Southwest Side
McKinley Park
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Prayer Points
- Pray that the youth organizations and churches that are serving the children of this community would be able to instill a desire to stay away from gangs, guns and drugs, and to reestablish priorities that include deeper self-worth and identity in Christ.
- City planners are focused on development in this area where local parents and young people could find gainful employment. Pray that this development would allow residents to make an honest living and would bring a positive economy to the area.
- Praise God for the recently renovated Kennedy-King College in the heart of Englewood. Pray that God would use their presence to cast a vision for higher education in the community.
- Pray for the mobilization of God’s people who are willing to walk the streets, build relationships, and invest their human capital in the lives of this neighborhood.
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About Englewood
In 1920 Englewood’s shopping district at Halsted and 63rd was the second busiest in the city. The 1940s began the decline of real-estate values. The expanding corridor that limited African American resident’s to Chicago’s South Side, known as the “Black Belt”, from the east resulted in a rapid turnover.
Discriminatory practices such as redlining and disinvestment led to Englewood’s transformation into a low-income community with housing on the decline. Additionally, redevelopment of Englewood was difficult due to the scarcity of the necessary materials following World War II. Many low-income residents in the area rented from crowded conditions.
Between 1940 and 1970 the African American percentage of the population steadily increased to ninety-six percent. Attempts at restoring the shopping district remained unsuccessful. By 2010 Englewood’s population declined to 30,654. To this day, Englewood has suffered some of the greatest loss in property values and population among all Chicago communities. It also has some of the highest rates of violence in the city.
information courtesy of Moody Publishers
“Chicago Neighborhood Prayer Guide” by Dr. John Fuder with Elizabeth Koenig