How the arts can enrich a community
In elementary school, I used to have hour-long bus rides across Rockford every morning and afternoon. I always found myself looking out the window and observing the empty storefronts and abandoned buildings along the downtown streets.
Being so young, I didn’t realize that the city hadn’t always looked like this. Over the years, Rockford transformed from the city I observed as a first grader to a place shaped by my artistic experiences.
Rockford has always been my vessel for creativity. As a child, my summers were a beacon of inspiration that instilled in me a passion and love for art.
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Every year, my mother would sign me up for an art camp that took place at the Burpee Museum of Natural History in the heart of downtown Rockford. These were my first clear memories of falling in love with art.
From that point on, I knew it would forever be a part of my life. I kept going to that same camp for eight years until I was too old to sign up, which then prompted me to come back the following year as a camp counselor.
The same year I became a counselor at my beloved art camp, I began a local art apprenticeship program called ArtsPlace. Here, I collaborated with other local artists to create a body of work to exhibit at the end-of-summer show.
This program took place down the street from art camp. For the two summers that I was both a camp counselor and an apprentice, I would walk through downtown Rockford every day and explore.
Bouncing from the museums and parks to the historic theaters and buildings opened my eyes to all that Rockford had to offer.
As I explored the city on foot, I thought back to my childhood bus rides through those very same areas. The sidewalks revealed a different perspective of the city I thought I knew like the back of my hand.
Instead of seeing buildings for lease and shops that had been closed for years, I saw restaurants with patio seating and decorated storefront displays.
I asked myself: What changed? How did it all become so unrecognizable? Was it simply my perspective that had changed?
In the time I was going through my artistic renaissance, the city was going through a renaissance of its own. Whether through renovations of historic buildings, live performances at the theaters, or new murals on empty sides of buildings, connections between the city and its artistic elements were rebuilt.
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The investment into the arts is what drew people back into the city. With more people came more businesses, more revenue and more local pride for what had gone unrecognized for so many years.
People started seeing the Rockford about which their parents and grandparents reminisced. Rockfordians witnessed the rebirth of an old rust-belt town, not by way of new factories or highways, but by way of art, forming connections between the city and its people.
I have been lucky to feel this bond since I was four years old at art camp, and I feel a great sense of pride when I see other people building these same attachments.
Although I have overflowing love for Rockford and take pride in the positive changes I have witnessed, it would be disingenuous to ignore the problems ingrained deeply into the city.
In my study of local history, I learned that much of Rockford’s success was due to the industriousness of its own residents. At the time, many Rockfordians were wealthy, even as working-class citizens, and they were almost exclusively white. I believe the city made civic decisions that were based on a racist agenda and led to many profound issues in later years.
When the Federal Highway Act of 1956 provided resources to connect Rockford with Chicago and the greater American Interstate Highway system, Rockford was “At the Top of Illinois”, literally and figuratively, with its booming industry and economy.
When the highway was built, city officials elected for the route to curve along the outskirts of Rockford, instead of going through the downtown commercial district. This was a direct attempt to distance Rockford from Chicago and its minority communities. The development of commercial railways followed a similar story, leading to an absence of trains connecting Rockford and Chicago.
In addition, the schools were so segregated and disparate in terms of resources and opportunities for minority students that a federal judge in a 1993 ruling stated the Rockford Public Schools "raised discrimination to an art form."
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When a recession hit Rockford in the 1980s, the tax base and school system could not support poor-performing schools in black neighborhoods. Rockford could not benefit from the tech boom in the 1990s that uplifted Chicago because downtown Rockford was geographically isolated.
I want to see Rockford focus on sustainable and equitable development through community outreach. Specifically, I want to make sure our future strategic and economic decisions are rooted in a culture of diversity, equity and morality.
A holistic love of one’s community not only appreciates its progress but also demands recognition of the challenges faced by all citizens and commitment to working toward improvement through outreach and personal engagement.
Growing up in Rockford has taught me that an investment in your hometown is an investment in yourself. My personal journey and the transformation of the city have solidified my belief that supporting the arts can impact an entire community just as much as art can move an individual.
I hope that the influence of art is something that will not be confined to the city limits of Rockford, Illinois. Art has the power to turn an otherwise forgettable, declining city into a revitalized, meaningful place where good things can happen.
Juwayria Zahurullah is a senior at Auburn High School. She is part of the Gifted and Creative and Performing Arts (CAPA) academies.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: How the arts can enrich a community
