The most important aspect of the south side of Chicago to understand is perfectly illustrated by the seventh chapter of Natalie Y. Moore’s The South Side, entitled: “We Are Not Chiraq”. It is likely difficult for someone who has spent their entire life living in or around Chicago to understand the stigma surrounding the city we know and love. But to many, when they hear the name Chicago, they immediately think of gangs, Capone, and now a militarized war zone. Those who are not from Chicago believe this idea of “Chiraq” applies to the entire city, and one is at the same risk of getting shot walking down Michigan Avenue as they are walking alone at night in Pilsen. Those more familiar with the area, people like me, narrow in this broad and derogatory…show more content… In Englewood, past and present the diverse history of Chicago’s infamously know “most dangerous city” is detailed. Developing in the 1850’s, employed Irish and German immigrants flooded into Englewood. By the 1890’s 63rd and Halsted was booming with department stores “hundreds of small businesses, [becoming] the busiest shopping district outside The Loop… For decades the stores here rang up more sales than many medium-size cities.” Englewood was far from the ‘don’t go there alone’ we know today. In fact, it was the opposite as people from all over flocked to experience the booming city. What changed? The development of the rest of the city in the 50’s and 60’s pulled the focus away from Englewood and new construction displaced many African Americans. “White Flight” and other factors soon made Englewood an economically failing and nearly all black community. The increased crime rate should not come as a surprise and soon gang life infiltrated the mainstream understanding of Englewood. This ‘mainstream understanding’, according to Don’t Believe everything You’ve heard About Chicago’s Most ‘Dangerous’ Neighborhood, is fueled by the media. The only time you hear the name Englewood is on the news about a shooting or robbery- never anything positive. This perpetuates the cycle- this is the problem. No one will come to the…show more content… Due to the perpetuation of the cycle, and as we know, form follows function, the danger of the South Side continues to increase. The statistics in Halfway through 2017, Violence remains stubbornly high in Chicago, are shocking. The number of homicides have been unprecedentedly high the last two years, topping 700 for the first time in 20 years. I take it for granted that I get in my car every morning, receive a world-class education, from world-class teachers, in state of the art facilities, then go home to a quiet environment, with Internet access and parents who help and encourage me to do well, who are home, and have the ability to pay for a higher level education. Without making too much of a generalization, because as we’ve already seen how making generalizations is what most damages the image of the South Side, most if not every student at Harper High School in Englewood lacks these luxuries that have become givens for me. Rather than being concerned about grades and studying, students must worry about navigating the complex social structure of Englewood. Being in a gang is no longer a choice. There is no longer a large hierarchy with an intense initiation. Each block has its own clique and whether you like it or not you must rely on that gang for protection. We learned of the contradicting rules of
