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.