The Forgotten Neighborhood

Hello and welcome to my final action project for my Rhetoric class. This last unit was "Unite" where we talked about how people can come together to challenge or fight a certain force. With that, we looked into the 13 colonies and how they were started. We also looked into Bacon's rebellion and how he was able to unite people together to fight against colonists. Throughout the class we've been looking at housing and the people on both sides of the situation. One side is uniting to fight to make housing more fair, while the other is developing housing in some cases. We had the opportunity to talk to some developers from Sterling Bay who develop housing throughout certain parts of Chicago. For this last Action Project, the goal is to create a form of art that could give a sense about a political issue and inspire people to fight for that issue.

"File:Art of Black Fist (50163805148).jpg" by Andrew Ratto from Berkeley, USA is marked with CC0 1.0.

For this I decided to do two pieces, one of them being a poem. For this I wanted to look into the history of Black Wall Street. As a whole, Black Wall Street it has a lot of history so I wanted to focus on specific parts of it and then look at the other parts of it. Here's my poem below:

Dream to Nightmare 

Where black people could discover 190 means to fulfill their dreams

Black children run with glee through the streets

Watching familiar faces wave from model t’s as they cruise down side roads

Nickels sing from pockets funded by Mother and Father’s allowances

Gummy bears, Tootsie rolls, and Hershey's fill shouting stomachs from Williams Confectionery

Dreamland Theater’s seats give warmth to the children amused by silent motion pictures

Suddenly shrieks shatter dreams block by block

Flames rush through streets, demolishing everlasting wealth and community

Rage fueled by bigotry and hatred burning through bullets and bombs dropped from planes aimed at the darker skin

Hundreds of black lives lost in 18 hours

Greenwood lying in ash and bullet wounds

The smoke leaves fractured

Uncover people lying dead on sidewalks

Racism couldn’t let the residents live free

History books hid the careless carnage

Tombstones trapping The Black Wall Street

"Dream to Nightmare", By RBL, 2022

Explanation:

This poem could possibly be found on a website or in a book based around the history of Greenwood. For a start, Greenwood was a community that was located in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It was an entirely black run neighborhood that was one of the most wealthy neighborhoods even to today. Their net-worth as a town converted to today is equal to about 2.2 million dollars. One of the reasons for this was because the families who were moving in were all starting their own businesses. That's what the 190 represents in the amount of businesses that were in the neighborhood. At the time, a Model-t was a popular car which a lot of black people had at the time. One thing that was popular in Greenwood was the Dreamland theater. Right next to the building there was a candy store named William's Confectionery. The Williams were one of the most prominent families in the community who own the candy store and the movie theater. A popular thing to do at the time was get a treat and watch a movie.

"Photograph of North Greenwood Avenue in Tulsa, Oklahoma" by Unidentified is marked with CC0 1.0.

Then there's a turn into the race riot with the screams and shouts from black people who were running in fear. One of the reasons this happened was because the white people in the community were racist and didn't want to see black people succeed. Another reason this happened was because a black shoe shiner named Dick Rowland was accused of assaulting a white woman named Sarah Page who was an elevator operator. When the white community heard about this allegation they were in outrage and tore Greenwood to the ground. Not only did they shoot through buildings and people, but even used planes to bomb the neighborhood as well. The tragedy left hundreds dead on the street and left their families traumatized. The government decided to hide this history so not a lot of people know about the history of the neighborhood and why it matters.

The second piece I created for this is a T-Shirt. Here are some pictures of it below:

"Rebuild the Joy", By RBL, 2022

This piece is dedicated to Greenwood as a whole. The target being a person who might be looking for something to represent this history. Along with that, someone who might've read the poem and might want to unite with others to raise awareness to the issue and the community that was lost to racism. The names on the black are all places that businesses that were lost in the race riot. All of them were a huge part of Greenwood and a part of what made the community so valuable. The image of the houses on the front are supposed to represent the houses that people might have lived in. Though there are only five businesses on the back of the shirt, there are still some many others that didn't make it through the riot. Part of understanding complex histories is understanding that people were harmed and that there is work that must be done to understand those histories and honor those that were harmed. In my eyes this connects to pathos because it is attempting to draw upon the sadness that people might have when thinking about the history of Greenwood. Using pathos was a intentional choice in this project because I felt that people would be more willing to make choices to prevent the repeating of history if they had an emotional connection to the history.

Overall, I enjoyed working on this action project because it pushed me to look at a history I didn't know to much about. I also enjoy writing so being to incorporate poetry into one of my projects is something that I always like doing. The difficult part of this action project was figuring out how to make the T-Shirt portion of it because it was difficult for me to get my message visually as well as written. The history itself taught about why Greenwood was important and why it's history is still important today. If I were to do this project I might want to research a different issue and why it's important to certain group.

Sources:

Dillahunt, A. A. (2021, June 3). Black Wall Street, collective memory, and reparations. AAIHS. Retrieved November 10, 2022, from https://www.aaihs.org/black-wall-street-collective-memory-and-reparations/

John and Loula Williams. The Victory of Greenwood. (n.d.). Retrieved November 10, 2022, from https://thevictoryofgreenwood.com/2020/03/15/the-victory-of-greenwood-john-and-loula-williams/

The williams dreamland theatre in Tulsa, Oklahoma - nitrateville.com. (n.d.). Retrieved November 10, 2022, from https://nitrateville.com/viewtopic.php?t=31745

A Mask on a Bike?

Hello and welcome to my final action project for my Design and Engineering class. In this unit “Farther” we learned about wheels, pulleys, and other simple machines. We also talked about gears and how they work in different ways. Along with that we talked about Potential and Kinetic energy. Math wise we worked with speed, distance traveled, and acceleration. One Field Experience that stuck out to me was going to Civic Projects. This FE was a whole day FE that we don’t usually have a lot of and we got to talk to architects in the field. This allowed us to see how certain people think through certain problems and design with a sense of empathy. I’m proud of the amount my drawing experiences have improved over the class. In the past, I wasn’t too fond of drawing but, over time I’ve gotten used to drawing simpler pictures. The purpose of this action project is to design a bike that fits a certain person's needs. Different people have different needs, so we need to design them for a specific target and to fit a specific goal.

"Mile End Bike Garage" by xddorox is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Before brainstorming ideas we first had to interview a biker so we could know their process. I decided to interview my Aunt who's been biking for over 40 years so she’s told me a lot about what helps her bike. She taught me that sometimes when biking it's sometimes hard to breath because the user is a constant speed with no stopping point.

I decided to work with my NM on this project. Our user’s name is Napoleón, and they live in Riobamba, Ecuador. Riobamba is known for being a part of the highlands of Ecuador and there are many hills and mountains in the area. Because of that, it makes it difficult to get around with a bike that might be really thin or something that doesn’t help with that process. They also struggle with the air flow in the area and would like to have a bike they can share with some of their siblings from time to time.

"The Ox-Lock Bike", By NM, 2022

The bike NM and I created is the Ox-Lock. It's helpful because it allows for a more efficient way to lock a bike. For Napoleon, one concern that they had was trying to lock his bike up near his school which is in a city area. Because of that, having a lock box which is a box that stores a chain that can be taken out via password. This makes it innovative by allowing the user to wrap the chain throughout the bike and attach it to something lockable without using multiple locks at once. This makes it more convenient when locking and makes it easier to store the bike in public without it getting stolen. Another concern Napoleon had was that the air in Riobamba isn’t the greatest. Because of that we’ve made a mask that’s connected to an air tank at the front of the bike. The air tank allows for the mask to give air straight to Napoleon allowing for efficient air flow. This helps to give Napoleon some air while riding when they might not have as much. When the mask is off, there's a place on the bike where it can be stored and cleaned out.

"Digital Ox-Lock Sketch", By RBL, 2022

Our persona, Napoleon, is one mile away from his school which is 1.6km. For the average person, a mile walk should take around 19 minutes. Biking that amount is around 12 miles per hour. But because Napoleon is on the younger side it might take them a longer time to bike that distance. Because of that we rounded up a little bit for Napoleon's  time. Therefore it should take them 24 minutes to walk to school and  7 minutes to bike from their house to school. Their average speed is around 9 mph and 4 mps.

Here are our calculations below:

Diameter = 28 in
Radius = 14 in
Circumference = 3.14 x 2 x 14 = 87.92 > 88 in
# of Rotations = 63,360 / 88 = 720 rotations

Model diameter: 3.5
Scale: 3.5:28 -> 1/8


Bike Mass: 30 kg
Napoleon’s Mass: 70 kg

Total Mass: 100 kg

EK = ½ x m x 4^2 > ½ x 100 x 4^2 = 800J
Momentum (P) = 100 x 4 = 400kgm/s

"Napoleon on the Ox-Lock Model", RBL and Nm, 2022

Our bike makes more sense with multiple gears because it makes it more convenient for Napoleon to go up certain hills that might take them a while. For their needs, we’re designing this bike for an easier ride on his legs. For Napoleon’s ride, the gear ratios that we’ll be using are 50/34,44/16, 34/30, 28/20, and 24/18. These can allow for Napoleon to have many different options going up and down hills so they can have the best experience. For our model above, our main scale was 10 inches in real life to 1 on the model

From this action project I learned how to design a bicycle on a small scale using certain items. Along with that, creating a bike targeting a specific person in mind and what might go into that. One thing that did make it difficult was designing with an oxygen restriction in mind. In Chicago, oxygen isn’t the biggest issue, whereas in other parts of the globe it’s something a little more prominent. My partner and I overcame this by making something that can fit in multiple environments. Another issue was designing something for a younger audience. Throughout the course we’ve been designing for people who are on the older side and not directly younger. This was one of the first times for me when I’d have to design something for a younger person. If I were to do it again I’d like to see how it might be different if my partner and I had a different persona.

Sources:

Schau, J. (2015, May 15). Gear ratios. what does it all mean? Pure Cycles. Retrieved November 10, 2022, from https://www.purecycles.com/blogs/bicycle-news/8821967-gear-ratios-what-does-it-all-mean

Wikstrom, M. (2020, December 28). Beyond the big ring: Understanding gear ratios and why they matter. CyclingTips. Retrieved November 10, 2022, from https://cyclingtips.com/2017/11/understanding-bicycle-gear-ratios-why-they-matter/

Golfing Through School Systems

Welcome to this blog post for my class Par for The Course. This class was based around golfing and seeing how we can golf in creative ways. With this, we’ve had many times in class where we got to create our own golf courses. Some being long, short, or going over certain obstacles. We also went to the Chicago Athletic Association and played golf on virtual screens. This all comes back to our Action Project for this class being to create a golf course that’s based around a certain Sustainable Development Goal. 

56, P. (2008, December 3). School. Flickr. Retrieved November 7, 2022

The Sustainable Development Goal I chose to target was SDG 4, Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. This connects to my work because my neighborhood doesn’t have a lot of good public schools. Most of the students that I know go to private schools in the area like Delasalle, Urban Prep, or Holy Angels. This is because the funding throughout most schools isn’t fair and is vastly spread out throughout Chicago.

RBL. (2022). Golf Course Pictures. 

Here’s how it looks built out: 

RBL. (2022). Golf Course Pictures. 

To begin, the player randomly chooses a pencil from a can. Depending on what color they pick, it will show where they start the course with a sign. I made the par 4 because it might be difficult to complete it in less than 2 or 3 since the stairs have a weird texture. Along with that, there is a hole in one possible, it just depends how the player shoots and how their luck is on the stairs. The course itself can be put up or reconstructed very easily. It mainly comes down to how much space a person might have when setting up and if they have a set of stairs where they are living. At the end of the hole, there’s a QR code that the player can scan before they leave. The QR code leads to an organization named The Chicago Public Education Fund, which helps to fund Chicago public schools that might not get the money from other systems who might need additional funding. When a person finds out about The Fund, they can either donate or promote the fund's message of trying to make a difference in schools.

RBL. (2022). Golf Course Pictures. 

So I thought of this idea for a couple of reasons, one of them being because the stairs are an obstacle I’ve used in the past. The stairs themselves give a sense of levels when I’m playing which I thought was interesting at least and made me think about school systems. From there, I got the idea to make a course based on school funding and the idea that not all schools are treated and funded the same. As a whole, education is a huge topic that is often overlooked by a lot of people. Making this course hit close home to me because most of the schools I went to didn’t have the greatest funding. Even in my neighborhood, most schools' quality and funding aren’t the greatest. This leads to students either going to college and not doing well, or neglected by underpaid teachers who’ve stopped caring about their job. In comparison to other schools in the city, most are blocked out by selective enrollment or being private to only specific people. This led to me using that idea to have a class system on the course’s starting points. One point being easier to shoot from and therefore having better opportunities. While others were forgotten in the past or closed down due to the lack of funding and support. 

 

In closing, working on this action project was something I enjoyed a lot. As a class, golfing was something that I did in the past so I loved having a class based around playing the sport again. Building the course out idea wise was something that did take time for me to get a final idea, but once I figured it out it was smooth sailing from there. One thing that was difficult for me was trying to see a SDG as a whole that could relate to my course. Working with that state I had made it difficult to lay out an idea. If I were to do this project again, I might consider making a course in a different area targeting a new issue. 

 

Building a New Norm

Welcome to my third action project for my Rhetoric class. The focus of this unit was "Challenge."  Throughout the unit, we were asked to challenge the status quo or the norm. The status quo could be found in a household, government, or society. We looked into different documents that explained or challenged the norm at certain times. Some of these being, The Doctrine of Discovery, King Ferdinand's letter to the Arawak, and The Iroquois Constitution. We also went to different non-profit organizations who use rhetoric to challenge the status quo on a daily basis. Some of these being 33rd Ward Working Families and the People's Assembly for the 48th Ward. For this action project, the scenario was to create a canvassing script targeted to change an issue in our neighborhood. The goal being to address a certain audience who is on one side of an issue, and to urge them to at least see the other side of the issue. Like my last action project, I'm choosing the issue of gentrification. In this script, my goal is to target an audience who might think gentrification is a good thing and get them to see the issues behind it. 

Canvassing Image, National Demographic

Here's my Script below: 

Overall, I enjoyed doing this action project because it allowed me to interact with people who have opinions I might not have or who might have different experiences or ideas. It also allowed me to look at non-profits in my community and see how they challenge the status quo in their own ways. It was  difficult for me to hit the word count because I sometimes found it difficult to express my ideas. If I were to do this project again, I might want to target a different issue in Bronzeville like waste, poverty, or racial discrimination. 

Sources:

• 311 service requests - vacant and abandoned buildings reported - map: City of chicago: Data Portal. Chicago. (n.d.). Retrieved November 1, 2022, from https://data.cityofchicago.org/Service-Requests/311-Service-Requests-Vacant-and-Abandoned-Building/d9re-tmpw

• A Blueprint for Bronzeville. Blueprint for Bronzeville. (n.d.). Retrieved November 1, 2022, from https://www.blueprintforbronzeville.com/issues/

• Melstrom, R. T., & Mohammadi, R. (2022, February 1). Residential mobility, brownfield remediation, and environmental gentrification in Chicago. Land Economics. Retrieved November 1, 2022, from https://le.uwpress.org/content/98/1/62.short

• Modi, P. (2022, January 20). Chicago's Bronzeville neighborhood gentrifies. The Real Deal Chicago. Retrieved November 1, 2022, from https://therealdeal.com/chicago/2022/01/19/why-bronzevilles-gentrification-may-become-a-model-for-other-chicago-neighborhoods/

 

Rated C for Columbus

Welcome to my first action project for my Rhetoric class. This unit is the first for the class is titled, Suppose. With that in mind we've been doing a lot of thinking into simpler topics, but trying to find the deeper intent from those specific things. This actually being the first action project being given to us on the first day, that being to write a children's book that tells the story of Christopher Columbus. Now this would be simple to do by lying about the story to kids to make it less violent. That wasn't an option here because we had to tell to truth in some type of fashion. To get ideas for the project we went to Harold Washington Library to look at other kids books to see how they share different information. When I came back to make mine, I didn't want to draw mine out because it's not my strong suit. This led to me setting it up in a slideshow. I also wanted to make this be a poem because it's more of my thing.

Here's my finished book below: