The Austin community is shifting with the help of school closures, new development, nonprofits, housing and a slew of other factors. But recently, the conversation among black residents is the wave of migrants who have flooded the area.
It seems as though those who have deemed themselves leaders and stakeholders are shying away from addressing this issue. To be clear it IS an issue – an issue that is a clear message to black residents on the Westside and Southside that the city does not value the black population no matter who is in office.
I can’t help but feel disrespected and insulted when seeing the way the City of Chicago has bent over backward to help migrants. Meanwhile, I pass our very own Chicagoans who are struggling or displaced daily in Austin and across the city.
My personal experience with helping homeless and struggling families in this community for so long is why I can’t wrap my mind around the sudden influx of resources. Resources that always seemed to fall short when it came to my angel, Ms. Ruby, and other black Austinites. Let me tell you about Ms. Ruby Humphrey, a beautiful soul who happened to be homeless.
I met her at Central and Lake one day outside the train and we began to talk. Ms. Ruby’s spirit and personality was magnetic, she could paint a portrait with her words. Her safe space was a spot she claimed under the viaduct near the train. Every day, I watched as people passed her without acknowledging her. She was intelligent and her wisdom was worth more than money. I began to care for her like a family over the years. Residents in the area saw how I looked out for her and many of them began to care for her, too.
Especially the students from Austin High School and Duke Ellington Elementary. Those young people showed compassion for Ms. Ruby once they saw our interactions. One day, as it began to get cold, I went looking for her in her usual spot, only to pull up and see that the city had pushed her out, thrown all of her stuff away and put a gate around the area where she slept.
For the life of me, I couldn’t understand how the city could be so cold toward those who needed help the most. I spent days driving around the Westside looking for her, I needed to know that she was safe. A kid from the community who knew I was looking for her spotted her while riding the bus. Ms. Ruby roamed, looking for a new place to sleep and seek shelter. She landed in the North Lawndale area. I drove around the area that she was seen in and located her. A month later, I received a call at work from her case worker at Bobby E. Wright. Ms. Ruby had been murdered and left lying in the front yard of a home. She was two weeks from celebrating her 58th birthday.
Devastation was what I felt, knowing that she was driven out of a space in our community that she had been safe in for years. The same “sanctuary city” that welcomed migrants with open arms and resources displaced Ms. Ruby. She asked me to throw her a birthday party before her death. Everything was planned, but we had no idea that she wouldn’t be with us. We have been hosting a community Christmas party in her honor called Ruby’s Roses.
This week, I received a call from a resident with legitimate concerns – a single mother of five, who has been struggling with permanent housing after losing everything in a fire. She wanted to know how the migrants were receiving resources and why none of the housing programs have worked for her.
“Every day there is a new group of migrants moving into the hood. But me and my kids have been looking for permanent housing since the fire. How is this possible? Do we need to protest, sis? What do you think we need to do?”
I tried to answer her questions as best I could. I not only heard her frustration, but I also understood it. Her concerns are valid and should be heard, along with those of others who experience inequity. Black residents who are impacted the most are never truly considered when politics, platforms and bottom lines are involved. How do we change that?
We can continue to boast about new developments and paint murals, but that does not preserve or protect the people or culture of the Austin community. Long gone are the days of optics being enough. There is no generational wealth being created or passed down within our community. We continue to hear about fair or affordable housing and opportunities that are being created here but we have yet to see it trickle down to the people. The black constituents of Chicago must apply pressure where it is needed.
In the words of Ms. Ruby: “Hold on honey, a change gone come.”