PROJECT | UnBlocked
Through “unBlocked Englewood,” Tonika Lewis Johnson and the Chicago Bungalow Association are paying for home repairs along one block, which the organizer hopes can help reverse decades of discriminatory housing policies.
PROJECT | UnBlocked
In the 1950s and ‘60s, Black families were often forced to pay often double — or more — to buy a home, in what was known as contract buying.
As a result, instead of earning equity and passing down generational wealth, Black homeowners often lost their homes.
PROJECT | UnBlocked
Segregation. Redlining. Land sale contracts, where real estate speculators in the 1950s and ’60s sold homes to Black families on rent-to-own contracts for double — or more — what the property was worth. Artist Tonika Lewis Johnson has been highlighting these decadeslong injustices against the Black community in projects such as “The Folded Map” and “Inequity for Sale.”
PROJECT | GROWING TOGETHER
“We’re trying to do something bold as a Black dance organization by creating a space not just for us but for others as well.”
PROJECT | REDIFINING THE URBAN LANDSCAPE
An empty lot once overgrown with grass and weeds is being turned into a safe outdoor space for Englewood kids.
PROJECT | MOJO GARDEN & PERFORMANCE CENTER
The Muddy Waters Mojo Museum, 4339 S. Lake Park Ave., has received a $1.1 million capital grant for the restoration of the legendary Blues musician’s Kenwood home and future programming once it opens.
PROJECT | ROOTS & BLOOMS
“We want to build a food forest that adds to the beauty of the neighborhood,” says Natasha Nicholes, founder of the small farm that occupies a single lot in the Far South Side neighborhood.
PROJECT | GROWING TOGETHER
The 27-year-old dance company hopes to move into its new $15.6 million home in December 2024.
PROJECT | SOUTH SHORE REMEMBERS
Sister Outsider is a walking program that promotes the usage of outdoor space to young Black girls, women and gender nonconforming individuals. The program leads participants on a conversational walk through the commercial thoroughfare of South Shore’s 75th Street and the residential beauty of 76th Street.
PROJECT | ARGYLE COMMUNITY HEALING & PLACEKEEPING PROJECT
In the Southeast Asian community on Argyle Street in Uptown, Hac Tran says he’s seen nearly 10 businesses close due to rent increases, gentrification, pandemic complications and other issues.
Learn more about OERJ's efforts
in advancing equitable transformation across the City of Chicago
Learn more about DCASE's
Cultural Grant Program offerings
Learn more about the Together We Heal Creative Place Program investment
