| What | With this Source Card collaborative production, we examine the unique characteristics of our urban neighborhoods, including their unique histories, events and residents. |
|---|---|
| When | We will examine past, present and future states of these neighborhoods in attempt to gain a better understanding of how these neighborhoods originally developed and evolved through the years. |
| Who | As part of this collaborative series, we will also examine the residents of these neighborhoods, including early immigrants to present day inhabitants, and their corresponding influence and impact to our urban communities. |
| Why | In order to more fully understand some of the complexities of our urban centers, we must understand their neighborhoods, including the evolution of those neighborhoods and their residents. And, of course, we plan to incorporate some of these related themes into our ongoing comic series, Back of the Yards, with your collaborations. |
“Hog Butcher for the World,
Tool Maker,
Stacker of Wheat,
Player with Railroads and the Nation’s Freight Handler;
Stormy, husky, brawling,
City of the Big Shoulders”
Ahh, Chicago. The city from which this modest little collaborative comic project was born. A city of neighborhoods as diverse as the residents that inhabit within.
The very idea of this comic was born on a bus ride home by its project founder one winter’s evening, and from there, would evolve into a fully formed comic by fusing the ideas of participating Chicago urban youth with the ideas and illustration of local Chicago artists.
In many ways, Chicago represents the “Ordinary World” from which this collaborative comic project was born. In fact, this comic series central storyline takes place in a fictional neighborhood called “Back of the Yards” which is loosely based on the real Chicago neighborhood located in the South Side of the city.
More on that later, but first we present you with a quick introduction to what we mean when we refer to the “Ordinary World” by introducing you to a storytelling framework called the Hero’s Journey.
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The real Back of the Yards neighborhood extends from 39th to 55th Streets between Halsted and the railroad tracks along Leavitt Street in Chicago, and was until the 1950’s the largest livestock yards and meatpacking center in the country. Attracting the attention of novelists and activists alike through much of the 20th century.
And in many ways, the real Back of the Yards neighborhood is symbolic of so many of our nation’s urban centers. An influx of European immigrants looking for a better life, back when manufacturing jobs were plentiful. Followed closely by an influx of African-American migrants from the rural South. All creating a vibrant melting pot of cultures unique to our nation’s great urban centers.
Of course, those once plentiful jobs would soon begin to disappear due to economic forces beyond the control of those early residents. Steel would leave Cleveland. The auto industry would soon begin to abandon Detroit. A general exodus of manufacturing from Baltimore. It was just a different version of the same story for many of our nation’s urban centers.
And in the Back of the Yards’ case, it was the stockyards that would leave Chicago, leaving behind economic strain for those who could not also depart to the suburbs or elsewhere.
What remains at the Chicago Back of the Yards neighborhood today is a diverse, vibrant working-class neighborhood known for its strong Latinx community and deep roots in the city’s industrial past. While the area still faces challenges like poverty, aging infrastructure, and crime, it’s also seeing grassroots revitalization through community-led efforts and developments like the United Yards project. Local organizations are active in youth programs, housing support, and cultural events, helping preserve neighborhood pride.
And it is that tapestry of people, personalities and life experiences that makes every city special. The food they serve and eat. The history that betrays itself through each neighborhood’s architecture. The people and their journeys, both personal and ancestral.
And it’s in that context that we wanted to facilitate this Studio Card collaborative series, Neighborhoods and Their Residents, working with urban youth to create comic content for our Back of the Yards comic series based on some of the unique characteristics of our urban neighborhoods, especially given that the participating youth are often at the very heart of those urban neighborhoods.
Within this collaboration series, we will examine different urban neigborhoods throughout America with a look into their residents, their histories and culture. And with that context, perhaps there’s no better place to start this neighborhood collaborative series with a quick look into the real neighborhood that inspired our comic series’ name, the Back of the Yards …
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We originally created the following little comic feature on the “real” Back of the Yards shortly after selecting Back of the Yards as the fictional setting for our comic series, the first of what we hope to be many more with your collaborations.
And with that, we plan to do many more short comic features based on the neighborhoods of other participating youth as part of this ongoing Neighborhoods & Their Residents collaborative Studio Card series. In our minds, you can’t really tell any comic story that set in an urban community without capturing some of the underlying elements and history of its neighborhood setting. In many ways, the neighborhood is as important as any comic character.
So it was in that context we decided to put together a quick comic feature. The writer for this comic feature is Len Kody, and the illustrator is Dan Dougherty. Both very talented artists who have been early participants for this collaborative project.
So, without further ado, just click to read the feature!
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Some special pieces may be selected to appear in the Back of the Yards comic book. iPad/iPhone users, submit images from FILES (NOT from Photo Library).
Some special pieces may be selected to appear in the Back of the Yards comic book.
UPLOAD YOUR IMAGES BELOW
Some special pieces may be selected to appear in the Back of the Yards comic book.
UPLOAD YOUR IMAGES BELOW
Some special pieces may be selected to appear in the Back of the Yards comic book.
UPLOAD YOUR IMAGES BELOW
Some special pieces may be selected to appear in the Back of the Yards comic book.
UPLOAD YOUR IMAGES BELOW
Collaborate with professional artists by contributing some artwork of your own! Some special pieces may be selected to appear in the Back of the Yards comic book.
UPLOAD YOUR IMAGES BELOW
