Shawn Casselberry
Shawn Casselberry's Blog
Mission Year Englewood / Aug 12, 07:30 PM
In the 10 year history Mission Year has been in Chicago we have primarily invested on the West Side. We have had teams in La Villita which is technically considered South Side, but we have never had teams South of the Stevenson (55). This year we are launching a team in Englewood. Englewood is a neighborhood that has historically struggled with disinvestment and neglect. From 1930 to 1960, Englewood experienced white flight when 50,000 white people fled the community. From 1960 to 1990, 30,000 more white folks left. Foreclosures and boarded up buildings line the streets. Social services are minimal and viable employment options are basically nonexistent. The schools struggle with limited resources and the dropout rates are heartbreaking. Sit down restaurants cannot be found, but fast food joints occupy the major corners running down Halsted.
There are signs of hope that are promising. Kennedy-King College has been relocated to Englewood and has spurred some development along 63rd St. Pharmacies like CVS and Walgreens have sprung up as well as some recognizable discount food chains like Aldi.
Even more encouraging is the presence of Team Work Englewood, a community action organization, that is committed to bringing in resources and equipping community members for positive change. There are also coalitions of pastors who have come together to work toward common goals of youth empowerment and community uplift.
We have received enthusiastic responses from community leaders about the possibility of having yearlong Mission Year Team Members in Englewood and feel strongly that Englewood is where we need to be.
Please pray for Mission Year Englewood as we finalize church partners and look for housing. Pray also that we will be able to make a positive impact in the Englewood community this coming year.
Comment [3]
the white struggle? / May 30, 05:07 PM
An inquisitive senior high school student that my wife and I mentor asked us a provocative question during a tutoring session. She had been taking an African American studies course at school which led us into a deep discussion on the struggle of African Americans throughout the history of America. In the middle of our conversation, she paused, looked at us intently and asked, “What is the white struggle?”
The innocent and direct nature of the question caught me off guard. I’m sure I looked like a deer caught in the headlights. If my thoughts were broadcast, all you would have heard was an amplified, “Uhhhh…” Living in a majority African American neighborhood has a way of reminding you of your whiteness. This was one such moment.
But I was also touched by her question because I knew that she truly wanted to know and understand the pains and struggles of white people in America (this eagerness to know the story and struggle of others is at the heart of racial reconciliation). It was a teachable moment, for all of us. Luckily, my wife was ready.
She explained how many whites had immigrated to America to flee persecution, famine, and poverty. Many white immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe faced discrimination from other whites upon arrival and were treated as second class citizens. As a former Irish Catholic, my wife shared specifically about how many white Catholics were treated badly because they did not belong to the white Protestant majority.
She also shared how the creation of race and whiteness led many people to lose their cultural heritage. The “melting pot” phenomenon (which originally referred only to European cultures) caused whites to abandon their former cultural identities and practices in order to assimilate and receive the privileges of a united white race. So instead of being German American, Swedish American, or English American, we were all lumped into the category of white. As a result of this, many of us feel like we have no culture.
She explained that today the white struggle is largely related to class. The white poor, who make up the majority of the poor in America incidentally, continue to face struggles scraping to get by. Side note: In Barack Obama’s historic speech on race in Philadelphia, he acknowledged the white struggle and the common economic hardships that blacks and whites are currently facing with the housing crisis and loss of jobs. He said many whites do not feel privileged. He urged blacks and whites to identify the real culprits, the corporations that continue to ship our jobs overseas for easy profits.
I finally chimed in and said that people in our neighborhood often make assumptions about us because we are white. They assume we are rich or that we have never experienced any hardship or personal tragedy. Or they assume we are driving gentrification and the displacement of our neighbors rather than here to serve and be part of the community. Being white in a majority African American neighborhood causes cops to assume you are there to buy drugs or sell your body for money.
Even though I am very aware of the privileges that my skin confers on me (in areas like education, health, wealth, stereotypes, politics, judicial system, inheritance, etc.), I am also aware that it is important to acknowledge the historical and present struggles many whites experience.
So I guess I am learning that I do not have to ignore my own struggle to actively fight against racism, but to be as eager as that high school student to listen to the struggles of others that are different from me.
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Chicago Immigration March / May 15, 04:38 PM
May 1st was the Chicago Immigration March for immigrant rights. Thousands gathered across the country in solidarity to highlight the courage and struggle of immigrants in their quest for full inclusion of rights in our country. People from all faith backgrounds, nationalities, and sexual orientation came together, at least for one day, to raise their voices for immigrants. People waved American flags and Mexican flags. Crowds chanted “Si Se Peude!” Youth and children marched holding signs and beating drums. On the back of a poster, one 13 year old girl had written, “I’m here and I don’t care what you think! I’m proud of my people.” I saw one guy with a T-shirt that said, “Who Would Jesus Deport?” A revolutionary group in pink and black held a big sheet that said “No Human Being is Illegal as Government Claims.”
I saw some in indigenous Mexican dress playing traditional music. As a drummer, I was drawn to all the different drums that were being used. I love seeing drums being used for liberation and justice. I remember reading recently how slaves were banned from playing drums during slavery. I guess they were afraid the drums would cause slaves to unite and riot. Clapping and shouting were implemented as a supplement.
Speaking of fear of rioting, I was disturbed to see the riot police out in full force carrying sticks and handcuffs. They were an intimidating force in the midst of a peaceful rally. It really bothered me to see them. I kept thinking about when Jesus asked the crowd that came to arrest him, “Am I leading a rebellion that you have come out with swords and clubs?” I don’t know why, but that kept popping in my mind.
Overall, it was a powerful experience. I love the feeling of interconnectedness there is during a solidarity march when one community’s struggle becomes all of our struggle. I wish we all could feel that more.
smiles and cries. / Apr 17, 01:55 PM
There’s a line in the movie Training Day where the rookie narcotics detective Jake Hoyt claims he has the streets figured out. He says it’s all about smiles and cries. He goes on and says, “You gotta control your smiles and cries, because that’s all you have and nobody can take that away from you.” In his view, to survive the streets you have to be tough and control your emotions so nobody can hurt you. But as followers of Jesus in the city, we do not bury our emotions in order to survive, we embrace them in order to fully live.
During a training with Mary Nelson from Bethel New Life, Inc., she told us that ministry in the city is all about the agony and the ecstasy. We all knew what she meant. One minute you are celebrating a triumphant moment and the next minute you are mourning a tragedy. We see men and women coming off the streets finding freedom in Christ and others that return to the streets bound to their old addictions. We see teens growing stronger in their faith and becoming leaders in the community and at the same time see other teens disengage from school and get involved in gangs (We have had twenty-three student homicides this year alone). We see neighbors organizing to resist the negative forces that threaten the well-being of their neighborhoods and others that fatalistically give up all hope for change. It’s agony and it’s ecstasy. It’s smiles and cries.
Our ministry is sharing in the laughter and the tears of our neighbors. In this way, we live the cross and the resurrection daily. This is hard to quantify in an annual report. Our ministry is not an evangelistic technique or tool, it is sharing all of our lives with people. This means that the agonies and tragedies are just as significant as the ecstasies and triumphs. Mourning with a mom who lost her son is just as sacred as celebrating when a neighbor finds a job. Isn’t this what Paul’s getting at when he urges the Corinthians to be Christ’s Body. “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.” Being the church is about suffering and rejoicing with each other, sharing the agonies and the ecstasies. It’s all about smiles and cries.
Living History / Feb 7, 10:26 AM
February is Black History Month. Living in a big city like Chicago, you see Black history jump off the pages of history books. Over the last few years, I have been able to see dynamic leaders who have contributed greatly to Black History. I saw Jesse Jackson Sr., leading a march for equal school funding in downtown Chicago. I have witnessed a persistent John Perkins calling for Christians to be involved in holistic community development in urban communities across the country. I heard Marian Wright Edelman of the Children’s Defense Fund speak passionately about healthcare for all children and an end to the cradle-to-prison pipeline. I saw U.S. Representative and former chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) John Lewis talk about his personal involvement with King and the Civil Rights struggle. Last year, I saw Senator Barak Obama announce his bid for the presidency at University of Illinois-Chicago. I have been marveled by the prophetic passion and insight of Dr. Cornel West as he exposed the moral and political indifference to injustice in our country. I was challenged last month when former Black Panther and political prisoner Angela Davis called for prison abolition and a new generation of young people to lead a revolution of change.
While preparing to hear Dr. Cornel West at St. Sabina’s Church on the Southside of Chicago, Father Pfleger told a group of young people that their greatest education will not come from schools or universities. He said, “Your greatest education will happen listening to the stories of the older generation who have gone before us.”
I believe he’s right. My education in Black History has not come primarily from books or classes, but witnessing the living histories of influential Black leaders from the Civil Rights struggle to those struggling for change today. I look forward to continuing my education.
