‘Beauty is Remembered’: A Mother’s Fight for Public Housing

Who are the heroes of your neighborhood? In episode 24 of Out of the Archives, “Beauty is Remembered: A Mother’s Fight for Public Housing,” we honor the legacy of Ms. Beauty Turner, a mother, journalist, historian, and community activist who lived in Chicago’s Robert Taylor Homes for over a decade. Listen to Larry Turner, the son of Ms. Beauty, and other former Robert Taylor residents discuss the community’s complex and rich history, and share why neighborhood heroes like Beauty are critical to public housing communities.Click here to read the transcript.Content Notes: This episode discusses themes of death/dying, drug use, state-sanctioned displacement, and houselessness.Sources and additional reading:Sundhir Venkatesh, Dislocation (2005): https://vimeo.com/505211639 Flavian Prince and Daniel Rudin, Interrupt the Pipeline (2009): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOJ8om06PU4 Nuri Medina II, Englewood Enterprise Gallery Dec. 6, 2017 Show, Chicago Access Network Television (2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0ksh7OHUjY Beauty Turner, “GHETTO Bus Tour” (2007, Associated Press Archive): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKoTEH3ya2Y Mick Dumke, “Chicago Claims Its 22-Year ‘Transformation’ Plan Revitalized 25,000 Homes. The Math Doesn't Add Up” (2002, ProPublica); Accessed: https://www.propublica.org/article/chicago-housing-authority-hud-transformation-plan When the Market Isn’t an Option Zine Vol. II & III: “Public Housing Disinvestment” and “Public Housing Deterioration” (2021–2022, National Public Housing Museum): https://nphm.org/listen/activating-the-archive/when-the-market-isnt-an-option-zine-seriesBeauty Turner’s Blog: https://beautysghettobustours.blogspot.com/ Samantha Chatman and Maggie Green, “Chicago affordable housing wait can take years as city, CHA face severe shortage,” (May 2023, ABC 7 Chicago), accessed: https://abc7chicago.com/affordable-housing-chicago-cha-section-8-portal/13232375/ D. B. Hunt (2001). “What went wrong with public housing in chicago? A history of the Robert Taylor Homes”. Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society, 94(1), 96. Retrieved from: https://flagship.luc.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/what-went-wrong-with-public-housing-chicago/docview/232489901/se-2 Kenya Barbara,”The Plan for Transformation: How a plan with lofty goals has underperformed and forever changed public housing in Chicago,” Public Interest Law Reporter vol. 24 (2018). Accessed at: https://lawecommons.luc.edu/pilr/vol24/iss1/13. Chicago Housing Authority, Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, Fiscal Year 2023, accessed at: https://www.thecha.org/sites/default/files/2024-11/2023AnnualComprehensiveFinancialReport_12.23_BudgetandFinance.pdf Dan Baum, “Legalize It All: How to win the war on drugs,” Harper’s Magazine (April 2016), accessed at: https://harpers.org/archive/2016/04/legalize-it-all“City of Chicago 2024 Point-in-Time Count and Survey Report of People Experiencing Homelessness,” prepared by the Nathalie P. Voorhees Center for Neighborhood & Community Improvement, University of Illinois Chicago, oversight by the Department of Family and Support Services, accessed at: https://www.chicago.gov/content/dam/city/depts/fss/supp_info/Homeless/2024-Homeless-Point-In-Time-Count-Report/2024_PIT_Report_FINAL.pdf