I attended the Women Against The Machine conference at the Jane Addams
Hull-House Museum, which was on the campus of the University of Illinois at Chicago. The setting was the perfect place for these women running for
alderman to reflect on the hardships in the community. Jane Addams was the
founder of the Hull House, Chicago’s first homeless shelter, in 1856. Addams responded to the need of her community and took initiative to build a place for those struggling in Chicago to live, eat, and earn an education.
These women are responding similarly to the needs of their communities. Each candidates emphasized not being a “rubber stamp alderman,” but described most incumbents as such. Instead, they intend to be more active about reading initiatives and proposals. Some candidates were running against each other in the same district, but what was interesting was that they still showed support for each other. One of the candidates in particular, Dianne Daleiden, made it clear that, “It’s about time women create and political agenda in Chicago”. This made me curious as to what the political atmosphere is really like in Chicago. How many high offices do women hold in this city? My guess would be not a lot because there aren’t any “Men Against The Machine” conferences that I know of.
These women seemed deeply moved and excited about the possibility of holding a position where they could make positive change within their ward. Many of these women came from humble backgrounds, which provided a stark contrast to the fast-paced, high-stakes machine that is Chicago politics. Drawing from their own experiences, what each woman had in common was their goal to improve education and housing in their communities. In closing, Jane Addams once said, “America's future will be determined by the home and the school. The child becomes largely what he is taught; hence we must watch what we teach, and how we live.". This quote seems to really reflect the goals of women in Chicago. A goal that has lasted over one hundred years in this city.
ReplyDeleteWeston well done on this blog post. You did a tremendous job explaining what the the women were doing there and what there mission was about. Improving public housing especially in Chicago is something that needs to be done soon. It was also interesting that some of the women that were there were also running for alderman . Thanks Wes!
ReplyDelete