The Woodlawn Peace Center is an umbrella organization for Woodlawn Voices and Visions, our signature program. Woodlawn Voices and Visions works with high school students who are engaged in social justice film making on Chicago's South Side. Through Woodlawn Peace Center programming, we are attempting to encourage peace through shared spaces that promote a viable and engaged community. The youth involved in Woodlawn Voices and Visions examine critical social issues using, film, photography, journalism skills, and research. ABOUT WOODLAWN VOICES AND VISIONSOur high school students are working on films about food deserts, police abuse of power, and the agency of community residents who have worked to acquire resources for public art in their community. These projects have speak to the heart of critical social issues in our community and highlight the importance of people-centered story telling in producing social change. Our students are using their skills as social justice film makers to shape public opinion about the human condition of residents on the South Side. ABOUT WOODLAWNThe Woodlawn neighborhood on the South Side of
Chicago, is considered a distressed community with a lot of promise and
potential. The community may be characterized as distressed because it is
filled with city and privately owned vacant lots, abandoned and vacant
property, scant job opportunities, limited commercial development, inadequate
levels of quality affordable housing, and high rates of poverty and crime. In the midst of these
challenges, the community holds a lot of promise because many residents are
striving for a better quality of life and improved social conditions.