interest, important priorities that transcend neighborhood
geography, and race and ethnicity, while dealing with disparities
in society, and why certain people have opportunity and others
don’t. Young people have a tremendous opportunity to create a
new Chicago.
Do you think Chicago is segregated?
CHUY: Chicago has a legacy of segregation, racism, and
resistance to people of color living where they choose to live.
On the other hand, Chicago is a mosaic of people who have
settled in the city at different times. So there’s two ways to
look at it that are historically verifiable. But to be clear, Chicago
is a city that has kept people apart and confined. In order for
Chicago to become a better place for everyone, it needs to
diversify income-wise and race and ethnicity-wise, so people
can enjoy the city, and we can cease to have concentrations
of poverty. GHETTOS ARE THE STRONGEST INFLUENCER OF
SEGREGATION IN THE CITY. In the Chicago I envision, there will
be ethnic enclaves where people choose to live amongst each
other for positive reasons, instead of negative.
What is the state of black and brown relationships in
Chicago?
CHUY: There’s a lot to be desired. One of the challenges to
creating a better dialogue between black and brown people is
language. In Little Village, Spanish is our first language. So in
order for us to sit down and talk to each other, we have to be
able to say “Hola.” Then we can sit down and talk about how we
came to Chicago and where our parents come from. We have
a lot in common. We all come from somewhere else, except
for Native Americans. We need to unite and communicate more
regularly, not just around election time. That’s one of the most
difficult times to come together.
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