COMMUNITY ACTIVISM IN OAK PARK: COMPETING AGENDAS ...

coordinated by the women’s group,” she argued “is voluntary by residents who choose to
improve their situation. Some people in the neighborhood do not want to improve their
situation by making right choices and this is where we say ‘enough is enough.’” Her
reasons for participating in a variety of events are not unusual. Many Oak Park residents
attend many events and are a part of many community groups. They often reason and
decide who is a “deserving” member of the community and who is not.
In conclusion, many middle-class residents want to help improve the community
through social change initiatives aimed at helping the community’s most vulnerable
residents. Deciding who has rights to the community is a form of power that is exhibited
in the community by middle-class residents. There are criteria by which to judge
residents in the neighborhood that are used by community groups, which can serve to
further stratify residents and produce tensions among middle-class and lower-income
residents.
St. HOPE Corporation
In addition to debating the use of eminent domain, police patrol, and increased
urban housing in Oak Park, residents were divided over the redevelopment projects
sponsored by the St. HOPE Corporation. Some residents felt that St. HOPE businesses
and redevelopment projects would help improve the neighborhood, while others felt the
corporation contradicted its mission and was actually negatively affecting the poor.
But for the most part, many residents welcomed the closing of Sacramento Public High
School and its re-opening as St. HOPE Public Charter School.
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