Who's Who in Club History Meet me on Kedzie John Hume Kedzie was a lawyer, an astronomer and later a real-estate developer. He was also the first Director of the Union League Club of Chicago. Kedzie was admitted to the bar in 1847, but after moving to Chicago and noticing the need for the growing city to expand past its limits, he turned to real estate development. With partners Luther L. Greenleaf, Cyrus P. Leland and John P. Wilson, he formed the Ravenswood Land Company. The company purchased two hundred acres of land near the Chicago and Great Western Railroad tracks in what is now Ravenswood, on the Northwest Side of the city, The company also planned and developed land in South Evanston. Kedzie and his partner Luther Greenleaf were benefactors to the city of Evanston, helping to found the Evanston Free Public Library in 1873. He served as the first president of the library board. Kedzie was outspoken in his opposition to slavery during the days of antebellum. He belonged to the abolitionist wing of the Republican party as it formed and came to power. In 1886, he wrote “Speculations: Solar Heat, Gravitation And Sun Spots,” diving into the scientific theories and observations surrounding the sun and its effects on Earth. Kedzie Street, which runs north and south through several neighborhoods including Mount Greenwood, Lawndale, Logan Square and North Park, is named after him; As well as Kedzie Avenue in Evanston. #chicago #chicagohistory #kedzie #clublife
Union League Club of Chicago’s Post
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Talk about a #ThrowbackThursday! Here's what St. John's Chapel originally used to look like. Do you see any similarities?
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Today’s News
Hear Chicago's Mayor, Brandon Johnson, on the Black Male Real Estate Expo! Investing in our young men, is investing in our families and communities! THIS SATURDAY! October 7th at Kennedy King College Register today at https://lnkd.in/ghfiZAVK and bring each and everyone you know who may be interested in this empowering information. See our moderators and panelists for the day: https://lnkd.in/gdC4-_XM Everyone is welcome! PLEASE SHARE THIS POST FAR AND WIDE! Premier Sponsors: Chicago Association of Realtors Chicago Association of Realtors Foundation Illinois Realtors Ada S. Mckinley Community Services Kennedy King College Young Realtist Division- Chicago Lakeland Title Services The Renovation Room Corporation of Supportive Housing Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago Ani Real Estate Ani Title
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Gentrification's Language Impact: Shaping Our View of Urban Change Reading "The Invention of a Neighborhood" by Jonathan Lethem sparked thoughts on how the term "gentrification" evolves and shapes our urban understanding. Surprisingly absent from the article, its emergence in later years underlines language's role in community perception. Thinking about my time growing up in Jackson Heights, where change is constant, makes me realize terminology's role in framing shifts. "Gentrification" is familiar but rich in meaning, evoking discourse on equity, displacement, and growth. Memories of Starbucks' arrival on 82nd Street in Jackson Heights stand out. That moment marked a turning point during my high school or college years. A visit to Jahn's after revealed the neighborhood's evolution, now evident as Queens boasts fiercely competitive real estate. Language molds our attitudes, influencing policy and responses. In exploring places like Boerum Hill, term choice shapes public perception and development direction—be it "revitalization," "urban renewal," or "gentrification." Let's mindfully use language as we discuss neighborhoods and their evolution. Understanding its impact drives productive conversations, advocates for equity, and safeguards community identity amid growth. #urbanchange #communityimpact #urbandevelopment #languagematters
Jonathan Lethem, who grew up in the newly established Brooklyn neighborhood of Boerum Hill, reflects on a 1977 New Yorker story about the making of Boerum Hill. “The founders of Boerum Hill each avowed a desire to live in an integrated neighborhood,” Lethem writes. The irony was that the place was established with the intention of integration, at the cost of its Black and Puerto Rican residents. Read Lethem on the origin story behind the neighborhood: http://nyer.cm/XdhQgvu.
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BACK IN CHICAGO... The skyline of this city can be described as overwhelming. Historically and architecturally, Chicago is breathtaking. Like many other cities in the USA, the biggest city of the state of Illinois symbolizes the American Dream, rooted in the legacy of Calvinist-Protestant thinking, which continues to drive what the USA represents today. Paired with an expansionist drive based on affordable raw materials and energy, it unfolds what is commonly referred to as the "American Dream." However, not everyone benefits from this dream. Many simply can't keep up anymore. One also encounters a divided country whose narrative of endless wealth is based on the Protestant settlers who once left Europe in search of the Promised Land. Linked with the firm belief that God makes those who adhere to the orthodox rules of Calvinist-Protestant thinking wealthy. Certainly, today, many years after the colonization of the continent, faith, at least metaphorically, plays a subordinate role. Financial resources dominate people's thoughts. Some can afford many things, while others live paycheck to paycheck. I don't believe that those who have more are chosen by God. They simply seized their opportunities in a land characterized by extreme competition. I am still trying to comprehend this country... Simon Jacob, September 18, 2023, USA, Illinois, Chicago...
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Deputy Executive Director, Louisville Metro Housing Authority | Semi-Professional Goat Whisperer
The 1990s proved to be the end of an era in black music. From the 50s to the 90s the dominant force in the culture was r&b and soul music. Legendary voices and groups like Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Sam Cooke, Boys II Men, and The Isley Brothers owned the music landscape. But the late 90's brought about a seismic shift in music. Hip-hop, which technically started in the 70s, took hold of American music. It has since turned into a multi-billion dollar juggernaut that has changed America, built empires, and somehow made Ice Cube, a guy who famously rapped "[expletive] the police", into an actor who played a police captain in a family friendly movie. My point is this... Times change. Either we change or the world passes us by. At the Louisville Metro Housing Authority we understand this. That's why we're embarking on what may be the largest affordable housing revitalization project in Kentucky history (don't quote me on that but I mean it's Kentucky... I'm almost certain I'm right). When all is said and done more than 1,500 units of affordable housing will be created or redeveloped. More than $500M in economic development activity will be brought to the city of #Louisville. Upwards of 3,500 people will be housed or placed in better housing. Times change, you can either be the one that changes things... or be the one changed by things. We're going to change things. You're welcome to join us. Also... Welcome back to the Keith Gregory Show. #affordablehousing #lihtc #realestatedevelopment #construction #development
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Preserving Black communities and providing historical context as to the significance of specific areas and properties, will allow Black property owners and developers the opportunity to save the homes that our ancestors worked hard to purchase through Jim Crow laws, redlining, and other systems set in place so that black people could not become homeowners. Do some research in your local government to see what preservation resources are available. Most of the time this funding is there…you just have to go after it. #realestatenews #communitypreservation #blackcommunity #realestatenews #tampanews #realestate #developmentproject #blackdevelopers #developmentopportunity #bettercallsqualls
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Frederick Douglass: abolitionist, orator, and advocate for economic empowerment. He went to Rochdale a slave, left a free man and the ties he had formed helped to pave way for the beginning of the cooperative movement. As we celebrate the #BlackHistoryMonth, let’s continue his legacy by promoting the cooperative principles of economic empowerment for all. Interested in Fredrick’s story? Check out this article by NCB https://lnkd.in/dpfktJTs
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Nice to read this slice of history from my adopted city, especially in light of the hard reading about redlining in Richard Rothstein's important book, The Color of Law. https://lnkd.in/e2wkxbzy
My latest article for NEXTpittsburgh explores Black suburbanization in Pittsburgh, c. 1950-1990. In it, I tell some of the story of Charles E. Davis, an African American developer who built communities throughout Pittsburgh. His work helped make it possible to meet the city's growing Black middle class demand for housing. Folks who read the article to the end might get a surprise about the subdivision that Davis developed in Southeast Washington, DC, in the early 1960s. That development has special meaning for me. A good friend lived the last years of her life in a home behind the Davis houses. We could have seen the Davis properties from her backyard. Had she not died last year, I would have been on the telephone telling her about them as soon as I learned about Davis. https://lnkd.in/eqXidBMT
Charles E. Davis built homes for Pittsburgh’s Black middle class that still endure
https://nextpittsburgh.com
