1 Cultural Development in Underrepresented Communities: Using an Empowerment and
1 Cultural Development in Underrepresented Communities: Using an Empowerment and Citizen Participation Approach
Jacqueline Samuel, Ph.D.
This case story illustrates the significance of using the arts in community development work which not only speaks to aesthetics but to how we can heal communities and promote well-being.
The Big Picture
In the late ’60s, Chicago Black Theater companies began to grow during a time called the Blacks Arts Movement. There were several Black women, all iconic by today’s standards that led the charge. First, there was the mother of Black Theater, Val Gray Ward. Val gave us Kuumba Theatre where I became a member in the early ’80s. Val was the mother of Black Theater and mentored many. Abena Joan Brown former social worker, dancer, founded Ebony Talent Agency later becoming eta Creative Arts Foundation Theater. Then came Jackie Taylor founder of the Black Ensemble Theater (BET) Company whose mission was and still is today, to eradicate racism. All of these women participated in the Black Arts Movement including Illinois Poet Laureate Gwendolyn Brooks, and Margaret Taylor–Burroughs founder of the South Side Community Art Center (home of Black visual arts) and founder of the Du Sable Museum of African American Art. These Black Women were trailblazers and pre-community psychologists in their own right. If you were a performing, visual, or musical artist in Chicago between the 60’s-2005, at some point you were touched by their grace and wisdom. The Black Arts Movement gave Black people a sense of community, pride, and voice by creating a space to tell our stories through the arts and cultural experiences. It was a holistic approach, led by several daring Black women with intentionality to use the arts as a tool for liberation.
This experience motivated my work as a performing artist, curator of multidisciplinary arts, in addition to being an art consultant. By 2004, I was working in three different communities: Albany Park (north side of the city), Humboldt Park (northwest side of the city), and South Chicago (the far south side of the city), all very culturally rich and diverse communities yet struggling in their own way to sustain their arts communities. This is where I learned that I had to know the history of each community. What I found was:
In 2007, I returned to South Chicago in a new role. I became the intermediary with an arts background and the responsibility to support the implementation of a Quality of Life Plan (QLP) written by the residents and stakeholders of South Chicago. The QLP consisted of projects and program strategies that responded to social conditions that were a concern of the community. South Chicago identified economic development, safety, education, environment, food access, health, housing, youth development, and the arts as their strategic focus.
The challenge was to integrate the arts into community development practices. This meant bringing city government, residents, and other stakeholders