A few words from our Tracers!!!

A Hollow Victory

Endowed with the tools that I need to impress
I shoot for number 1 I can’t settle for less
I got to be the best
Otherwise I won’t rest until the reaction that I’m after begins to manifest
I grew up a child looked down on insulted
Mocked for my accent embarrassed disgusted
Feelings of shame and rebellion erupted
My inner thoughts quickly darkened

I slaved to speak the language and lost my accent completely
Congratulations I did it but how come I’m not happy
Could it be that maybe
English wasn’t for me?
Truth is it was but not for the reasons I thought
Speaking the language opened doors for me
But it also closed a lot
Spanish was my native but I nearly forgot
Not only how to speak it but why I spoke it

Luckily I reconnected to my roots before it was too late
Once I did I finally felt great
I did the impossible but my motivation was hate

A hollow victory best describes my endeavor
But note that I will never
Prefer to be tied down and enslaved
Inside lies the spirit of the Aztecs enraged
The blood of the warriors runs ferociously through y veins
A typhoon of inspirations spreading like aids

I unleashed my potential and broke through the norm
Make damn sure you know I am perfection in its most definite form

-Ricardo Perez



Reflection
I am the disease, the death, and the destruction.
That person that does achieve his or her dream?
It is because I am the obstruction.
I taint their hearts with darkness, for I know
that the ink of a scholar truly is, worth
1000 times more, than the blood of a martyr
I lure the broken hearted girl with promises to fix her.
I quench her thirst on my poisonous elixirs
Our leaders, with open arms welcome me,
for they know power comes a certain fee.
That word? Justice? I know not its definition.
The absence of healthy alternatives on our communities?
That is no “accidental” omission.
I am the cause of all society’s ills you see
But I am only whatever YOU let me be.

-Dante Gabourel

Crain's Chicago - Quench owner grows into grocer with new South Side cafe-boutique

Quench owner grows into grocer with new South Side cafe-boutique | Consumer | Crain's Chicago Business

Walking Exercise

One of the questions that was asked of the youth at Bessemer Park was, "what would you change in your neighborhood?" We then proceeded to walk around the community surrounding Bessemer Park with cameras to photograph what we would change. The three below are some good examples of the viewpoints of our youth.

There are hundreds, probably thousands of vacant lots on the Southside of Chicago. One of the ideas we looked at during the summer were the accets of our communities. If we change our viewpoints, these vacant lots become opportunities instead of a "sore-eye" or a place for drug activity.

I think this one is self explanitory!!

This image is another example of an asset in our communties.

EAT A SALAD!!!

West Pullman Freestyle!!

Cooking with Washington Park!!

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Healthy Life Song

Brought to you by the Cool Kids from Bessemer!!!

Chicago Reader: From Farm to Food Desert

(Photo: Jeffery Noble | Chicago Reader)

The Chicago Reader recently featured a story on Rev. Al Sampson's mission to connect the African-American farmers in downstate Illinois with farmer's markets on the South Side of Chicago - check it out!

Chicago Tribune - "Comer Youth Center project is a garden in the desert"

(Photo: Marina Makropoulos / for the Chicago Tribune / July 20, 2010)

Last week, The Chicago Tribune highlighted the amazing rooftop garden of the Gary Comer Youth Center in this brief article. If you haven't seen the garden or the Center, head down to the South Side to check it out - it's an amazing space!

Southeast Side Community Garden Project at South Chicago Art Center

Follow this link to learn more about the Artists' Garden of South Chicago Art Center, located near TRACE's own Bessemer Park. Launched in 2004 as a response to the high numbers of families living below national poverty levels, the South Chicago Art Center community garden project aims to provide community members with fresh organic produce, encourage residents to grow their own family crops, and educate South Chicago youth on the importance of nutrition in an interactive and simple way.

Farmers Market Benefits: Illinois Link Card Holders Gain More Access

Check out this article in Edible Chicago's Summer 2010 issue on the acceptance of food stamp benefits at Chicago-area farmer's markets.

Kayiona's Day

For me, today was a nice day. Zahra came by and Mary, Tai, and I made aprons and chefs hats with her sewing machine. i always love anything that has to do with sewing or designing clothes.

7-21-10

today was cool, we started the day off with a game involving blocks. the game went well then a few minutes later we played a game called mafia. soon after ms zara came in to talk to us about the final project at the end of the program. then we went to lunch. after lunch we talked more about the final project then we acted out a few scenes. in one word the day was relaxing.

Expressive narrative by Ricardo Perez

Today I found myself enjoying a peaceful commute to Bessemer Park. I met some friendly people with whom I shared stories of my younger days. Once I arrived to work I was excited to know we would play mafia. A mini murder mystery game we recently started playing. that was fun. ummm Ladonna (hope i spelled it right) came in and talked to us about calories and healthy meals. I have the utmost respect for Ladonna but there some things i have a problem agreeing with. i won't get into specifics but yea she keeps saying some offensive stuff but whatever you know. lol well yea anyway imma stop it here and leave y'all with some words of wisdom. "Arnicea" shall now be known as "Arni"

Chi-Town Chefs

Chi-Town Chefs connects urban agriculture, the politics of healthy eating, and culinary-arts training through a weekly cooking show. Youth apprentices aged 14 -15 cultivate herbs and vegetables in Co-op Image’s community gardens then use them in the production of their cooking show set for broadcast on FiTV and CAN-TV. The cooking show teaches industry-standard video production techniques to youth and serves the community with culturally relevant information about food preparation, nutrition, and sustainable urban agriculture.

Check out the Chi-Town Chefs' pilot cooking show here.

12-Year-Old Chef on The Wendy Williams Show

Check out 12-year-old chef Darian Davis on the Wendy Williams Show - you can see more of Darian's culinary creations on his website, and to learn about Chicago-area youth chefs, check out this AREA Chicago article on the Chi-Town Chefs.

TRACE IS AWESOME

TODAY IS JULY 16, 2010 AND I AM YOUR BLOGGER FOR THE MOMENT.
TRACE IS REALLY RELAXED THERE'S NO COMPULSION OR DISCOMFORT.
IT PROVIDES A PROGRAM FOR THE YOUTH TO EXPRESS THEMSELVES PLUS IT PAYS.
I AM VERY GRATEFUL TO BE HIRED.

PEACE OUT.!

hello tracers this is Dre but most of you know me as Leon . Today we ate McDonald's .... that's right McDonald's and we SMASHED EVERYTHING !!!!!! Um also we went over the constantly growing problem of food deserts in the Chicago south side , and how we can help resolve this problem . well this is Dre from Bessemer Park signing off with this message ..... stay hoping , dreaming , and trying to realize your dreams because if you don't stand tall you wont get to experience the satisfaction of accomplishing them ..... deep ...... LOL that's all . Dre out.

Trace July 17 After Lunch

Today tracers learned about calories and what type of food contain fat and or crabs that we need in our body. We learned how many calories we should eat everyday with a formula Jordan showed us. Then we went over stereotypes that people might think of us and the avg female/male. By the end of the day we came together as one and found out something new about each other and ourselves

An Interesting Day

We had an interesting day at Bessemer Park. It was another we learned a little more about each other. This morning we started in a circle and talked about what we did yesterday after work. After that conversation we talked all about CHANGE! Then, we went on walk around the neighborhood to take pictures of what we thought needed to be changed. We took pictures of graffiti on different places and etc. at 12:00pm we went to lunch! After lunch Brian's brother talked to us about calories and how to stay healthy. Then we talked to Shanettia about our self-pride and self-faults. After we played a game and WON!

Bessemer Park

We start our day off with a circle, It is the morning process to tell everybody how was your weekend, and if you learned anything. Next on the list was a game called: Taxi, everyone had to write down a famous person name, and one person had to pick a piece of paper and act that famous person out. Taxi was a time for us to come alive, and have fun. Playing games is like meeting everybody all over again because people show things that they didn't show the first day. I am going to leave the rest off to Elise to tell you what we did for the rest of the day.


Posted by;
Nikitta Banks.


I became a Tracer last year and I really enjoyed the Trace program last summer. Every morning we start off with circles. Its helps us start off our day and let everybody know how we are feeling in the morning. This year is a little different from last summer, we are looking more in depth with food. I really feel like this summer is going to be really informational. I will be going back school this fall, so the information I learn this summer will be very helpful. I am really looking forward to see what this summer of trace brings.

Elise

MSN.com - Nutritional Value of Fruits, Veggies is Dwindling

(Photo from PAUL J. RICHARDS / AFP - Getty Images)

MSN.com post on the significant nutrient loss in today's fruits and vegetables.

Happy Meal on Trial?

(Photo by John J. Kim/Sun-Times)

Check out this Chicago Sun-Times article detailing the battle to get fast-food giant McDonald's to stop putting toys in its Happy Meal products.

Also check out this related Bloomberg BusinessWeek article detailing the companies' Shrek promotional.

Documentary - Food Justice: A Growing Movement (part 2)

Here's part two of the short documentary Food Justice: A Growing Movement.

Summer 2010: The Politics of Food

During the summer of 2010, TRACE will focus its creative activism around the politics of food, including educating ourselves about the larger food system, food security, food justice, and sustainable urban agriculture, among other topics.

For an introduction to our topic this summer, we like the short documentary Food Justice: A Growing Movement by Martina Brimmer and Zora Tucker. Read more about this documentary and watch here or at Media that Matters.

(This post contains the first of two YouTube clips from the documentary)

We're Finally in the Blogosphere!!!

It took a while, but the Chicago Park District's TRACE (Teens Re-Imagining Art, Community and Environment) program has finally created it's own blog. Check here for posts of our inspiration, reflections, resources, rants and whatever else we can conjure up while at our keyboards. Thanks for visiting!