In word and in deed, Oak Park has rightly earned a reputation as a community that holds itself up to the mirror when it comes to issues of race.
A big part of this reputation is rooted in our history and ongoing efforts in the arena of housing. The work of the Oak Park Regional Housing Center over a period of decades in pursuing block by block diversity and promoting integration as a key Oak Park value has been essential.
However, recent currents in our regional dialogue about race have surfaced an important criticism that we need to consider carefully:
We may be thinking and talking too much about how to get people of diverse backgrounds to move here — and not enough about how to fully embrace them after they have moved in.
After all, the measure of Oak Park’s openness and inclusiveness cannot just be your ability to rent an apartment. It’s not until after a new resident moves to the village that the work of building a life here begins. You meet your neighbors. You learn where to shop for groceries. You register your kids for school. You start patronizing local businesses.
A life in Oak Park is defined as much by these experiences as by the simple act of moving here. And the sum of these experiences tells you a great deal about where you fit in Oak Park — and, in the eyes of some residents, if you fit in Oak Park.
This past summer, a coalition of Oak Parkers led a “March on Madison” to promote inclusiveness among local businesses in Oak Park and neighboring Forest Park. The march was prompted by alleged discrimination by a business located in Forest Park. But the dialogue and debate surrounding the March on Madison and its aftermath made clear that these issues are not confined to Forest Park businesses.
Oak Park is unique. But it is not an island. Our progressive history and current efforts around housing issues do not make us immune from discrimination and to claim that the type of behavior protested in Forest Park simply does not exist once patrons cross Harlem to the east is naive in the extreme.
The question, then, is: What do we do about it?
In the community, we should look to the example set by Anthony Clark, the OPRF High School teacher who has founded the Suburban Unity Alliance. Anthony’s work in engaging businesses directly on issues of inclusion and diversity provides us with a model for how we might ensure that all dimensions of life in Oak Park are truly inclusive.
In local government, it is long past time for the village of Oak Park to rebuild its Community Relations Department.
Our housing programs and partnerships set a standard for the region. But we do not have a similar infrastructure in village hall for resolving disputes that stem from racial and cultural divides. At one time, the village’s Community Relations Department filled this void. But its size has dwindled, and its mission has grown vague over the years.
We should increase the size of our Community Relations Department and equip it with the resources necessary to mediate disputes and strategically promote inclusion and multicultural awareness in our business districts.
In 2016, our national and local discussion of race is evolving and intensifying in ways that are sometimes uncomfortable, but also deeply necessary. Because of Oak Park’s stated commitment to integration in the past, our village has a unique obligation to meet this moment. But in order to make the most of it, we will have to invest in a social and economic infrastructure that promotes integration — beyond housing.
Adam Salzman is currently serving his second term as an Oak Park village trustee.