Activists work to spread hope with lights along King Drive
Community activists from My Block, My Hood, My City were nearing the end of efforts to round up volunteers willing to hang holiday lights on King Drive in a symbolic effort of trading trauma for hope.
“Our hopes are to light up King Drive,” said Jahmal Cole, one of the “Be a Part of the Light” campaign organizers. “Almost 1,000 people have helped so far. We want to replace the trauma with hope.”
King Drive began as Grand Boulevard, then South Park Avenue, before being named after civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968. Sadly, King Drive marks places on the South Side where violence and crime have been rampant.
More than 10 Chicago neighborhoods cross King Drive, from Bronzeville to Roseland, and the group hopes to inspire community members as well as outsiders to work together for peace, Cole said.
“We are elevating empathy,” he said. “In the words of MLK: ‘Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that.’ We are trying to take away the darkness.”’
As of Friday, Cole said the group had about 100 homes or structures to go, including stringing lights on the Washington Park Fieldhouse, just south of Garfield Boulevard.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot attended a lighting ceremony Saturday afternoon at the park.
On Sunday, the group is set to convene at Palmer Park, 201 E. 111th St., from noon to 3 p.m. and focus on homes from 103rd to 115th streets in the Roseland neighborhood.
This Christmas holiday marks the second year of working to expand cheer beyond the Loop and Magnificent Mile.
In all, My Block, My Hood, My City wants to encourage the community to work together by bringing lights to sometimes dark streets.
“Our want is to inspire people. Hanging lights is just an excuse to get people working together,” Cole said. “Why do the holiday lights stop downtown?”
Cole knows the importance of setting an example for the younger generation, he said.
“It may surprise some, but some of these kids have never seen a Christmas tree,” Cole said. “But today, they will see people sharing and working together to make things better.”
Cole added he hopes the movement will continue yearly throughout Chicago.