Harold L. Lucas, ePublisher of BronzevilleOnline.com

The BronzevilleNeighborhood Learning Network - A PowerPoint Presentation

~ PowerPoint presentation ~

Chicago Major Taylor Bike Society

06-20-05 - Hey Mel: Here we are in a Chicago Major Taylor Bike Society group photo in front of the Calumet Initiative Office at 134th and Avenue O in Hegewisch on yesterday June 19th 2005. Yes, that is me on the right side of the photo in my new biking outfit I received as a Father Day gift.

Man this was a rough ride for an older brother like me, who has not learned yet that touring on a bike is a lot different from racing on a bike.

Mell the Major Taylor Trail Unity ride took place yesterday starting at Percy Jullian High School. They offered 3 different rides: one for 10 miles up and down the Major Taylor Riding Trail or 20 miles through Beverly and Morgan Park and the trial again. THEN, THEY OFFERED A 32 MILE RIDE WHICH I CHOOSE TO PARTICIPATE IN. THAT RIDE WHIPPED BY OLD SELF. I MADE IT ALL THE WAY IN ABOUT 4 HOURS. It almost killed me.

The 32 mile route took the group through southside bike trails Major Taylor, Lakefront path, Burnham Greenway, while cycling through the neighborhoods of Beverly, Morgan Park, Washington Park, (the southern section of Bronzeville), South Shore, Hegewisch and West Pullman.

If I am going to become an effective touring cyclist I need to change my handle bars and get a larger cog for my back wheel. I will change these things on my bike so that I will be able to participate in the Bronzeville bike ride this year as a safety Marshall. Tell Roland Hayes from the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation that I want to volunteer.

Virtually,

H.

Harold Lucas is a career community organizer and urban preservationist who has worked to protect the authentic cultural legacy of Chicago’s Bronzeville community since 1973. Moreover, Mr. Lucas is the visionary behind the “Restoring Bronzeville” campaign that promotes the Black Metropolis Historic District as a premier African-American heritage tourism destination. Through the community development process Lucas and others in key leadership positions have invented a new understanding of Bronzeville’s illustrious cultural heritage, one that can be distinguished by key characteristics. First and foremost, this South Side community’s upwardly mobile residents have emerged as a community of economic achievers. Residents now refer proudly to Bronzeville as the “economic capital of Black America” and can easily recall the achievements of early twentieth century’s middle class. Bronzeville, “a city within a city,” celebrates its citizens for having historically developed their own political empowerment, local economy, religious institutions and cultural facilities, built their own buildings and entrepreneurial business enterprises.

Most important, as a direct result of Mr. Lucas’s 30 years of effective community organizing at the grassroots level, Bronzeville today is understood internationally as the birthplace of Chicago’s most significant cultural forms. Bronzeville residents have made three tremendous contributions to this world: electrified blues, jazz and gospel music. Bronzeville is strategically being marketed by the Black Metropolis Convention & Tourism Council (BMC&TC) as the home of a vibrant black renaissance community unfazed by the burdens of urban regentrification; it is economically and culturally independent, and is being repopulated by an entrepreneurial black middle class that lives in harmony with its lower income neighbors.

Currently, as the CEO of BMC&TC, Lucas seeks to support the growth of a vibrant heritage tourism district in the historic Bronzeville community. BMC&TC promotes community-based economic empowerment and wealth creation by fostering entrepreneurial opportunities linked to the establishment of Bronzeville as an internationally renowned historic and cultural destination. The past and present center of African-American life and customs in Chicago, BMC&TC is working collaboratively to harness the energy of current and future urban redevelopment in Bronzeville to create a commercial destination of unparallel diversity and attractiveness. Centered in close proximity to McCormick Place Convention Center, the rapidly developing upscale South Loop and Lake Michigan, US Cellular Field, University of Chicago and the Illinois Institute of Technology, Bronzeville has emerged as a premier African American heritage tourism destination and is an essential part of what makes Chicago a remarkable “World Class” American city.

The BMC&TC sponsored Bronzeville Visitor Information Center will be prominently located in the restored, national landmark Supreme/Liberty Life building at 3501 South Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. Scheduled for a Grand Opening in October 2005, the Bronzeville Visitor Information Center features a Community Technology Center, an interactive community planning studio, and a call center with computer repair help desk that supports leadership training in community-based heritage tourism development activities.

Contact Information:

Harold L. Lucas
ePublisher
BronzevilleOnline.com
Community Technology Center
444 East 48th Street, Suite 1 East
Chicago, Illinois 60615
Tel # 773-548-2579
E-Mail: bronzeville2020@ameritech.net