Day 72 (Tuesday, August 22)

© The Associated Press

Today, I headed out to make photos of Beauty Turner, who used to live at the Robert Taylor Homes provided by the Chicago Housing Authority. She raised two children, who went on to get a college education, while living in this place. She did it as a single mother. She is proof that these homes, deemed dangerous areas by outsiders, were good places to raise children. The poor conditions did not keep her and her children from becoming successful.

© The Associated Press

Beauty Turner is now a writer for a local activist newspaper which covers topics important to the people living in public housing and the surrounding areas. Mrs. Turner and I got into a conversation about Elvira Arellano. I've been talking about Elvira Arellano a lot lately because it's such a big topic in the area. Beauty Turner, using her reporter skills, was able to get me talking about the situation since we had time to kill before another of my subjects was on her way down for the photo shoot.
She then got to know who I really was. She asked about my life as an immigrant kid growing up in Los Angeles. She asked about the troubles and about the time I was deported along w/ my mother and siblings when I was ten years old.

Now, a legal resident of the U.S., I am a college graduate w/ a pretty prestigious internship experience. She figured that was cool. So, she asked to do a story on me. Soon she will interview me for her story, which is kind of odd. I am usually asking the questions and trying to dig things out of people. I guess it feels kinda cool to be on the other side. Our conversation wasn't too long as we jumped on my truck and headed to the open lot where there was once a building that housed Beauty Turner and her two kids. That building, along with 26 others are gone. There is one more building remaining, but soon it will be demolished. All of this so the city could start developing new complexes. Meanwhile, throwing out the few people that still depend on the cheap housing services.

© The Associated Press

While we were out on the field, we met up w/ other people who once were residents of the buildings. People are still around. Chicago is their home and they aren't going anywhere.

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