The Last Days of the Black Elks Hall in Bronzeville..

A Once Sacred Place in a Once Sacred Space ..

is now reduced 

2 a pile of rubble …

A rubble of red bricks

now sit on the spot 

at the end of my block

A pile of red bricks 

that sit unknown 

against the night  sky

as I

pull the car up to see  

the crime .. up close...

A murder in the night…

There’s no red tape around the corpse.. but 

It still feels like a death in the darkness... 

where someone took away my heart and my soul...

Yes … my  Big little “Red Schoolhouse’..

The Elks Hall…

Where they used to  hold “Elks Affairs”

With B.B. King as a headliner

 Where they dressed in their best.. 

With  beautiful fur collars and 2 inch heels.

And Dobb hats

The end of an era..

of important Black Elks who started  up in  Bronzeville

back in the day.

I remember the cars that lined the block and  

how the lots were full when there was an “Elks Affair..

I remember when guitarist, George Freeman, brother of Von Freeman..

and Byron Barbour  and Terry Norman ... played gigs there.

I remember after many years,… when the Elks  had gone.. 

and the Temple of the African Community  came...

With  Dr Jake Carruthers as their  leader,

we looked forward to the works of the Kemetic Institue

but .. alas.. he passed away 

and the dreams seemed to leave with him..

because the building was never brought to the original vision.

I  came to say  goodbye 

To a piece of my light…

A part of my family history

Growing up on the block..since 1966

Growing up...

knowing 

that 

I could go get some 

Jays potato chips... and a pop..

and watch the elders talk ... 

about important  'things' that elders talk about..

and feel safe...

 knowing that the BIG RED BUILDING  stood

at the  end of the street

 towering  like a big red Fortress 
protecting 'Short Vernon from the  Hawk,

 the folks...

and that it had a history ...

but now it's

Reduced to nothingness... 

against the night sky

It’ s cold… and I stare and stare

before taking a picture

I am alone..

Feeling some kind of way…

 like a lone warrior who cared…

 like a Bronzevillian Shogun

who guarded ... the Stable... 

who watched  over...

and groomed and  

maintained the grounds.

I know I tried..  

to imagine  

a school for the Arts

The children inside ..

a place of learning

filled with music  again..

with community again..

learning about the beauty, the history that we

have in Bronzeville

and interfacing that history with  the world..

The world who always came to visit 43rd St

They  would  stop  at my door 

to learn about the Checkerboard Blues club...

And they would always ask 

"What y'all going to do with that Big Red Building 

at the end of the block?

And I would  always say..

"Some of  us would love to see it become a  

Historical  place of learning.."

A place where the Arts & Technology can flourish...
Where literacy can rise..

But what really happens 2 a dream when it gets no support

Too little.. too late…

No support from those..

who have cultural roots here

 but No imagination..

No love.. 
No Interest..

For a Stable built in the 1890’s
surrounded by cobblestones...

With a rich history..

I’m  having  a flashback

A FLASH BLACK  

2  a whole 'nother time..

In Bronzeville 

On 'short Vernon

 Which is the nickname 
for this block on 43rd St..
because it is only one block long...
on Muddy Waters Drive

With its own rich history..

A flashback to when they tore the Checkerboard down..

As I watched  from the window…

It was a long time coming…

And it hurt just as much..

By Aki Antonia c2018 12418