In Chicago, Downtown Day allows teens to feel welcome, safe and seen in the city, but many say they wish that was the case year-round.
They expressed that opinion on Saturday at the annual event, which brings more than 1,000 young people from the South and West Sides into the city for workshops, tours and activities.
The initiative is hosted by youth empowerment nonprofit My Block, My Hood, My City, which partners with more than 30 businesses and organizations, including the Art Institute of Chicago, Navy Pier, Shedd Aquarium and Water Tower Place, to offer the experiences. (This year, WBEZ was also listed among the participants.) Each teen receives a $50 prepaid debit card to use at destinations of their choice.
The event happened amid growing concerns about so-called “teen takeovers,” or large gatherings of young people that are coordinated on social media. Some have turned violent, due in part to easy access to guns, while others have occurred without incident.
The events have commanded the attention of Chicago’s City Council, which hosted a hearing on the topic in June. Last summer, the governing body responded by passing a stricter curfew ordinance, but it was ultimately vetoed by Mayor Brandon Johnson.
“A lot of the communities that teens are from are disinvested, and we’re pushing them out of spaces,” said Briana Mathews, manager of youth development at My Block, My Hood My City.
But Downtown Day provides a model for them to feel welcome and give them agency to curate their own entertainment, she said.
“Once we start treating them like they are partners and collaborators, then we can see them thrive,” she explained.
With that in mind, we asked several teens to share their favorite activities, concerns and ideas for new opportunities. Read on to hear what they said.
Del’Reona Cox, 16, West Englewood
Del’Reona Cox wanted to get a more expansive look at the city, so she packed her Downtown Day itinerary with a trip on the architecture boat tour, a visit to 360 Chicago Observation Deck and a ride on Flyover Chicago at Navy Pier.
It was a unique experience for Cox, who rarely ventures to the Loop or even to her local park.
“It’s too much going on with the teen takeovers,” she said. “It’s just not safe. That’s why I don’t go anywhere.”
Cox said she would like to see the city invest in more recreational spaces like the Salvation Army Kroc Center in West Pullman.
“Maybe have indoor activities for teens to go and have fun,” she said. “Really just to engage and meet new people.”
Dumaya Dukes, 16, Chicago Lawn
A member of the Downtown Day committee, Dumaya Dukes said she was hoping to visit Shedd Aquarium to get a glimpse of the beluga whales.
“I love experiencing things,” she said. “I love to get outside my comfort zone. I like nature. I love the water. I love to go to the beach and the pool. I like going to the park, just chilling with my friends.”
Dukes said the massive teen gatherings are “too much” for her, but that she understood the underlying cause.
“I feel like teens just want to be seen, they want to be heard and these are their opening statements,” she said. “So I just say anybody who is a part of it needs to stay safe.”
Elijah Ford, 15, Chatham
Veronica Robinson said she and her grandson, Elijah Ford, don’t get to the Loop much due to the “hustle and bustle” of work and school. So, it was a treat for the teen to participate in Downtown Day, which he said he attended “to have fun and look around.”
When Ford isn’t in class or playing football, he said he is at home. He said he’d like to see the city invest in a “big park with more than the usual stuff in it.”
“Instead of a normal jungle gym, it’ll be a bigger, more difficult jungle gym.”
Janiyah Patton, 17, Englewood
Janiyah Patton said she is a “homebody” due to shyness, strict parents and lack of activities where she lives.
“I really feel like there’s nothing going on in my neighborhood,” she said.
However, she said there are things to do in other places. When she does go out, she enjoys eating at restaurants and spending time at the beach or park with friends. And for Downtown Day, she was considering the option of visiting Navy Pier — a place she had never been.
“I think that there are enough programs out there for teens,” she said. “They’re just not being influenced to do so. I feel like it’s just really on the parents.”
Antoine Carter, 18, Harvey
Whether it’s going to restaurants or “free days” at museums, Antoine Carter spends a lot of time in the Loop. He said more affordable events and targeted marketing are tactics for getting more young people Downtown.
“Advertise to teens more,” he said. “Because right now – no offense – it’s all millennial, no Gen Z. It’s corny. It’s like, I know a millennial made this ad.”
The solution is consulting people his age, he said.
“Young people know what young people want.”
Ashley Tobal, 18, Markham
At 18, Ashley Tobal said she has freedom to do things in the city. But her younger peers are not so lucky because of chaperone rules.
“Not everybody wants to be walking around with their parents everywhere,” she said. “They just want to be with their friends. And nowadays, everywhere you go, you have to have a parent or you have to have an ID.”
Tobal suggests that spaces allow teens 15 and up to roam freely.
“If you don’t put trust in your kids that they’re mature enough to compose themselves in public, they won’t figure that out by themselves,” she said.
It’s those restrictions and a desire to be “grown” that causes young people to act out at teen gatherings, she said.
“Nobody wants to be a kid anymore,” she explained. “Everybody wants to get drunk. Everybody wants to be on top of cars. Everybody wants to smoke weed. When weed became legal, that changed a lot.”
Valentina Rodriguez, 17, Brighton Park
Valentina Rodriguez has been to Shedd Aquarium many times. But taking a photography workshop there during Downtown Day allowed her to see the space in a new light.
“I never actually got to learn and listen and engage,” she said. “I never really take pictures, so now that I really get the opportunity to actually look at the animals and try to understand them and their habitats — it’s really interesting.”
Rodriguez disagrees with others who say there is nothing to do in Chicago. She said she has been introduced to DIY shows and other activities through her brother, friends and social media.
“It’s about the people you hang around with,” Rodriguez said. “If you generally don’t socialize, you won’t find the fun in your own city.”