Evanston Mom Seeks Community's Help Addressing Violence From The Inside Out

In a recent interview, Julie Burkett described how she learned about the Inside Out Project, what she hopes to accomplish, and how Evanston community members can participate. I know there are many like-minded individuals just looking for a way to help bring awareness to Evanston's violence, and I applaud Julie for taking the initiative by reaching out to bring positive change to our town.

Christine Wolf: How did you first learn about the Inside Out Project?
Julie Burkett: I learned about the Inside Out Photography project last month from an HBO Documentary about the creator, J.R. [who's been awarded a $1,000,000 TED Prize for his efforts] and I was immediately drawn to it. I can't explain why, but I instantly drew parallels between some of the documented projects (and the related areas in  the world struck by violence) and the current situation in my own community. I looked at the project's website and my mind started going a mile-a-minute. I, like many Evanstonians, read the news online every day and see/feel the community slipping into a dark hole of gun and street violence. Like it does to most, it shocks me and also makes me very, very sad. I have lived here for about 40 years and consider Evanston my eternal home. I love it here because of the diversity and want to raise my son here.

CW: For those who don't know about the Inside Out Project, how would you describe it?
JB: The project's website does a far better job at explaining the mission and vision than I ever could, but simply put: A person or persons who want to bring about awareness or some degree of social change form a committee. One or more of the people take to the streets and take portraits of our community members (likely to be a mix of social, racial and economic backgrounds) that are then printed into poster-sized form by the Inside Out Project in New York. The committee organizes a group of community members to participate, fund and post (publicly) these posters in the hopes of putting a face to the current violence occurring in our community. We are all residents here, we all contribute to the community in some way and we are deep down all human beings. No one and no group of someones deserves better treatment, better education, better protection or better ANYTHING than the other. We all have to take our responsibility for the current state of affairs in our city. I thought of this quote and it sums up how strongly I feel about this issue: "He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it."
Martin Luther King, Jr.

CW: How long have you lived in Evanston, and what does our community mean to you?
JB: I have lived in Evanston for most of my 42 years. I moved here with my Mom, Dad and Sister when I was about one year old. Except for a brief stint in New York and a few years in Rogers Park, I have lived here my whole life. I live in Southeast Evanston currently with my husband and son (who attends Lincoln Elementary) and my mother lives a few blocks away. I grew up on Hinman Avenue and attended District 65 schools until 1984-1988 when I went to (and graduated from) ETHS. In fact, my 25th high school reunion is in 2 weeks. I love Evanston, always have. It is very diverse and for the most part, I have experienced racial harmony over the years. In fact, I grew up thinking that the rest of the country was just as integrated as Evanston was. I was surely surprised when I went to live with my Dad and Stepmother in New York and found that even New York seemed to me to have more segregated communities than what I was use to. I lived in New York during a time when there was serious racial riots in Williamsburg, Brooklyn sparked by a young black man being killed by a car in the street - driven by a white person. It sparked race riots and created a general racial tension in the city that was palpable. I moved back to Evanston shortly thereafter.

CW: Before you'd shared your vision with me, I'd never heard of the Inside Out Project. Now, having read about how participants choose the message, take the portraits and paste the images -- and work toward the goals raising awareness, drawing attention to a cause, advocating change, starting a conversation, creating global impact, strengthening a community and standing up for what they believe in -- I can see exactly why it seems like a good fit for our town. Talk a little bit about what you've seen here in terms of violence.
JB: You have summed it up very well in this question. I also, however, have a personal reason that it stood out to me. In addition to this town being the place I call home and the place I have chosen to raise my son, I also lost a friend to gun violence in Evanston. In December 2010 a good friend of mine was shot and killed on Church Street - right across from the high school. This was someone I cared about, someone I had known since 1984, someone my son knew and cared about. Although I have known other people who were directly involved in shootings etc..., this was a friend of mine. Some people may say it doesn't effect them directly or that the victim was "involved in the streets", but does this change anything? Does it change how his Mother, his family and his friends are also affected by their losses. Does this help comfort his Mother or the people close to him? His death, while tragic just in it's own regard, is also tragic for the people who loved him and cared about him.

CW: What's your plan for the project (timing, needs, goals, financial assistance, etc.). What do you need people to do? Where do you think the posters would have the greatest impact? Near the high school? Along Church Street? In the condo buildings and high rises in town? Along the "el" and Metra tracks? On the bridges and in the underpasses? In parks? On school playgrounds?
JB: So, my plan is to start taking the portraits in the next week or two. Depending on what kind of space we can secure to post the images (which are rather large), I would like to have between 20 and 30 ready to send to the Inside Out Project some time in July. They take 3-4 weeks to be able to print them and get them back to you (give or take a little). I would ideally like to have them posted by the time school starts up again in the Fall. I think it would be a very positive way to start the  school year. I would like to find a place as close to (and as public as) Church and Dodge. This is the epicenter for the violence - not surprising to me at all. It has been a "hot corner" at least since I was in high school. The Inside Out Project suggests finding the most public place to post the images - as to have the greatest impact. I would love to have a "photography buddy" or crew to go to the streets with me to take pictures. I have the equipment, but would love help. I also need someone to be with me to handle the signing of release forms by participants (subjects). The financial aspect is a little less concerning as the Inside Out Project will help with the printing of the posters. They ask for a small contribution of $20 per poster, but will not turn down participants for lack of funds. The group will eventually also need volunteers to  help post the images, to donate some supplies, to help make the paste, to bring ladders etc.....  I can keep a list of potential volunteers for each item or activity as they roll in (as they hopefully will).

CW: What do you hope will happen once you get started?
JBhttp://www.insideoutproject.net/en : I mostly hope that a core group of people who really care about Evanston and its residents will come together and make the most of this worldwide photography project. I am not under the illusion that this will magically change the current climate in Evanston - I am merely hoping to open a few eyes. I hope that the outcome is for people who don't feel directly affected by the violence realize that it could just as easily be their child, their sister, their brother, their friend that ends up on the losing end of a bullet. You don't have to be living a street life to be a victim of gun violence. The body lying on the street could just as easily be someone you know - whether they are a "perceived innocent" or not. I read a comment to an Evanston Patch article recently that said, "It really is just a matter of time before some white kid from North Evanston is hit with a stray bullet". That comment really had a strong impact on me because I know the community, the police, the local media and even the national media would be all over it then. This goes back to Martin Luther King, Jr.'s quote about standing by and doing nothing makes you just as guilty. I don't want that on my conscience. 

CW: How and when should community members get in touch with you?
JB: E-mail is probably the best: julieburkett@gmail.com  (by the way, my maiden name is Greenfield - some people in Evanston may recognize me by that name). I'm on Facebook as well. I hesitate to give out my cellular phone number, but anyone who wants to talk can e-mail me their phone number so I can call them.

CW: What's the best part about living in Evanston? 
JB: By far....the diversity. I am proud to raise my bi-racial son in an environment that accepts him. I strive to teach him about equality among the races every day.

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Check out these videos from the Inside Out Project for an idea of how some Group Actions have touched the world:
Inside Out New York City
Inside Out Caracas, Venezuela
Examples of the "Best Of" Inside Out Group Actions

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From the Inside Out Project website:
"Inside Out is a large-scale participatory art project that transforms messages of personal identity into pieces of artistic work. Everyone is challenged to use black and white photographic portraits to discover, reveal and share the untold stories and images of people around the world. These digitally uploaded images are made into posters and sent back to the projectʼs co-creators, for them to exhibit in their own communities. Posters can be placed anywhere, from a solitary image in an office window, to a wall of an abandoned building, or in a full stadium. These exhibitions will be documented, archived and be made available online at http://www.insideoutproject.net/. The INSIDE OUT project is a creation of the artist JR, recipient of the 2011 TED Prize (watch JR's TED talk here).