COMMUNITY ACTIVISM IN OAK PARK: COMPETING AGENDAS ...

Ethnic entrepreneurs in American society often carve out an economic niche by
showcasing ethnic culture (Lu and Fine 1995:535). The middle-class in low-income
neighborhoods are often catered to because local businesses see them as “good business.”
Middle-class residents living in urban areas will attend cultural events to seek an African-
American, Latino, indigenous, or ethnic “experience.” In Oak Park, many middle-class
residents will attend book signings at the African-American bookstore, attend African-
American history flicks at the local theater, and eat at soul food restaurants in the
neighborhood. 24
They seek a unique cultural experience that perhaps cannot be
experienced elsewhere in the city.
Public space in Oak Park is occupied and used not only by community groups,
middle-class residents, and business owners. The perspectives of how lower-income and
unemployed residents define their community are also revealed in the way they utilize
public space. Although middle-class and lower-income residents live in the same
community, these residents do not use or define their community similarly. They have
different definitions of their community and experience their community differently.
Lower-income residents use public space differently than the middle-class. Unlike the
middle-class, the poor spend most of their leisure time hanging out in their neighborhood
and attending community-based organizations and non-profit agencies to receive social
services. Their daily activities consist of visiting friends and family in the neighborhood,
hanging out at parks, meeting friends in front of liquor stores, waiting in line at non-profit
organizations to receive resources, and visiting other social service agencies, such as
health clinics and food stamp offices. In their daily routine, they form relationships in the
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