Chicago. We always brush it off as one of my grandfather's antics, but I actually think that its a testament to how far our family has come, in many different facets. Now, when he visits Chicago, my aunt treats him (and the rest of my family) to the experiences he couldn't afford when he was living there, while also staying connected to our family that still lives there. 

Because, outside of its family importance, Chicago has also done wonders for the Black community. Its contribution to poetry and literature, namely Gwendolyn Brooks, a Black female poet and author who has a Pulitzer Prize, jazz, hip hop, and dance (the establishment of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater), are just a few of the ways that Chicago has made its mark on African Americans, and I am so lucky to have experienced it.

My grandfather created a life for himself that he couldn't even imagine when he was living in Cairo or on the southside of Chicago. He created a 2-parent household for his children, financial stability, and instilled his Christian values of kindness, respect, and perseverance.  Although he has lived in Atlanta for 40+ years, none of this would have been possible without his experiences in Chicago.

So to some, it may seem silly that I call Chicago a culturally significant location, it holds great importance for my heritage and my family.

By,

Camryn Owens