Everyone was attracted by cute animal puppet show.. - the black dog ...
 (staring at camera holder).. finally began feeling very lonely. ..
  .. the whiny dog towed his master to go.. (in Andersonville)

A Mysterious Hospital..

Finally the.. mysterious old "Edgewater Hospital" on Ashland ave was found
...although of course the hospital is already closed

Its helicopter pad on the roof was unable to see....

no neighbors seem to know .. "Hillary R.Clinton and John Wayne Gacy were born here..." etc..at all

an excerpt says..:
http://wikimapia.org/738235/Edgewater-Hospital-closed

Edgewater Hospital (closed) (Chicago, Illinois)

   Once a premier northside facility, equipped with a helicopter landing pad on the roof, and state of the art burn-care facilities. Birthplace of Hillary Rodham Clinton and John Wayne Gacy.
This hospital closed in the late 1990's after substantial Medicare/Medicaid fraud blacklisted it from receiving further business from Federal or State medical programs. This was due to performing unneeded operations and amputations on homeless men picked up from the many methadone clinics in this area. Although some offices still use the main buildings, the old parking facility was sold to developers, and the future of the site is still uncertain. Based on other Chicago hospitals that have closed, redevelopment or condo conversion is a possibility.


I..also heard the hospital was closed in 2001 and "razed"..  but it wasn't true: it seems like renamed as "Edgewater Medical Center (EMC)" - still the name sign remains at the entrance.. which was still shown on the Chicago Biker's map too..  distributed by former mayor Daley several yrs ago....

The nearby Latino beauty shops people...didn't know about who were born here,
but they said, "this hospital was closed 5 years ago.. its old name was Edgewater Hospital..."

(bottom above: Nearby Andersonville... so-called "Swedish" neighborhood.. but actually multi-ethnic.. : the airplane in the sky is heading to O'Hare!
Why Mexican restaurant in the art nouveau  building? maybe because it's chicago's north side..)

Correction for my assumpsion

Later I heard it from the person who knows the detail..: the "Edgewater Hospial" was renamed into "Edgewater Medical Center" in 1989, and closed in 2001- it was the "same institution...!"..

More incredibly.   Hillary's old address where she was living in her toddlerhood..was actually ..just across the street!.. from where I currently live..


..

The book..“Hillbilly Nationalists”

    The book was written by Amy Sonnie and James Tracy.  It describes social movements in ‘60s Chicago, including what happened in the Uptown.. just out there.. next to the Edgewater..  The fascinating chronicle helps to "make sense" about many past event in Chicago or the US... It sheds the new lights on them.

    The author begins like this,
        "In July 1969 a dozen self-identified hillbillies showed up to a Black Panther Party conference with Confederate flag patches sewn to their ragged jean jackets.......The Young Patriots had come to Oakland, CA, for the United Front Against Fascism Conference. They arrived from Uptown, a Chicago neighborhood home to thousands of economically displaced Appalachians, mostly white, who had turned the area into a bastion of southern culture..".

   And Chicago’s Uptown turned ‘Hillbillies’ Heaven” in 1969,,  the community-based organizations which gathered there were…JOIN(Job or Income Now) in Chicago, Young Patriots Organization, Rising Up Angry et cetera.. Although...the southern whites named Young Patriots—who have made “unlikely” coalition with Black Panthers—were still, sometimes confused by the public with white supremacists.....because of its unique identity.. although they were “directly challenging white supremacy while struggling for the class interests of poor and working-class white people..et cetera..

” The author states,

 “The seeming contradiction of confederate flag waving revolutionaries in deep dialogue about Black Power and Third World Liberation is less extraordinary than the fact that anyone doubted poor and working-class whites’ participation in the first place 

    In that period, SDC (Students Democratic Committee) or SNCC (etc). were trying to form multi-racial Civil rights mvmt organization (in Freedom Ride in the South, etc...) these groups also.. gradually bumped against identity problems,..

  Besides... in case of Black Panthers and Young Patriots’ unlikely coalition, “the growing presence of white volunteers in Black-led organizations was started to take a toll.. " (Southern white racist gangs, or the police especially hated and killed the white activists who joined black movement...)

  But JOIN's Uptown headquarter  kept holding multiracial housing campaigns, and for example, supporting MLK’s housing march in Chicago in 1966..

 The book’s authors clearly define these “displaced poor whites” as the victims of the public policy:  “Urban renewal programs treated poor neighborhoods like chessboards, chopping up neighborhoods to build new housing residents could no longer afford and forcing them to move into other poor neighborhoods or out of the city entirely.” 

The authors also suggest some facts which were usually evaded even ..in the sociology class..or public museum's exhibitions.. and refer to the ex-Mayor Richard Daley senior as a complete villain.

 For example, referring to the Robert Taylor home’s high rise construction on the South Side in’60s (all the displaced, former slum residents at the site were forcefully pushed into the new high rise, which turned into a slum within several years.) at least  the former teachers mentioned the attached neighborhood development ( the construction of Dan Ryan freeway etc) ambiguously, (only talked about the mayor who aimed to segregate the blacks from his own Irish neighborhood.. But the book says,

 “[It was here that northern segregation persisted through an entrenched web of laws,  regulations, and the informal practices of Chicago real estate agents,] the Federal Housing Association, and neighborhood groups’ intent on curtailing Black homeownership. Restrictive zoning laws prevented public housing construction in any place other than existing ghettoes, while proposed highway construction decimated working-class neighborhoods including Italian and Greek ethnic enclaves ”

Yes,  Little Italy and Greek Town was razed, and thousands of people displaced...when Daley ordered to relocate UIC campus there from Navy Pier.   The authors also keep criticizing ex-ex-Mayor Delay,

   “In Chicago politicians channeled these funds into existing agencies leaving the bulk of decision-making in the hand of administrators and social workers, not community representatives. This came as no surprise to most Uptown residents. Chicago was ruled by the iron fist of six-term Mayor Richard J. Daley—whose intense political machine was efficient and everywhere. Democratizing city services wasn’t exactly his style. The elder Daley created a legacy of gerrymandered school districts, segregated housing, and separate and completely unequal access to public resources. Few Chicagoans missed the message about Daley’s tyranny.”

From the viewpoint of grass-roots activists, the authors say “the federal government was intensifying poverty by destroying thousands of homes through urban renewal programs, [and] Uptown residents had long known ‘The Great Society’ was a charade”.

This is a harsh criticisms  not usually found even in the “ordinary” sociology textbooks, or most of the media evade the reality.. It was because R. Daley Jr’s tenure had still continued until just recently.. While I have also seen R. Daley’s biography film, “Daley, the Last Boss”—it also described Al Capone-type Boss almost fair-and-balanced way.. stressing his almighty power as a charm..but euphemistic about his tyranny.. I even didn’t know such a thing: “the West Sides’ first Black alderman, Ben Lewis, was shot execution style after showing political independence from Daley on issues like housing policy, garbage collection and school segregation..”   

The book also mentions what happened behind the 1968 Democratic Convention Riot in Chicago.. It says "KFC’s commercial shooting crew," who happened to be there..shot the a lot of footage of police violence against civilians.and the film "American Revolution II" wasn't put on the screen for long because Chicago's theater assoc scared Daley and refused it..until Hugh Hefner's Playboy Theater audaciously showed it in 1969...

    The description of police’s violence against the hillbilly activists or Black Panthers was beyond  imagination, although Black Panther’s provocative guns-and-blazing...style.wasn’t mentioned so much.

    I remember there was a rally of "New Black Panther" 2 years ago, in Harlem NY,  I tried to find the  article at the library PC—but when some articles appeared, suddenly the screen was blocked by “FBI’s warning”.. which says "this computer is blocked... your IP address is put on our record" etc.. though ..I don’t know if that was a fake..

 

     The Black Panther movement also made coalition with Latino orgs, such as the Young Lord a Puerto Rican group..  although I have heard of their name  as the teen age gangs who committed violent crime in Humboldt Park's assembly hall...

(Today Latino communities area is struggling with teenage violence... they do have gang groups.. but their extended family tradition seems to have something to do with their new effort of forming neighborhood orgs .. church-related community movements for the mutual assistance.., youth gang rehabilitation etc. I actually saw the good tv program about welfare center in Pilsen..on channel 21 today!..

*"The Hillbilly Nationalist" - The historical handbook for the Occupy movement 
http://www.amazon.com/Hillbilly-Nationalists-Urban-Rebels-Black/dp/1935554662
- reviews -
http://www.amazon.com/Hillbilly-Nationalists-Urban-Rebels-Black/product-reviews/1935554662/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

 

Meet the Hillbilly Nationalist..

The 60's Movement class went to the Heartland Cafe at Rogers Park... to hear the lecture of Mr. Mike James ...one of the former "Hillbilly Nationalists" in 1960's!..

(...flood of lefty movement posters seen on the wall! ..since this cafe has been the people's movement spot) Mr. Mike.James said, "I saw the former black mayor, Harold Washington came here to make a (preliminary) celebration with the people.., it was just 2 days before he was elected in 1983.. There was already a celebration because at the moment it was already known that he's gonna be elected.. "
 .. "Obama also came here in 2005.." -

(...yes I also remember the other classmate in Dr. Gitelson's 2008's election class, a middle aged, bold head guy  [I nicknamed him Joe da Plumber....] was also talking about it,
  .."I saw Obama made a speech at the cafe out there at Morse, just 3 years ago..He was really a nice guy!!"-
 .. now I find out, it seems to be in this cafe!?)

..Mr. James appeared in the book which we read in the class. It was about the civilian uprising movement in Uptown and the North Side... Rogers Park Chicago neighborhood in '60s..

Now we join (Martin Luther King's) SCLS movement, SNCC...Black Panthers and everything!


..Dr. Wright and Kristin...

Attend the Community Meeting on the South Side!

Cool! .. ..the "Race Relations" class went on the South Side excursion

There was CRS(Community Renewal Society)'s "24th Annual Membership Assembly" on SAT. Oct 13...


The CRS addresses 5 issues:

1.      Inequality in the educational facilities in the public schools in the low-income neighborhoods(“Fair Tax in Education Funding Reform”)

2.      Housing issue for low-income people (“Affordable and Livable Rental Housing”)

3.      Discrimination in the Job Opportunities for Ex-offenders of light crimes... –(“The Force Project: Job Opportunities for Ex-Offenders”)

4.      “Youth's exposure to the Gun Violence”

5.      Drivers licenses’ ban on the Illegal Immigrants—(“Drivers Licenses for Undocumented People”)

 

- The group says these unreasonable issues should be changed through the civic action..

- CRS's each branch organization engages in the issues and makes direct appeals to the authorities, namely, state legislatures and corporate executives..

(for example, in the "FORCE" project: they are currently pushing Walgreens to hire the people with felony record...) 

It looks like effective..

The assembly was held at the African American church near West Pullman..
(the civic organization, based in the Loop came here from the down town today.)

The students got off the train at 95th Dan Ryan & took the bus..and arrived at Pullman Presbyterian Church at 103 St..

…race relations クラスのわがクラスメートたちは、Red Lineを南のlast stop、95thStまで乗り、
さらにバスで数分、103rd St.のアフリカン・アメリカンのチャーチで行われたコミュニティー・リニューアル・ソサイエティの会合に行った！
　…例のフェンガー・ハイスクールにもほど近いけれど、平和でちっとも怖くなかった…

　（犯罪は起らないときは起らないし、起るときは起る、グループで行動せよとエイリーンにいわれていたし、クラスのティーチャーはシャトルを用意しそこなったけれど）  

　　ダウンタウンやシティ全域のほうからきた、CRSの"member"となっている数々のlocal churchの市民代表たち、branch groupのprojectの代表たちが次々に演壇に立ち 活動報告をする、

…聴衆も最後には全員が立って、「イリノイの議会はどういうシステムになっていて、如何にして、Civic Actionの手続きをするか」のシュミレーション・ゲームにも参加した…
　（地下の部屋で色々別なtrainingの分科会もあったが参加しなかった）
 …はじめと終わりはブラック・チャーチの歌って踊るmusicとpreacherの演説で締めくくられた…
（Black Churchでは壇上のスピーカーの言葉を聴衆が呼応方式で盛り上げる方式があちこちにみられた）

（ふだん黒人しかいない地域に、白人をはじめ色々な人種が大挙して訪れたので通行人は結構、少し…驚いていたのは仕方がないようだった…帰り際に教会を出たら行く手から来た黒人の青年が「何だ一体何が起ったんだ？」と驚愕の面持ちでこちらに問いかけてきた）
 

social problemをピックアップして、authorityに対する市民のアクションで可能なところから改善をせまる、お題目の活動は一切なくて初めから政治権力だとかに直接行動で訴える
発想はユニークで効果的だし、クリエイティブな活動だと思った…
  

ここは伝説のPullman Kingdomの地の近く？
…それははじめて寝台車を発明したPullmanが建設して、Pullman Sleeping Car Companyの従業員たちを住まわせた街だとか …


　

Jewelry Shop was Robbed While Sitting in a Cafe..

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=8839870

Suspects arrested in North Side jewelry heist

Employees were bound inside a jewelry store during a jewelry heist in the Edgewater neighborhood on the North Side.  "It was quick police work.."
"People must be buzzed into the jewelry store to enter, but nonetheless, two individuals reportedly gained entry to the store. One may have been wearing a fake mustache. They may have been armed with guns, but no shots were fired. They were able to escape with some valuables after tying up the two store employees who were inside.
Witnesses say they think the suspects left via the back door, while employees were able to escape out the front door. Employees were not injured. The suspects were arrested in the 1900-block of W. Balmoral, not far from the store.."

Bryn Mawrの駅前でお茶を飲んでいた束の間に、高いアンテナをたてた各TV局の中継車や、ポリスが大集結....”Jewelry Shop was Robbed!"…白昼堂々のJewelry Shop 強盗だとか、

 　隣のDunkin Donutsの店員らが銃声に驚いて飛び出すと、椅子に縛られた宝石店員が入り口から飛び出し、Help Police!と叫んだ…全ては信じられない光景だった…という
　（come o--n!）

秋の午後、Dunkin Donutsのすぐ左隣の宝石店に盗人が襲来。

"Next thing I see, I hear the guy running out, screaming, tied to the chair, saying, 'Help, police, police!'" said witness Gregory Pierce, who said he was referring to one of the employees, who ran from the jewelry store.
"There was people with guns in their hand - police officers with gun in their hand - I believe they were peeking inside the glass, and I think they saw them left behind, so everybody left," said witness Aamir Ali.

 直ぐに2人の男が近くで逮捕されたが、月曜日の夜、3人目の容疑者、おそらく女？は逃走中だというのだ…夜のNewsでみたレポーターの表情もまだこわばっていた

.."and reportedly, there may be a third suspect, possibly a woman.”
…
ミッドターム・ブレイクの束の間の午後なのに！