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Chaos at the Bank of Lawndale

by  Assistant Editor

On a cold day in early March, more than one hundred clergymen and protestors descended on the Community Bank of Lawndale, located at 1111 South Homan Avenue, on Chicago’s South West Side. The sale of the bank – which was started, operated and owned by Blacks for years – sparked the controversy.

Outrageous statements were made during the protest from bank supporters, employees and protestors. This reporter could only record what happened and what was said.

The clergymen and protestors were greeted not with a welcome wagon or hearty handshake, but by large blue “Do Not Cross” police barricade that stood in front of the bank. Security guards were stationed out front, some wearing the latest style in bulletproof vests. Alongside them was a line of police and police squad cars and trucks.
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The Renowned Vernon Jordan

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Before he went to college, civil rights veteran and businessman Vernon Jordan’s mother told him to join the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC), according to his book, “Vernon Can Read.” All the white people she had worked for made their children join ROTC, his mother reasoned. “There must be something to it,” she told the young Jordan.

Jordan was a strong-willed, determined young man who persevered in his quest to succeed. He got a good education, was a successful activist and then became a business executive as well as a consultant and friend to President Bill Clinton. Though many Americans know Jordan from his involvement in the Monica Lewinsky scenario, most African Americans know about his record of accomplishment. Read more »
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Transforming CHA: Chewing Up Tobacco Road

by  Assistant Editor

The stores on Tobacco Road are losing business because of the relocation of residents of the low-income areas surrounding the stores.

As I walked down the legendary 47th Street, better known as Tobacco Road, in early March, I noticed a lot of boarded up stores. The Michigan Garden Apartments, better known as the Rosenwald complex, lay barren. The Rosenwald once housed approximately 500 low-income families. Now it’s a ghost town. No children are outside playing; no one is standing outside of the once very busy dwelling.

I was waiting for a tumbleweed to brush by my dusty boots as I continued to walk down the long road of despair. I couldn’t help but wonder: If all the stores that were located in the Rosenwald closed down, then how are the other businesses in the community doing? Read more »

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