On Oct. 5, Neighbors for Environmental Justice held a celebration dinner at the McKinley Community Play Garden, located behind the neighborhood’s library.
The dinner was the finale of a series of “Neighbors in Nature” free community events. The organization’s mission is to fight against environmental racism in Chicago’s Southwest Side — McKinley Park specifically — but expands into the greater Chicago area. Environmental racism is a type of inequality where people in communities of color and low-income areas face a higher risk of exposure to pollution and related health problems.
Throughout the summer, Neighbors for Environmental Justice co-curators Maya Jones and Mayra Spont-Lemus hosted many events, including food distributions, park clean-ups and community conversations about the environment and health. “For us, an important part of our work is community engagement in fun and creative ways,” Jones said. Some of the events included story sharing in the park, farm tours, bird walks and learning about air quality monitoring.
The dinner featured a variety of Mexican dishes such as gorditas, tortas and tamales served under lights and ribbons strung among the trees and bushes in the play garden. Jones and Spont-Lemus shared reflections on the summer’s events, including a workshop offered in collaboration with Free Street Theater that invited participants to imagine just environments. The evening ended with music and dancing.
Attendees line up at tables as volunteers serve them dinner. Photo by Shawn Katz
“I felt really connected with people I never even met and I loved how welcoming the entire environment felt,” said Melaan Reynolds, a resident of McKinley Park who attended the event. “I loved talking to people while enjoying delicious food that everyone loves.”
Neighbors for Environmental Justice encourages people of all ages to participate in events and engage with the programs. “From the outside, people think that you need to be a policy-head or know XYZ things or need to have XYZ experience to join the program,” Jones said. “We want people to know that this work is for everyone and everyone is invited into the movement.”
For more information, visit n4ej.org.