Martin Luther King Jr. weekend is in full bloom this weekend in the Windy City. His legacy is being celebrated by Blacks, Latinos, Whites, Asians, and everybody else. But has his dream really become reality? Yes and no.
Unlike other cities (hello, Los Angeles), thousands of people can get together without beating each other up. I love July 3; it is a night in Chicago when Latinos, Blacks, and everybody else celebrates the birth of America, even though the country has been a racist nation. But then look at our neighborhoods—you will barely find a Black or Latino person living in the prestigious Lincoln Park neighborhood.
If you go down to Lakeview, things change a little bit. However, there are still too many White people and too few Latino or Blacks. Are the White people trying to keep their neighborhood clean?
If you go to Rogers Park, Black people practically own the neighborhood. Latinos like Logan Square or different areas in the South Side. This isn’t diversity; this is separatism.
Chicago is the city that produced our first Black president, Barack Obama. It should also be a symbol for diversity. It is getting there, but still has a way to go.
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