Artist Tonika Lewis Johnson lives and works in Englewood and wanted to better understand the wealth gap and disinvestment her community's experiencing.
"The question that I was always asking, you know, how did my neighborhood get like this?" she said.
That's why Johnson partnered with the National Public Housing Museum to launch a community art project, titled "Inequity for Sale".
She installed life-size land markers over the weekend, in front of several homes that were part of historically racist real estate practices in the 50s and 60s.
A marker that is part of the art project called "Inequity For Sale."National Public Housing Museum
One sign near South Aberdeen Ave. and West 68th St. reads 'This home at 6823 S. Aberdeen was legally stolen from black couple Mr. and Mrs. James and Lula Malone on October 30, 1963 in a widespread Land Sale Contract scam.
LSCs were an unscrupulous practice wherein would-be homebuyers, locked out of traditional mortgages by racist policies, were offered contracts that enforced excessive monthly payments without ever transferring ownership.
"Black families came here with money," said Lewis during a public hearing on her project with the National Public Housing Museum. "They came here with money and hopes and dreams to be homeowners; that was stolen from them, along with their wealth."
A 2018 study from Duke University found Land Sale Contracts are responsible for the expropriation of $3.2 billion to $4 billion from the Black community during the period between 1950 and 1970.
Johnson says "Inequality for Sale" demonstrates how legalized theft in the past, directly contributed to the present inequities felt in Chicago's Black communities.
She adds the eventual goal is to campaign for a collection of the homes to become an official City landmark, and purchase one as a permanent community gathering space.
