For immediate release: (8/30/98)
Contact: Maxwell Street Historic Preservation Coalition, Steve Balkin, 312-341-3696
About 70 people showed up for a Blues rally on old Maxwell Street on Saturday, August 29, to protest the TIF (Tax Increment Financing) arrangement, that UIC (University of Illinois at Chicago), and Mesirow-Stein Real Estate Inc. are trying to get approval for. They will use the Roosevelt-Union-TIF to demolish the remainder of the old Maxwell Street area.
Some of the best blues musicians in Chicago showed up to inspire the crowd to remind us of the heritage we are fighting to preserve. Click here for images of the musicians. And several journalists came to cover the event, one from as far away as Washington, D.C.. Danny Chun, UIC head of Public Relations, came to the event and was offered the microphone to speak but he declined.
Toping the bill was Johnnie Mae Dunson, who came out of retirement, at age 76, to sing. She had not sung in public for over 15 years. She was a drummer and song writer who had backed up the Blues Legend Jimmy Reed. She wrote over 300 songs. In her earlier years she played on Maxwell Street. "It was a homecoming," said one of the residents of the area.
Johnny Mae Dunson, has been in ill health for several years and was brought over in a wheel chair. "She was wearing just house slippers on her feet. Yet she sang zestfully with power and grassroots feeling", said James Fraher, a Blues photographer who video taped the event to become part of the documentary video, "The Last Days of Maxwell Street." According to Fraher, "The theme of the video tape is to show there still is vitality and vibrancy on Maxwell Street. If enough people become aware of that and show concern, it might still be able to be saved, even at this late date. The hope is that there won't be a 'last days'.
It was apropos that Johnnie Mae Dunson came out of retirement for this event as she is facing eviction and condemnation of her home, which is about a mile and a half from Maxwell Street. She asked people to pray for her. Several in the crowd volunteered to try to help her.
Taking turns on guitar, backing up Johnnie Mae Dunson, were Jimmie Lee Robinson, Eddie C. Campbell, and John Primer. Harpist Jody Noa, a protege of Junior Wells, played in the backup groups as well as playing with members of his Sho Nuff Blues Band. Frank 'Little Sonny' Scott Jr., another Maxwell Street veteran, played his rhythmic house-car-keys as the percussion for Johnnie Mae.
Rock Island blues guitarist and songwriter Ellis Kell, with backup by New Orleans harpist Robert Osborn, sang Kell's moving Muddy's Tears on Maxwell Street. He wrote that song for the Maxwell Street Historic Preservation Coalition and passed out the words, as a souvenir for the event. Jimmie Lee Robinson, who was born and raised in the Maxwell Street area, played a very stirring set highlighted by his Maxwell Street Tear Down Blues. Ending the blues afternoon was David Lindsey's powerhouse band who played bluesy and hard, and backed up another Maxwell Street veteran, Johnny Too Tough. Blues veterans Bill Warren and Bo "Duddley" were in the crowd but did not perform.
People took turns speaking. Illinois Senate candidate Marc Loveless gave a stirring speech about fighting against corporate welfare, which he sees TIFs as a part of. Several Mexican-American residents from the neighboring Pilsen area came to the event because Pilsen will also be adversely affected by the TIF.
While the people were enjoying the music at the southwest corner of Maxwell and Halsted, a group of Coalition members and community residents at the Northeast corner were constructing the Maxwell Street sculpture garden and Wall of Fame. Railroad ties were cut to form three giant letters, a M-A-X sculpture. The Wall of Fame, perpendicular to the M-A-X sculpture is a multi-colored mural with names painted on it of famous people who lived, worked, owned businesses, or played blues on Maxwell Street. A formal dedication is planned on September 19, noon.
The next Coalition events are:
Coalition member Steve Balkin says, "UIC administrators and Trustees are good at smiling and listening, and then ignoring everything you say. They do, unilaterally, what they want. This is not democracy. It is deception. There is no community control. There is no balance. They are heartless tools of the political machine and its real estate developer favorites. They feel no shame."
Also read about this issue in the Delta Snake Daily Blues.
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