Before the lights strung upon a 20-foot Christmas tree off South Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive began to shine, Jahmal Cole had a message for the crowd at My Block, My Hood, My City’s holiday celebration.
There are always decorations up on the roads of neighborhoods like Uptown, Edgewater and Greek Town, Cole said. But such festive displays don’t often come to the South Side, he added.
That means the soon-to-be-lit tree stood for much more than just holiday cheer, he argued.
“That represents us standing up for our community,” he said. “That tree represents us standing up for all voices to be respected. That tree represents us standing up for the South Side to have light.”
Cole’s nonprofit lit up dozens of houses Saturday, part of the organization’s effort to festoon over 500 homes this Christmas. Most of the decorated dwellings were along King Drive, though the organization also served around 100 spots in West Side neighborhoods, Cole said.
Volunteers put up the inflatables, ornaments, wreaths and bulbs at the core of the “Be A Part Of The Light.” They decked street lamps too, many of which were adorned in spiraling red ribbons and garland outside the Park Manor Christian Church, where kid-oriented activities occurred throughout the day.
The “South Pole” set up there included hot cocoa, train rides and, of course, a Santa laden with presents and dressed in a red coat with white fur trim.
Around 100 kids trickled on and off the platform where Andre Russell, who calls himself “Dreezy Claus,” passed out presents Friday afternoon. But one boy around 10 years old lingered on Russell’s mind later in the day.
The boy had come alone, Russell said, and when it was his turn to greet St. Nick and receive a present, he asked if he could take one for his sister.
“I said, ‘Sure, go ahead,” Russell recalled.
The boy grabbed just one gift, a play tea set clearly intended for his sibling.
“It moved us so much. I said, ‘Come back up here, get you something too,’” Russell said.
The kid gratefully accepted.
No kids cried this year as they sat on his lap, Russell said. In fact, they all seemed to believe in Santa’s magic. As always, the veteran elf gave them good advice.
“Be nice, not naughty. Listen to your parents. Listen to your teachers. If you’re the big brother, be the big brother, be the big sister,” said Russell, who calls himself “Chicago’s first Black Santa” and sports a salt-and-pepper beard and braids under his red cap.
As a band played inside before the tree lighting, a five-year-old girl named Madysyn hugged Dreezy Claus goodbye. He’s the girl’s favorite Santa, her grandmother said.
The lights and the toys might be simple, but they can inspire hope, Cole said. By spreading a bit of joy and adding a festive touch to dark blocks or troubled gas stations, the effort can even increase public safety, he said.
“When kids see that, it’s inspiring hope and interrupting trauma,” he said.
It’s been hard for the nonprofit to run the costly event this year with fewer corporate sponsors, Cole said. The lack of city-funded decoration on the South Side is a subtle reminder that leaders respond to violence reactively instead of proactively cultivating a sense of pride that might address troubles, he added.
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“If you can put ShotSpotter technology on light poles, but you can’t put city wreaths, that was a purposeful decision,” Cole said, referring to gunshot detection systems scattered throughout the city.
If lights can look good downtown, they can look good in Chatham too, said Lena Bivins, a My Block, My Hood, My City program manager.
“And if you look good, you feel good,” she said. “People are happy. People feel cared for … They’re going to look out for the community when they know someone is looking out for them.”
The organization plans to decorate more houses next week, Bivins said.
After the music stopped inside a pitched party tent, people gathered outside around the unlit tree. For around 10 minutes, the awaited burst of light didn’t come as, in true Christmas decoration fashion, staff grappled with a cord issue.
But the plug finally worked, and light drenched the towering tree. Its large red and silver bulb-shaped ornaments sparkled as cars honked on King Drive.
