1/6/09
Chicago history project
Here is some basic information about the Austin area. Austin is the 25th community area in Chicago. It is located
in Chicago’s upper west side. It is Chicago’s biggest community area by population and one of Chicago’s biggest community areas in land mass. Austin stretches as far east as Cicero avenue and as far west as Austin boulevard. Its most northern street is Milwaukee District/west line and its most southern street is Roosevelt road.
Austin was created by a businessman by the name of Henry W. Austin in 1865. Up until the 1960s the Austin area was basically all white with little other races in the area. By 1970 the southern part of Austin was mostly black and the neighborhood itself was 66% white and 33% black.
Today Austin is very different from the way it started off. It has gone from a all white neighborhood to an 89% black neighborhood. This is obviously a huge change from its original 99% white population in 1960. During the great migration many blacks began to move into the area. This caused whites to move out of the area in fear that their property values would go down. Unfortunately for the blacks the property values did start to go down as they moved in to the area.
Austin is a mostly residential area with some small businesses and other businesses in the area. Austin use to have many more small businesses then it does today but due to the economy many of its local businesses have been forced to close and move on. There are still a few businesses that are open but nothing like how it use to be. The average income is $30,000 dollars a year. This is a little above average but still not that good. This income is probably a big reason why many of the small business in the area have been forced to close down or relocate.Interviews:
Question 1: What do you think of the Austin Area?
Tom Owens: I think that is a wonderful community filled with good and bad people. Luckily there are a little more good people than bad.
Lestine Owens: Austin is no different than any other community. It has its pros and cons like any other place you will ever visit.
Tyrone Davis: It’s a great place to be at times. But at other times if you find yourself at the wrong place at the wrong time it can be dangerous.
Letisha Evans: It use to be a lot worse crime-wise than it is today. Now they are putting up those cameras and stuff and the area is getting better but it can still be dangerous.
The feeling that I get from these answers is that Austin is a good place to live but has some crime problems that are in the process of being dealt with.
Question 2: How would you feel if white people began to move back in the area?
Tom Owens: I think that they would bring good change to the community but at the price of kicking some black people. I don’t know if that would be a good exchange.
Lestine Owens: There would be a big change in the community that’s for sure. White people would bring change but I fear what would happen to some of the black people in the area. I wonder if they’ll be able to continue living here.
Tyrone Davis: Personally I wouldn’t like it. White people have a habit of moving into an area and pushing the other races out of the area. I would hate to see that happen here.
Letisha Evans: I really don’t know how I feel. It would be good because they could change some things in the neighborhood but I have a feeling that they would move some black people in order to make change.
In these answers I was getting a lot of mixed vibes. Most agreed on the fact that white people could bring good change to the neighborhood but they also agreed that some black people would have to be moved. This is an issue that one day may need to be addressed.
Question 3: If I told you Austin was once 99% white, what would you have to say?
Tom Owens: I’m not surprised at all. I remember back in the day when this area was very different, back when there were a lot of white people. I have sat and watch the area change over time. So hearing that statistic doesn’t faze me at all.
Lestine Owens: I have never heard that before. I have lived here for a long time and I never thought that it would be that high. It is weird to think of how much it has changed over the years.
Tyrone Davis: Dang that’s crazy. I have lived here my whole life and I have never heard anything like that before. It just makes me think about how this area use to be. I’m use to seeing all black people all the time, I couldn’t imagine seeing a whole bunch of white people living in this area.
Letisha Evans: I didn’t know that but it’s not that unbelievable. White people use to run everything back in the day so why would this area be any different?
More mixed responses. Some couldn’t believe that statistic and others seemed to already know about it. A statistic like that can really put your world into perspective.
Bibliography
http://outside.in/austin-chicago-il (articles)
Interviewees: Tom Owens, Lestine Owens, Tyrone Davis, and Letisha Evans
http://www.austinweeklynews.com/ (articles)
