JASON IVY: Segregation is so pervasive.
you can't really escape it.
The scenery of neighborhoods change as you drive from, you know, mile to mile.
TINA McDUFFIE: Chicago, one of America's many cities struggling with segregated neighborhoods.
RASHAD BAILEY: Not get any support from the neighborhood.
They see the business.
They see we're open.
They're not coming in.
They view this place as dangerous because it's Black people coming here.
How do you unite a segregated city?
McDUFFIE: From WTTW, "Firsthand Segregation" on Local, U.S.A. ♪ ♪ McDUFFIE: Rashad Bailey's restaurant is in a mostly White neighborhood in Chicago.
Now his business is getting threats from his neighbors.
Sometimes it's subtle; sometimes openly racist.
BAILEY: You want to know how to make waffles?
Come on.
You know, this episode of Cribs, I'm Rashad Bailey, this is my house.
You know, it's where all the magic happens.
You know, the boom-boom room.
(R&B music playing) You know.
I've been a entrepreneur my whole life.
(music continues playing, indistinct chatter) So, this is Dinner and a Movie.
You know, from when I was in second, third grade, cutting hair, selling juices, uh, anything, you know, to candy.
Dinner and a Movie is a reflection of Rashad Bailey.
I'm young, I'm hip, I'm bougie.
I'm all about taste.
When you get in here, it checks all the boxes.
It's fun, food is quick, it's easy.
It feels good, the music, the lights, it's very colorful.
We're always having a birthday party.
We are the Black Chuck E. Cheese of Chicago for adults.
And you know, you're in bed by 12:00... (chuckles) ...'cause we ain't staying open late.
It's a White residential neighborhood.
Million dollar, residential, White neighborhood.
Look at how nice that house is, that new brick.
They own all that.
(chuckles) Talk about it.
I want to do this with my family, live in a million dollar neighborhood, and ride bikes.
So... Maybe it won't happen for me, but it'll happen for my children.
What do they say, sacrificing for your last name?
And I talk about starting your, uh, your family out, you know, owning a home outright, you know, two, three million.
That's pretty cool.
(pop music playing) When I was in college, I knew I was gonna be earning a way on my own.
When I switched over to economics, it was more so, uh, "Do you want to work on Wall Street, or any of that type of stuff?"
And I said, "Well, no, I want to be a small business guy."
That slow grind, I'm about that.
I'm a...
I'm a one-man army.
So, you know, you got to be successful, uh, in harsh environments, places where you're not wanted.
Not getting any support from the neighborhood.
They see the business, they see we're open, they're not coming in.
They come by and say stuff to me, mean things.
"They" meaning the White people in the neighborhood.
"Why don't you go home?
Why don't you go back where you came from?"
They'll call my voicemail, and, you know, call us a bunch of savages, all types of stuff.
Even having a response can, essentially, risk my freedom and the people I take care of.
So, you just let it go.
They view this place as dangerous because it's Black people coming here.
And in a two-month span, we had the police called 126 times.
Some of them will get out of the car, and say, "Hey, we got a call, but we don't see anything."
So, when they say it's a noise thing, I'm like, well, it's not a noise thing because the building is soundproof.
So, you're not gonna hear any music, at its loudest, outside.
Some of the people were just panicking.
I see five or six Black people walking to their cars in my $2 million home, I got a problem with it.
I don't know, I mean, I'm not sure what they doing.
Right?
What, was, was is this, like a show of force?
Right?
All these police officers.
Like, for what?
- For what?
BAILEY: For what?
You know, there's no, like, I guess, process to, like, stop a person from calling the police and they just show up 'cause, you know, every time you think it's legitimate.
We did have a shooting.
The day we had a shooting, we called the police and said, "Hey, we need some help."
That night, uh, we had, like, four birthday parties in here.
We were telling everybody they got to go, they can't stay till 2:00 in the morning.
We close at 12:00.
We're getting them out of here.
And outside, people weren't really leaving.
I called the police.
Some time went by.
Within like 15 minutes, people started shooting.
Nobody got shot, and I felt like somebody was just shooting in the air, trying to be, you know, macho.
I thought it was crazy.
I was like, I'm under attack.
I call the police, they don't show up.
You know, then they show up late.
We probably got 40, 50 calls that night.
Rightfully so.
You've had a shooting, and you got a family upstairs or across the street.
A hundred percent, I, you know, I get it.
I got a family, too, I understand.
(sirens wailing) And when they showed up, they could have just sent one car.
They showed up with 30, 30 minutes late.
(sirens wailing) You know, I was upset about that.
Then maybe a hour later, they came in and said, "Oh, we got to close you, 'cause you're a public nuisance and a safety risk" and whatnot.
And I said, "Well, to be a nuisance, there has to be some type of proof."
But that's not the case.
With this little law they have it set now, it's at the discretion of the, the commander to close the business once something happens.
Of course, we were closed.
Then they broke into the business.
(music playing loudly) (groans) Here we go.
Yo, yo, yo, hey, hey, we not doing that.
That loud sh--, come on, man.
- I got this.
BAILEY: Yeah.
No.
Yeah, that loud music, that ain't it.
To hold me accountable for what people do, I mean, I can't lock anybody up, and I can't stop people from speeding.
- Oh, okay.
- Yeah, and then they complain about the music outside.
- Okay.
- Yeah, they say I'm guilty.
- Got you, say less.
BAILEY: (chuckles) Yeah.
- Okay, baby.
BAILEY: Yeah, we just want to let everybody know, you know, hey... - I got you.
- ...in the next, you know, all right.
It's a way in which they can keep the city segregated because you can be prejudiced with the businesses that you close based off of anything happening.
(engine revs) We play Black people music, and we have Black customers, and that's the problem.
So, any time they see a Black person walking to their car, they're gonna say, "That's got to be a customer from Dinner & a Movie."
(indistinct conversation, R&B music playing) Things will happen, that's why you have police.
So, putting this all on the business owner... We had the town hall already coming before the shooting.
That was already gonna happen.
And then we had our situation with the police where they wanted to talk about what we were gonna do differently to open back up.
And that's when we gave them a security plan.
That's why now we have surveillance.
And so we have a, we have a police officer at the door at all times.
Oh, I was coming right for you.
(laughter) Yeah.
(indistinct conversation) So, we opened back up July the eighth.
It was a 60-day probation.
I got to be out of here by, uh, by 12:00.
So, I've got to get all the customers their food, and get up out of here, um, or it's gonna be a problem.
The probation doesn't allow me to open before 4:30, ever.
And I can't be open past 12:00, ever.
They give you all these constraints, things that you can't do.
Doesn't matter.
We gonna make it happen.
I ain't got no other choice.
(laughs) You know, when that's, like, that's a tough constraint to put on a business.
You know, 'cause, I mean, I might have all type of creative ideas.
And I might want to be open for lunch, whatever.
I'm not even given that option.
One up.
Hey, that was the last order, so, it's all right.
Let everybody know they got about ten minutes, but we're officially closed.
Yeah, yeah.
I'm gonna get-- he bring y'all some boxes right now.
Yeah.
Yeah.
(chuckles) Segregation in Chicago is a manner in which owners of property don't allow representation of different groups to have businesses.
- All right, everybody, thank y'all for coming out.
We're closed.
(indistinct talking) BAILEY: It starts with the landlords.
There is always gonna be some person on the other end that I have to say, "Will you accept me as a, um, as a tenant?"
Pick and choose.
I had people tell me no, for no reason, just said, "No, I'm okay."
You know, they don't like my look, once they met me.
So that discrimination, I can't go everywhere regardless of how successful the business may be.
And they don't like a young Black man.
A young Black man is dangerous.
If we own more things, we'll have more Black products and services out there.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Uh, okay, we got, uh, it's 11:55.
Keep working hard and just keep your head down.
It might work out.
Hard work got me over here.
(laughs) How the f--- did I get to Lincoln Park?
(chuckles) That doesn't even make sense.
I just want to save the business.
Nothing can stop me 'cause I'm, I'm, I'm hungry.
And I believe in what I'm doing.
Everyone wants to work a job, save their money, go on vacation, have a family.
Those are, that's us, that's the American dream.
That's not a Black dream, that's the American dream.
Oh man, man.
Hey, can you grab a garbage bag from out of there?
For my children, my family, I want them to look at Chicago and see endless opportunities.
♪ ♪ McDUFFIE: Jason Ivy has spent his life navigating Chicago's segregated neighborhoods, using music, visual arts and language.
He strives to bridge the cultural divides.
- I haven't heard anything.
- How is that possible?
- Okay, play "Crush."
- All right.
- No, you got to play it from the beginning, uh-uh.
- From the beginning, I agree.
- Okay.
This is a story?
- Yeah.
("Crush" playing) ♪ We gonna make a scene ♪ ♪ ♪ IVY: Music has always been a passion of mine.
Like, I've been singing ever since I could talk.
I've got an album that I've been working on since 2019, and it's ten songs long.
- So who's the other artist?
What you mean "other artist"?
In that song?
- The high-pitched voice.
- That's me.
- That was, that was you?
Yeah, that's me.
- That was you and you?
That was me and me.
I don't really have a genre.
People describe it as alternative R&B.
People describe it as neo-soul.
(on recording): ♪ I feel a way ♪ I think that operating in a realm without genre has allowed me to sort of bridge the gaps across Chicago, and I think that every sort of, like, side of the city has their own style of art.
So, like, you've got the West Side artists who have this sort of, like, very soulful way of sing-songy rap.
I sort of wanted some more gospel-sounding artists, which is another Chicago signature.
IVY (on recording): ♪ Tryin' to find out why my ♪ ♪ Separation is the hardest.
♪ So, like, even, even there, I, like, directly reference, like, being physically separate from, like, spaces, you know?
Am I hitting these roadblocks that are, like, basically, just due to, like, race and access and, like, where I'm from?
I feel like the arts industries don't thrive in Chicago like they should.
So, it's my purpose to recreate a space for that and a space for longevity and opportunities for collaboration because I feel like that's another piece in Chicago that's missing is just artists don't reach outside of their circles.
And I, I really hate to use this word 'cause it's kind of cringe, but I know, like, in the city, it's just very clout-based.
It's really about who you know.
It doesn't matter how talented you are, honestly.
IVY: But you can't know those people if you're so, like, split up in the city.
If you're, if the city's segregated, you will never get into those same spaces with, like, who you need to know, like... - But some of those people want to stay split up, too.
IVY: In Chicago, if you're a part of this group, then you're a part of this group, and you're known as that forever.
Like, you're branded.
And if you're not in there, then too bad.
Now you don't have access to those artists.
IVY: Do you think that you have to pursue a different city in order to progress your career because Chicago just doesn't give that to you?
You don't have to leave, but you can.
And then we talk about segregation, if you're only touching people in Lincoln Park, people in Bronzeville not gonna hear you.
IVY: No.
- Mm-mmm.
If you're performing in Bronzeville, people in Forest Park are not gonna hear you.
IVY: Right.
But you want to touch all those crowds at one time and relate to them.
IVY: Like, how do you do that?
Like, how do you unite a segregated city that seems to not want to support artists from certain neighborhoods or certain communities or certain genres?
We're being plagued by this huge thing that's been around in the city of Chicago forever, since its foundation as a city.
So, how can we talk about that?
How can we address it?
How can we accept that the city is still segregated, you know, almost 200 years later?
And I think that the best way to do that is through an easy medium to digest, and that's just art.
IVY: I'm gonna play a couple more songs 'cause we got, like... Segregation is so pervasive.
You can't really escape it.
You'll notice the scenery of neighborhoods change as you drive from, you know, mile to mile just in any particular street, in any particular direction.
All of the city just transform around you.
You'll see, like, a lack of greenery around 63rd.
You'll see an abundance of greenery.
Like, you'll hit Downtown, and it'll just look different, you know, every ten blocks or so.
And different parts of the city have different feels.
And I feel like that's, there's a beauty to that.
You know, there is something magnificent about having so many voices heard.
But why can't those voices resonate with each other?
Why do we have to live in discord?
♪ ♪ I think that a way to explore culture is through, like, you know, the taste palate.
So I really love how many options there are for food in Chicago.
(Jason speaking Spanish) - Pollo?
IVY: Yeah, si.
(speaking Spanish) - Horchata.
IVY: Gracias a ti.
I consider myself a polyglot.
I speak Spanish, German.
I sign American Sign Language.
It's one of the biggest tools that we have as a human race is just the ability to talk to one another.
IVY (speaking Spanish): ...that separate us.
- (speaking Spanish): IVY: Mm-hm.
Mm-hmm.
Claro.
(both speaking Spanish) IVY: Language dissolves barriers, so just linguistics, as a background, in general, allows me to understand what people are communicating.
It feels great to be able to just sort of communicate with people in their comfort zone.
(wrapper crinkling) (oil sizzling) IVY: These are sausage strips.
(microwave beeping, oil sizzling) (microwave humming) I'm just trying, 'cause this is something we've never tried before.
IVY: I know.
- So... (microwave beeps) (sizzling, hissing) IVY: I grew up on the South Side of Chicago in Marquette Park, very historic neighborhood, originally Lithuanian.
And it's the historic neighborhood where Martin Luther King marched through and, you know, rocks and eggs and all types of things were thrown at him, insults as well.
And, uh, eventually, the neighborhood was integrated, and now I'm here.
So, clearly that worked.
(laughs) IVY: Where did we get this cake from again?
We got it from a Polish bakery.
Oh, yeah, uh, like, it was, like, Northwest, right?
- Lawrence and Austin or something like that?
IVY: Yeah.
It was, it was far.
And then you start speaking Polish to that lady.
She was really sweet.
IVY: Yeah, she was really nice.
- What did they call you again?
IVY (speaking Polish): which just means "toothpick."
It means "toothpick."
(laughs) IVY: Yeah, they said I didn't...
I sort of flip-flopped back and forth between different demographics in school.
My grammar school closed down in the seventh grade.
So I had to find another school to go to.
So a very, very, very dramatic change from an all-Black school with an all-Black staff on the South Side of Chicago to a very, very, very White Christian background school where I was the only Black person, really, within shouting distance pretty much all times of the day.
And then, for high school, another all-Black, all-male, as well, school.
And I was 12 when I started there, 16 when I finished.
I went to another primarily White school, the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
So, I got to see, like, how different populations interacted with each other.
- As a parent, do you think I helped, sending you to the different schools rather than the ones right here in the neighborhood?
IVY: Yeah, I feel like it was a, it was always, like, a trek, you know, having to go down Southwest Highway to get to Oak Lawn.
But in retrospect, you're looking at it like, Oh, okay, so wait, I did see subliminal messaging of, like, other communities even on the way to school...
I want people to see what goes on in Chicago life on the day-to-day, what we celebrate, what we bring to the table, you know, what trials and tribulations we have, and what we create from that pain.
This is a taste of what to expect when we, um, turn this into an actual exhibition where you can walk around in real life.
I wanted to illustrate the four sides of Chicago-- North, South, East and West.
And as you walk around the space, virtually...
I think that I'm just motivated by an intrinsic desire to create.
So I thought that I needed to incorporate other mediums of art.
And I felt like photography was a very cool medium to explore music through.
And I sent my songs to four photographers in Chicago.
And I had them just sort of dissect what they heard.
And a lot of them came back to me with some very interesting concepts.
This photo series that was shot in Wicker Park, we did it on the element of gentrification, so...
But then you can venture over to the South Side, and this one was just sort of a more abstract way of saying that-- it's, it's water, it's rain droplets on a window.
But if you look at it in the context of the city of Chicago, you'll see, while they're all separate, at the end of the day, it's the same thing.
It's the same molecules; it's the same structure.
So I think this is a really cool, abstract way of representing how Chicago is segregated.
Segregation means that resources don't flow two ways or three ways or four ways all the time.
Usually, it's a one-way street.
When you're at the bottom of that, that street or that stream, the resources get really, uh, really skimpy down there.
But when you're at the top of that stream, then it's like, "Oh, we've got an abundance.
"Let's take as much as we want whenever we want and not worry about the next man."
My ideal Chicago would look like a place that felt like home all over the city.
If there comes a time where we can visit a neighborhood without feeling like you're not a member of that community, because we're all Chicagoans, and I think that we achieved what a city should be.
♪ ♪ ♪ ♪
