LVEJO Quarterly E-Newsletter - September 2018

The Black and Brown Gardeners Exchange Summer of 2018

The Black and Brown's exchange was a collaboration between Vivi Moreno, LVEJO organizer and Taryn Randle from Getting Grown Collective and supported by the Chicago Food Policy Action Council . The exchange came about with the purpose of highlighting Urban Agriculture projects in Chicago that are being fully led by Black and Brown Gardeners and Farmers. We realized Black and Brown communities of color have a rich history of ancestral, and recent agricultural work in the city that still goes highly underfunded or recognized. We wanted to bring communities together around growing food, growing relationships, and growing resilience. Over 60 elders, adults, youth, and children were brought together in two exchanges. Englewood to Little Village, and Little Village to Englewood during the months of July and August. We enjoyed traditional Soul and Mexican foods cooked by the gardeners themselves. We are in the process of planning a third exchange in the Summer that includes a strong art component, another amazing asset in our communities that doesn't get enough praise. Stay tuned for details! To see event pictures, visit our Facebook photo album!

2018 Summer Youth Internships!

Like every summer, we were privileged to host some amazing Little Village youth as interns with us. They came from schools from around the city but all had roots and deep care for the neighborhood. This year youth split into three groups to work on three different campaigns, 1) the Brownfields Campaign, 2) the #NoDieselLV Campaign, and 3) the Community Center Campaign. They all did went through group building exercises, EJ workshops, extensive organizing, research, social media, and much more! The youth closed out the summer by hosting a community meeting to present their hardwork at the Little Village Boys & Girls Club.

The Brownfields group found that local business owners and street vendors WOULD buy organic produce. The youth began to conceptualize what a workers cooperative farm could look like and what we should grow to cater to community needs. The #NoDieselLV group collected truck count data and conducted air monitoring! They specifically targeted the 26th & Kostner intersection as Unilever Best Foods recently constructed a drop-lot which only put Zapata Academy students at a greater risk to develop asthma and other respiratory issues. They found that on average, 1.3 trucks/min pass by this intersection during the day.  The Community Center group also conducted surveys that heavily focused on surveying people that frequent La Villita Park. They found that community members need a community center with these top 3 amenities: pool, craft room, and a daycare.

It was an honor to have worked with such amazing youth EJ leaders! Get to know just a few of them here.

Semillas de Justicia goes Zero Waste! Semillas de Justicia Gardeners organized themselves with the support of LVEJO to start eliminating all disposable plastic use of utensils during our Weekly Community Potlucks. Since the Summer of 2014 we have mostly use disposable plates, cups, and napkins from May to October each year. That is a lot of waste! Gardeners realized that we have to make small but transformational changes in our community space, and that means slowly introducing reusable utensils and setting washing stations to equitable distribute washing duties with all who want and can participate in our community dinners.

La Villita Park and Cook County Jail aerial view. 2018, Google Maps EJ and Policing The Little Village Environmental Justice Organization releases this statement as a background and framework of our organizational and community-based approach to Environmental Justice as it pertains to violence, policing, and immigration. It is based in the reality of how these systems exist in the Little Village community and how these systems deeply impact our neighborhood alongside Black and Brown communities across Chicago, the United States, and the world. Read the full organizational statement here.

Credit: Daniel Peters Photography The People's Climate Movement: Rise for Climate, Jobs, and Justice! About 150 climate leaders and allies showed up to the Chicago press conference and 500 gathered in Elwood in solidarity for the Peoples Climate Movement on September 8th! This was only one of many events happening around the globe to Rise for Climate, Jobs, and Justice . The rally started with speakers which included, Environmental leaders, warehouse workers, and others directly impacted by issues of climate, jobs, and justice. The rally concluded with everyone marching to BNSF and leaders delivering a letter with community demands. Elwood, IL currently has the largest in-land port in North America. LVEJO officially sponsors Chicago Dyke March for the second year! We firmly believe that movements that seek justice must be inclusive. We must also advocate for and give space to marginalized groups of people. We fully support and enjoy having Chicago Dyke March in Little Village! To view the full photo album, click here.

Youth Scientists Over the course of two weeks during the Summer Youth Program, the Diesel Campaign group focused on collecting truck counting data and air monitoring data. We focused on the intersection of Kostner and 26th to give context to why it is crucial for Zapata Academy to receive an adequate air filtration system that will protect students from breathing in dirty air that is being emitted by dirty diesel trucks. For the study, youth leaders collected data over a two week period to track the amount of diesel trucks going North-South and East-West on the 26th and Kostner intersection. They found a total of 469 trucks! This averaged to about 1.3 trucks/minute passing through this intersection in either direction. Their air monitoring results showed that our air quality near this intersection stayed within the "moderate" to "unhealthy for sensitive groups." LVEJO opposes proposed plan for the Crawford Coal Power Plant. The Little Village Industrial corridor and its community members have more to offer than Hilco's proposal for a New Warehouse. The community vision does not have to sacrifice its members’ health and well-being for Hilco’s profit.This is crucial to building a thriving new economy in Chicago that no longer features communities of color as sacrifice zones. Read our full response here.

Our weekly community potluck dinners at Semillas are coming to an end. Join us in celebrating the hard work of community gardeners and the amazing food we were able to grow this year. Our annual Harvest Fest is just around the corner. We'll be having live music, raffles, delicious food, and of course our famous Salsas Competition! Come vote for the tastiest and spiciest salsas! Like a lot of our gatherings, this is a family-friendly event and we strongly encourage you to bring your families, friends and little ones. We'll have kid friendly activities. If you plan on coming, don't forget to bring a dish or non-alcoholic drink to share!

We'll see you there on October 6th, 2018 from 12-4pm! Semillas de Justicia Community Garden is located at 2727 S. Troy. Please note, there is permit parking along the 2700 south block of Troy.

What's a great way to stay updated with our work? Follow us on social media!

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