RESEARCH
The research process is a learning process. Through our exploration of history, we developed a relationship to the stories of our ancestors’ resistance and contributions, along with an understanding of systemic inequity in North Lawndale. Our methods included an in depth presentation from historian Dr. Guy Mount who shared documentation and accounts of the 123 people enslaved on Stephen Douglas’ Lawrence Co., MS plantation. Dr. Elizabeth Todd-Breland, historian at University of Illinois at Chicago, shared her knowledge of white flight, racial restrictive covenants and housing descrimination, and the legacy of Dr. King’s infamous stay in North Lawndale. Additionally, we read the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass and conducted countless internet searches to gather information about Douglass’s many accomplishments and contributions to the abolitionist movement. This insight enabled us to argue that a monument to Stephen Douglas is a monument to white supremacy — an insult in a predominantly Black community. Black people deserve monuments that serve as symbols of our greatness, resistance, and liberation.