Over 50 years ago, massive uprisings after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. left Garfield Park and North Lawndale in ruin, said longtime community leader Marshall Hatch Sr. The area went up in flames and never recovered. Many vacant lots remain from businesses and homes that were destroyed and never rebuilt, he said.
The historic neighborhood continues to grapple with underinvestment, high poverty rates, low life expectancy and violence, including a Halloween night mass shooting that killed one and wounded over a dozen others.
Now, a group of residents, faith-based and health care institutions, nonprofits and other stakeholders in Garfield Park are working to revitalize the neighborhood’s commercial quarter and break the cycle of disinvestment through Sankofa Wellness Village.
The Sankofa Wellness Village will create opportunities for West Garfield Park residents of all…
