Excuses! Excuses! Excuses!

More than 1,000 people gathered at St. Sabina to join in the festivities of a block party hosted Spike Lee and Father Michael Pfleger. With clouds threatening to drench the party goers, attendees enjoyed free food, music, and raffles and had an opportunity to take photos with the world renowned director.

There was a disc jockey playing music that enticed many to dance, children played games and basketball while others sat on their porches enjoying the day. In addition to the appearance of the usual subjects like the Rev. Jesse Jackson and radio personality Cliff Kelley, actors John Cusack, Chicago Bull Joakim Noah and NBA coach Craig Hodges were out meeting members of the community.

Conspicuous in their absence were Ald. David Moore who originally denied signing the permit for the party in his ward, Ald. Will Burns (4th) who has led much of the backlash against the title Chiraq and Mayor Rahm Emanuel who almost never misses an opportunity to stand in front of a camera.

Originally Moore was opposed to signing the permit because he doesn’t like the title. He stated he spoke with the residents, some of whom also do not like the title, but they informed him they wanted him to sign the permit.

Like Burns, Moore is using this title to justify what has been a lack of economic development in the Englewood neighborhood for years. Since the late 1970’s, economic development has been lacking in the newly formed 6th and the 17th Ward.

For many years, Halsted Avenue between 61st and 79th streets was a lively, vibrant business thoroughfare. Anchored by the now defunct Wiebolt and Sears department stores on 63rd and Peoria and 63rd and Halsted respectively and Franks department store on 79th and Halsted, there were a plethora of clothing stores, shoe stores, Walgreen’s, Woolworths, jewelers, Huck Finn donuts, bakeries and banks. In addition, the neighborhood supported three large movie theaters – the Englewood, the Empress and the Capitol.

In an effort to keep Blacks from shopping at the Evergreen Plaza mall, Mayor Richard Daley closed Halsted to traffic, tore down houses two streets east and west of Halsted to create Halsted Parkway and effectively signed the death knell to the area. The department stores anchoring the area which also included Carr’s department store on 63rd and Lowe, closed. The movie theaters closed and slowly all the other businesses closed. Eventually a mishmash of stores remained. The city eventually tore down the stores, rebuilt the Green Line train station and built a new campus for Kennedy-King College. Driving north or south of the campus, there is still little economic development. The newest businesses are a White Castle and a Burger King. Halsted is still plagued with block upon block of vacant lots and abandoned buildings.

Words have power. We have seen that over and over again as racists, misogynists and homophobes spew hatred. Maybe the title Chiraq will evoke comparisons of Chicago to Iraq. However many people think of Al Capone and his mob when they think of Chicago and that has not stopped tourists or conventioneers from pouring into the city. Those people have never dropped by the streets of Englewood to view the city. They stay within the environs of the loop, the near north side and the Gold Coast. The title of Lee’s film will not change something that was never happening anyway. This was going on long before Spike Lee set up shop at St. Sabina and will be the case long after he and his crew are gone. Who or what will Burns, Emanuel and Moore blame then?