When the Campus Greens choose to have our founding convention in Chicago, we knew we would be lucky enough to be in the midst of one of America's great cities: a city known for racial and ethnic diversity, a city with a rich heritage of music and cultures, a city with a tradition of working class justice and activism. But when we arrive, we will find a city that is in the process of destroying one of its great cultural landmarks. The University of Illinois at Chicago, in a drive to expand its campus southward, is demolishing the Maxwell Street neighborhood to make room for new university buildings. The state administrators have embarked on this course without consideration to the people who live, work, and play on Maxwell Street.

The Maxwell Street neighborhood has long played an important role in the history of Chicago. Maxwell Street was often the first point of entry to the Midwest for thousands of African-American fleeing the racist oppression of the south. Maxwell Street was the birthplace of the Chicago blues, one of America's few indigenous arts styles. The Maxwell Street Open Market was an essential area for commerce that kept Chicago's shelves stocked for decades. If Maxwell Street dies, one of the Midwest's greatest living historical sites dies.

Perhaps more importantly, UIC's course of action will destroy many units of affordable housing. Chicago is in a housing crisis. More and more units of affordable and public housing are being destroyed, without the city or private developers taking any initiative in building adequate replacements. Prices are skyrocketing, families are being displaced, and homeless shelters are overburdened. This is unsustainable development at its worst.

Maxwell Street is a predominately African-American neighborhood. Many Chicagoans with low-income levels call the neighborhood home. The University's course of action is made even more egregious by its insensitivity to race and class issues. It seems highly unlikely that the gentrified University Village will ever be bulldozed to make room for a few new dorms.

We the Campus Greens find this sort of development in total contradiction to our vision of a just society. The UIC should not be permitted to destroy any community in its midst, nor should they be allowed to destroy the historical fabric of America and Chicago. Developments need to take into account their impact on the living conditions of current residents and on the ability of future generations to understand the past. We demand that this destructive development be stopped until the city, the university, and the neighborhood can form a building plan that meets the concerns of housing advocates and historic preservationists.

The National Campus Greens will be having their founding convention in Chicago, August 9-12 at University of Illinois at Chicago. There will be Campus Greens Rally for Radical Change on Friday, August 10 at the The Congress Theater at 2135 N. Milwaukee Avenue.

For more information about Maxwell Street, visit the Preserve Maxwell Street websites <www.openair.org/maxwell/preserve.html> or <www.maxwelstreet.org>.

web page provided by OPENAIR-MARKET NET

return to the top of the page

return to Preserve Maxwell Street