September 11, 2025 • 4 mins
"Hope Has an Address: Community Resilience" shines a light on the powerful voices and tireless efforts of grassroots leaders, community organizers, food justice advocates, and mental health program directors — especially those rooted in the South Side of Chicago.
In neighborhoods often overlooked, these changemakers are cultivating resilience through mutual aid, culturally grounded healing, and food sovereignty. Their stories reflect a deep commitment to restoring dignity, building trust, and creating sustainable solutions from within.
This segment captures how hope is not just a feeling, but a force — anchored in the lived experiences and collective strength of communities determined to thrive.
Listen now!
In neighborhoods often overlooked, these changemakers are cultivating resilience through mutual aid, culturally grounded healing, and food sovereignty. Their stories reflect a deep commitment to restoring dignity, building trust, and creating sustainable solutions from within.
This segment captures how hope is not just a feeling, but a force — anchored in the lived experiences and collective strength of communities determined to thrive.
Listen now!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hope in the face of difficulty, Hope in the face
of uncertainty, the audacity of hope. I'm asking you to
believe not in my ability to bring about change, but
in yours. Yes we can.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Hope has an address, and it starts with us, honoring legacies,
overcoming barriers, pursuing justice, empowering generations.
Speaker 3 (00:24):
Hope has an address, and on Chicago's South Side. It's
written in bold letters, the Obama Presidential Center. I'm bree
would for the Black Information Network. This isn't just a building,
It's a living tribute to a community that's shaped a
president and continues to shape our future. The South Side
(00:46):
is a legacy, a place where history, culture, and resilience converge.
From the Great Migration to the Civil Rights movement, it's
been a powerful epicenter of the Black American journey.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
My family brought me Chishiko nineteen nineteen, hoping for more opportunities.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
Between nineteen ten and nineteen sixty, over half a million
Black Americans arrived here, escaping Jim Crow and building new
lives in Bronsville, Woodlawn, Inglewood, and Douglas. They brought music, art, activism,
and an unbreakable spirit I have this huge belief that
Chicago is our great city. Despite redlining and systemic barriers.
(01:26):
The Southside thrived, jazz clubs lit up the night, barber
shops spark debate, and churches nurtured leaders.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
You can start something here, You can meet everyone in
your community.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
You can start small and grow big.
Speaker 3 (01:39):
This is the soil from which the Obama Presidential Center grows.
For an architecture, it's a mirror of the greatness that's
always existed here. I'm excited about the Center as a whole.
I'm excited just be able to get up and walk
to the Obama Center, walk on the campus, maybe go
to the library. Inside exhibits on our local educators, artists,
(01:59):
and activists, programs uplift youth, civic engagement and economic empowerment.
Outside green spaces, welcome families, local businesses thrive, and Southside
residents help build the center and a stronger economy. Every
bolt titan is a promise. Every mural painted is a declaration.
We are here, we matter, we succeed.
Speaker 1 (02:21):
Michelle and I want the Center to be more than
just a building. We want to create an economic engine
for the South Side of Chicago, a cultural attraction that
showcases the South Side to the rest of the world.
We want it to be a gathering place, somewhere for
all kinds of people to come together and learn, not
just from history or current events, but from each other.
(02:42):
More than a museum with stories from the past. We
want this to be a place that helps all of
us to build our collective future. Because in the end,
this center most importantly is for the leaders of tomorrow.
We want this place to inspire them, to lift them up,
to give them the tools they need to succeed.
Speaker 3 (02:59):
The Center is also a hope for learning workshops teach coding, storytelling,
and entrepreneurship. Mentorship connects youth with professionals who understand their journey.
It's very important to come back to the South Side
of Chicago when I've finished college because I feel like
I owe a lot to my community. Just feel like
shape and who I am.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
It's my responsibility to give back to.
Speaker 3 (03:19):
Chef Cliff Rome's culinary space is both a kitchen and
a classroom. Young people learn hospitality, gain skills, and celebrate
Black culinary tradition. This is culture and action. The Obama
Presidential Center is a beacon. It radiates truth, our stories
shape history, Our voices deserve to be heard, and our
(03:40):
dreams deserve a home.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
I'm thrilled to be able to put this resource in
the heart of the neighborhood that means the world to me.
Every value, every memory, every important relationship to me exists
in Chicago.
Speaker 3 (03:55):
From Chicago's Southside to every corner of the country. Hope
has an address and it lives here because when you
invest in community, you invest in resilience. And when you
honor the past while building the future, you create a
legacy that lasts. Visit Obama dot org to be a
part of the movement and join the conversation at bianews
dot com. I'm Breewood for the Black Information Network.
Hope in the face of difficulty, Hope in the face
of uncertainty, the audacity of hope. I'm asking you to
believe not in my ability to bring about change, but
in yours. Yes we can.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Hope has an address, and it starts with us, honoring legacies,
overcoming barriers, pursuing justice, empowering generations.
Speaker 3 (00:24):
Hope has an address, and on Chicago's South Side. It's
written in bold letters, the Obama Presidential Center. I'm bree
would for the Black Information Network. This isn't just a building,
It's a living tribute to a community that's shaped a
president and continues to shape our future. The South Side
(00:46):
is a legacy, a place where history, culture, and resilience converge.
From the Great Migration to the Civil Rights movement, it's
been a powerful epicenter of the Black American journey.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
My family brought me Chishiko nineteen nineteen, hoping for more opportunities.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
Between nineteen ten and nineteen sixty, over half a million
Black Americans arrived here, escaping Jim Crow and building new
lives in Bronsville, Woodlawn, Inglewood, and Douglas. They brought music, art, activism,
and an unbreakable spirit I have this huge belief that
Chicago is our great city. Despite redlining and systemic barriers.
(01:26):
The Southside thrived, jazz clubs lit up the night, barber
shops spark debate, and churches nurtured leaders.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
You can start something here, You can meet everyone in
your community.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
You can start small and grow big.
Speaker 3 (01:39):
This is the soil from which the Obama Presidential Center grows.
For an architecture, it's a mirror of the greatness that's
always existed here. I'm excited about the Center as a whole.
I'm excited just be able to get up and walk
to the Obama Center, walk on the campus, maybe go
to the library. Inside exhibits on our local educators, artists,
(01:59):
and activists, programs uplift youth, civic engagement and economic empowerment.
Outside green spaces, welcome families, local businesses thrive, and Southside
residents help build the center and a stronger economy. Every
bolt titan is a promise. Every mural painted is a declaration.
We are here, we matter, we succeed.
Speaker 1 (02:21):
Michelle and I want the Center to be more than
just a building. We want to create an economic engine
for the South Side of Chicago, a cultural attraction that
showcases the South Side to the rest of the world.
We want it to be a gathering place, somewhere for
all kinds of people to come together and learn, not
just from history or current events, but from each other.
(02:42):
More than a museum with stories from the past. We
want this to be a place that helps all of
us to build our collective future. Because in the end,
this center most importantly is for the leaders of tomorrow.
We want this place to inspire them, to lift them up,
to give them the tools they need to succeed.
Speaker 3 (02:59):
The Center is also a hope for learning workshops teach coding, storytelling,
and entrepreneurship. Mentorship connects youth with professionals who understand their journey.
It's very important to come back to the South Side
of Chicago when I've finished college because I feel like
I owe a lot to my community. Just feel like
shape and who I am.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
It's my responsibility to give back to.
Speaker 3 (03:19):
Chef Cliff Rome's culinary space is both a kitchen and
a classroom. Young people learn hospitality, gain skills, and celebrate
Black culinary tradition. This is culture and action. The Obama
Presidential Center is a beacon. It radiates truth, our stories
shape history, Our voices deserve to be heard, and our
(03:40):
dreams deserve a home.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
I'm thrilled to be able to put this resource in
the heart of the neighborhood that means the world to me.
Every value, every memory, every important relationship to me exists
in Chicago.
Speaker 3 (03:55):
From Chicago's Southside to every corner of the country. Hope
has an address and it lives here because when you
invest in community, you invest in resilience. And when you
honor the past while building the future, you create a
legacy that lasts. Visit Obama dot org to be a
part of the movement and join the conversation at bianews
dot com. I'm Breewood for the Black Information Network.
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