My Chi-Town
In telling the story of community leaders in his hometown of Chicago, photographer Marcus Smith proves the city’s violent reputation does not define it
I’m a 34-year-old Black man from the South Side of Chicago working as a commercial photographer. That’s not a sentence you’ll hear a lot from anyone who grew up in my neighborhood.
I grew up in the South Shore area of the city, also known as Terror Town. Chicago has been in the news a lot over the years for being a violent and dangerous city, and in some ways, rightfully so. Today, amongst all of the noise created by the media and divisiveness being encouraged by our current President surrounding kneeling, protesting, and rioting, it’s easy to overlook the various people doing genuine work on a grassroots level to better their communities.
For Black History Month last year, Nike approached me to help tell the stories of some of these people. For me, this was bigger than just another assignment. My mother, having dedicated her life to social service, educated me on the importance of community and giving back. I understood who all these people were without ever having met them, but as I got to spend time with each of them I learned I had deeper connections to each of them and the work they were doing.
What follows is my personal edit—most of these images have never been published—from the days I spent with each person in their homes and surrounding areas of Chicago, where I documented the work they were doing in each of their communities.
McKinley Nelson
McKinley Nelson founded Project SWISH after so many of his friends were killed as a result of Chicago’s gun violence. The main initiative of the organization is throwing basketball tournaments across the city at midnight, when violence statistically peaks for the age group that participates in the tournament.
This particular initiative started by McKinley hits particularly close to home for me. First, I’m a basketball fanatic. Chicago is a basketball city, and being able to play is something that’s woven into the culture of growing up here. I spent most of my teen years wearing basketball shorts under my jeans to be ready to play at any time. Second, several people I’ve known have died as a result of gun violence in the city. It’s so normal of a thing to experience that I never really understood how unusual it was until I started traveling more as an adult.
Kenny Doss
Kenny Doss is from the Englewood neighborhood of Chicago, which is also known as one of the most violent areas in the city. His goals for bettering the community started out small. He simply wanted more activities and events to happen in his neighborhood that promoted unity, and fostered an environment for people to get to know each other. He soon ran into the challenge of getting permits from local officials to have large gatherings. His solution? Become the youngest person in Chicago’s history to run for alderman, an elected position that oversees a particular neighborhood. I spent time with Kenny as he campaigned through his neighborhood.
Jahkil Jackson
With the help of his parents, Jahkil Jackson started Project I AM when he was 8 years old. His goal to help bring awareness to homelessness manifested itself in the form of giving away “Blessing Bags” that contain essentials like socks, deodorant, toothpaste, sanitizer, and granola bars. Through recruiting other kids in his school, he's been able to give away thousands of bags. Jahkil’s goal this year is to give away 15,000 Blessing Bags.
Tahj & Tamara
Tahj and Tamara both volunteer an incredible amount of time to a youth basketball program in the neighborhood I grew up in. They remind me so much of my mom in how they handle their time with these kids. There’s a lesson in every conversation. I observed them speaking with the kids about how to deal with challenges they were having outside of the gym. The game was purely a way to draw the kids in. Tahj and Tamara embody the word “action” in every way.