OUR STORY
Chicago's West Side
A divided city can be restored.
Oak Park
69% WHITE / 22% BLACK
Austin
84% BLACK / 4% WHITE
On the west side of Chicago, two historic neighborhoods sit side by side. They are divided by the city limit of Chicago. The Austin neighborhood dates to 1870 with an early “L” train transforming it to vibrant 1920s community, while adjacent Oak Park was made famous by American architect Frank Lloyd Wright. But today, under the difficult race history of the city, Austin is known as a black neighborhood, Oak Park is known as white, and dividing Austin Blvd. marks an invisible line between.
Yet the church of Jesus Christ is on both sides of the line.
PASTOR MICHAEL WRIGHT & PASTOR WILLIAM BEASLEY
An Unlikely Partnership
On a Sunday Afternoon, William felt an unexpected urge from God to stand up in the middle of his lunch and go see what was happening across his street.
