Quote:
Originally Posted by ardecila
I wasn't conscious of these issues in 1990, so it's hard to say which version of events is correct.
I don't think the blog post makes Brazier look very good... it essentially makes him out to be an Uncle Tom who sells out the community and removes a vital lifeline in order to build his own monument. His congregants drive everywhere, they probably wouldn't be caught dead on the L, unlike the poorer residents of Woodlawn.
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It doesn't make him look good though it is partially accurate, however it is much more nuanced then this, given Brazier Sr. passed away 6-7 years ago or so.
I would attend services when I was in college 15-18 years back with a close friend who still goes- and his church which is a magnificent congregation- but he would say in Bible Studies that he believed in his heart of hearts that the L brought a negative element to the neighborhood and it was his mission as a Community Leader to makes his church a true anchor for the Woodlawn neighborhood and have members reinvest back into the community. He would tell of stories of him talking about when he'd work for the Post Office riding the L to Moody Bible Institute for his Theology Doctorate and reflecting on the importance of the L and what transportation meant to his congregation but he wasn't going to settle for a lower class design.
As the two of us were Architecture majors we were surprised by that and asked him politely and showed him ideas like what they've done in Berlin with an elevated structure with ground floor retail underneath what 63rd Street could look like, his eyes beamed and said paraphrasing "If the city or CTA had presented an idea like this to him with some thought and not the steel erector set that it is now and rendered, I would have supported it."
http://www.chicago-l.org/stations/dorchester.html
http://www.chicago-l.org/articles/woodlawn1.html