UnBlocked Englewood aims to demonstrate what it takes to uplift a block after decades of disinvestment by tracing and addressing present day issues triggered by racist housing policies in the 1950s and 60s.

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The creator of UnBlocked Englewood is social justice artist Tonika Lewis Johnson, lifetime Englewood resident and creator of the Folded Map and Inequity for Sale projects. Johnson’s Inequity for Sale project, which served as the catalyst for UnBlocked Englewood, draws attention to the history of racist Land Sale Contracts in the 1950s and 60s, and the generations of disinvestment and present-day inequities resulting from this practice. Over the two decades studied, the amount of wealth Land Sale Contracts stole from Chicago's Black community was between $3.4 and $4.3 billion dollars.

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The block of 6500 South Aberdeen Street in Englewood, Chicago is the target of UnBlocked Englewood:

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• 22 vacant lots, 24 residential buildings, and approximately 75 residents

• Direct descendants of families impacted by Land Sale Contracts

 

The goals of UnBlocked Englewood are to repair and uplift in three ways:
 

1. Provide block residents with access to home repair funding and technical support.

2. Create arts-based physical improvements on vacant lots, co-created with block residents.

3. Generate public engagement around the work on the block, and what it takes to undo the harmful effects of racist housing policies. 

 

The vision is that this transformation, which is driven by direct input from residents on the block, will contribute to an upward trajectory for the stability of the neighborhood and the wealth-building capacity of its residents. As the initiative unfolds, it not only addresses the immediate challenges faced by Englewood but also underscores the pivotal role art funding can play in addressing the legacy of historic racism before comprehensive national redress is established.