9/16/16: The Tower in Uptown
I’ll be posting the work I did in the past seven years. I’ve found that there is no collection of my writings, pictures, records, interviews, my past for my own recollection as my mind becomes progressively older. Nothing does it…justice hehe. So this tiny digital journal will have to do for now.
Today, I look at my experiences with Elephant Rebellion, a hip-hop group run by youth from the city. Founded in a way to remember the legacy of John Vietnam. John was a young & smart cypher, a poet, a writer, an artist. I met him months before his death. John was from Uptown. From Argyle. He was starting at UW-Madison, a new journey, around a time much like today when new kids from the city make it out and start to shine elsewhere. His passion for helping out his community & others was put on display when he jumped into a small lake to save a drowning friend. His heroic and selfless actions saved her, unfortunately he passed.
https://soundcloud.com/francesco-de-salvatore/whole-lotta-love-draft-2
In 2012 I was hanging out with my friend Vi in their apartment in Edgewater when I remember seeing a Hindi alter set up for him. A little picture of his on a table. A prayer card next to it. A candle next to those. They talked about his wake. Would I go? I could not, it was too much for me. Later in 2013 in a small restaurant and Filipino cafe on Fullerton Ave, a friend Stephanie remembered him after a performance. His influence and impact on others’ lives was wide-reaching. Vi worked for Advancing Justice Chicago, formerly known as Asians-Pacific Islander Americans Institute. A civil rights org based out of Bridgeview Bank in Uptown. It was here where some of the organizers knew John and his friends through their own program. From their support came Elephant Rebellion.
https://soundcloud.com/elephant-rebellion/one-love-1?in=elephant-rebellion/sets/one-love
During this time I was transitioning to UIC, I was still working with IYJL (Immigrant Youth Justice League). We had always been looking for office space. We jumped from Radio Arte (now a pizzeria and bank on 18th & Blue Island). Then to Casa Aztlan. Then to a house on Marshall and 22nd. ICIRR’s high-rise offices on Jackson & Wabash. National People’s Action offices on Chicago Avenue & Milwaukee. A house on Lawndale and Addison. A college housing complex block from ICE offices on Dearborn & Congress. UIC. Coffee Shops. Parks. We finally found our own space with AJC in Uptown. A small office within an office. As you stepped unto 9th floor, you’d see a hallway with doors to multiple businesses. Behind one was a tiny office with four rooms and a communal space.
It was here where I met most of the crew from Elephant Rebellion who shared an office with us. They were making beats. Rapping. Singing. They sat around, introducing themselves. “Hi I’m Uri, I’m undocumented hahah and uhm I’m with IYJL”…“Welcome Uri! What’s your favorite song?”
I remember spending a night in the office doing homework, looking out towards the Riviera Theatre and northwest side. The sun was setting after a storm, I captioned on my Instagram: “After rain, there is sunshine”
We were a group of a dozen teenagers and twenty something year olds who were ignored, hurt, seen as just kids. A classic Chicago motif. Rain. We were making waves politically though, connecting people who were taught to stay in the shadows and having a physical space in one of the highest points in the United States of America. It meant…sunshine.
https://soundcloud.com/elephant-rebellion/still-american
Why do I write this?
In many ways, John’s entire motto, that of ER and its individual and IYJL, and my transition to a new journey were all interconnected. It was one moment but it left lasting moments & lessons that reflect life.
We give back to our communities, we give back to ourselves, to grow ourselves.
My belief in selfless actions has never been stronger. My belief in platonic love has never been stronger. My belief in love for others has never been stronger. My belief in transformational justice has never been stronger. My belief in helping others has never been stronger. My belief in humanity has never been stronger.
It’s been challenged & often misunderstood. I’ve been challenged & often misunderstood. But I always think back to those words of “welcome” and “sunshine” and “one love” to remind me of what is: One life. One love.
