North Lawndale

      Prayer Points

• The neighborhood has never fully rebounded from the drastic loss of resources as industry left the community. Pray for a reinfusion of infrastructure and opportunity to energize the neighborhood.

• Pray for underperforming schools that are reeling under the harsh reality of low expectations and few role models of success. Pray for the children, their parents, teachers and staff to persevere despite the odds.

• Pray for peace in North Lawndale’s streets. Pray that churches and Christians in North Lawndale would be an active presence in the lives of their neighbors.

• Praise the Lord for His servants who are providing services to meet the wide-ranging needs of the community including spiritual, social, medical, legal and residential.

      Ethnic Breakdown

• Asian (0.1%)
• Black or African American (91.3%)
• Hispanic or Latino (5.5%)
• White (1.8%)

Neighborhood Background

Historically, North Lawndale was a home for Jewish refugees following the Great Fire of 1871 and continued to grow as factories moved into the area. In the early 1950s, the population changed drastically with a new influx of African American residents, many displaced from the urban renewal projects that took place in other neighborhoods in Chicago.

No new housing was built during the time of increased population, employment was scarce, and the physical deterioration of the community was severe. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. chose North Lawndale as the base for his civil rights movement in Chicago.

Unfortunately, the riots that followed King’s assassination frightened factory owners and working residents to flee the area, including the former Sears headquarters. By the year 2000, Lawndale’s population dropped dramatically from a peak of 125,000 to about 47,200; many residents left due to increased poverty, crime, and unemployment. However, glimmers of change exist today as many are working towards the betterment of North Lawndale.