On a hot, breezy evening last week, a group of students in the State Street office of the Chicago Freedom School headed for a CTA Red Line station. The 10 teenagers did something most of them try to avoid downtown: They walked down the street together.
The teens, a mix of African-Americans and Hispanics, said they realize that groups of young people often make others uneasy. And they understand those feelings have ratcheted up since a band of youths attacked people on the Gold Coast and lakefront last weekend.
Those incidents have sparked discussions about safety, race and crowds of teens, particularly black teens.
But the students at Freedom School, a nonprofit designed to teach teens about social activism, stressed that the majority of young people who come downtown are not trying to cause trouble. They come for the same reasons others do: to go to school, to work, to shop, or simply to relax and enjoy the city’s attractions such as Navy Pier, Millennium Park and Water Tower Place.
They appreciate that the heart of the city is a vibrant cultural hub, one of the few areas in Chicago where you’re almost guaranteed to find diverse groups of people interacting and coexisting.
For the price of bus fare, young people can engage in the original form of social networking. They can converse face to face as they walk around or people-watch while experiencing an environment — with its impressive skyscrapers, manicured parks and relatively clean streets — that’s unlike the communities some of them are growing up in.
“If you come from a rough part of Chicago, coming downtown reminds you that this really is a beautiful city, and I love my city,” said Eric Gaston, 18, who’s African-American and lives in North Lawndale.
“Most of the time people say, ‘Don’t get stuck in your neighborhood. See what the rest of the city has to offer.’ And that’s what most of us are trying to do.”
He said he has made a point of visiting and volunteering in other Chicago neighborhoods and has learned how to navigate those streets as well as the ones downtown. He walks by himself or with a family member and prefers an “Urban Outfitters style” of dress. He knows that groups of young black men with sagging pants are often perceived — fairly or unfairly — as being a threat.
“Even walking alone, I’ve passed older women who grip their purses closer,” he said. “Or little kids who pull closer to their mothers and ask why I’m down here. But you get used to it and you can’t let it bother you.”
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Brian Damacio, 17, who’s Latino, said he has also had to develop a thick skin. He said that although he’s experienced department store workers who have followed him and his family around high-end stores, believing they might steal something, he feels more comfortable downtown than in North Lawndale, where he lives.
“I feel freer downtown,” Brian said. “In my neighborhood, because of the gangs, we have to watch what we wear to make sure we’re not wearing gang colors. We have to watch how we cut our hair, so that it’s not in a certain style. Coming downtown, there’s just less tension.”
He said he worries more about being in a large group in North Lawndale than in downtown.
“When I’m walking on Kostner (Avenue) and if there’s a bunch of us, sometimes the police will stop us,” he said. “I try to stay away from anything that will cause conflict.”
Jasmine Thomas, 16, said that when she’s not downtown for the Freedom School, she’s shopping in her favorite stores along State Street or Michigan Avenue. She said adults aren’t the only ones with concerns about safety.
“When I approach a crowd of kids, I feel I have to get my defenses up because you never know what’s going to happen,” said Jasmine, who’s black. “Sometimes when I see a group of guys, I wonder if I should cross the street. The young men can be so disrespectful and say things you wouldn’t imagine.”
She said being downtown is a great escape from her community, the embattled Englewood.
“Down here, I’m around a different set of people,” she said. “People I feel more comfortable around. Whatever is going on, I feel safer downtown than in my own neighborhood.”
Many of the students agreed that the crowd dynamic sometimes inspires people to be rowdier than they would be ordinarily, and it doesn’t matter if the crowd is composed of teens or adults, or people who are well-off financially or not.
Karla Andrade, 17, said any group larger than three friends draws attention. She said if she’s coming downtown from her Garfield Ridge neighborhood, she doesn’t bring more than two friends, and being with just one other person is optimal.
“When I’m with a lot of people, I feel uncomfortable,” said Karla, who’s Hispanic. “You just know that people are going to look at you as troublemakers. Sometimes the kids can be loud and wild and don’t mean anything by it. But then people still look at you, and feel they need to stay away.”
Cristina Rojas, 17, who’s Hispanic and lives in Little Village, said that on Wednesday night, as she and her peers stood on the crowded train heading to a South Side movie theater to watch a documentary, she heard their group get louder and become more animated. She noticed people on the train kept looking at them.
“And here we are, really aware of what a crowd of young people means,” she said. “Being in a crowd changes you. It was hot and we just let our guard down.”
Some teens scoff at the idea of thinning their crowds so they don’t offend the sensibilities of others.
Alexandra “Allie” Pates, 17, lives in Hyde Park and said her parents started taking her downtown to the movie theaters, restaurants and stores when she was very young. She said that now she often takes the Metra train downtown with five or six friends, and they sometimes meet up with others, further swelling their ranks.
“People feel threatened by black teens and even more so since the (incidents) happened” last weekend, said Allie, who’s black. “It’s unfortunate because people will buy into the stereotypes even more.”
While she said she believes the police should help maintain safety for everyone, she’s concerned that groups of black teens will face greater scrutiny than others.
“The police seem to assume something negative is going to happen or that you’re up to no good, if you’re a bunch of black kids,” she said. “I’ve never been in trouble in my life, but you don’t get the benefit of the doubt.”
She said she realizes that groups of young people can be intimidating.
“But at the end of the day, we want what everyone wants: to get together and have a good time.”