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© 2021 Robb Hill
Michael waits for a friend at the corner of 48th and Loomis in the Back of the Yards nighborhood of Chicago. Originally the Back of the Yards neighborhood consisted of immigrants from Eastern Europe and over time became predominately latino.
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© 2021 Robb Hill
Cynthia takes communion during a street mass lead by Benedictine monks from the local monastery a few blocks away. The Catholic faith is deeply held by most living in the Back of the Yards.
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© 2021 Robb Hill
Mike smokes a blunt while helping fix a friend's car.
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© 2021 Robb Hill
Stephanie holds her boyfriend in Laflin Park while watching his daughter. Stephanie is trying to get custody of the gril because the birth mom is addicted to drugs.
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© 2021 Robb Hill
Michael hangs out with friends.
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© 2021 Robb Hill
Julio works the AM shift on a Saturday. Julio wanted a legitimate job but figured out ways to pocket a little extra money from the register during each shift.
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© 2021 Robb Hill
Miriam holds one of her children during Easter Mass. Miriam hopes to go to college but getting financial help is difficult because she is an illegal immigrant.
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© 2021 Robb Hill
Karen collects cash during the dollar dance at her wedding. She is happy about her marriage but happier that she's about to finish school too.
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© 2021 Robb Hill
Norma rests after school while her third child, Alyiah, plays. Norma's children are all with the same boyfriend but they don't want to get married.
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© 2021 Robb Hill
Michael and his sister, Terri, hang out in front of their house on a Saturday night. Terri just came home from work and they were hoping to find a party.
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© 2021 Robb Hill
Patty dances at her niece's birthday party.
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© 2021 Robb Hill
Michael lights up a joint on the roof of his family's home.
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© 2021 Robb Hill
Police pick up Alex on 18th Street. The police help him for most of the night and let him go to "keep him off the streets," Alex said.
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© 2021 Robb Hill
Andriana sits in class at Second Chance High School.
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© 2021 Robb Hill
Jesus stands watch on the corner of 48th and Bishop because word spread that a rival gang was coming into the neighborhood.
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© 2021 Robb Hill
Cynthia talks to her boyfriend.
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© 2021 Robb Hill
Salvador and Joe in Social Studies class at Second Chance High School. Salvador was arrested for shooting someone. Joe finished school and found work in construction.
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© 2021 Robb Hill
Isaias jokes with his teacher Patty in the computer room. Isaias was eventually expelled for missing too many days.
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© 2021 Robb Hill
Karen's daughter naps during a girls-only writing class in the school library. School policy was that students were not supposed to bring their to class but it happened fairly often.
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© 2021 Robb Hill
Lydia waits to take a math test. She doesn't like math class.
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© 2021 Robb Hill
Jesus chills between classes. Second Chance doesn't have its own building and holds class in Cesar Chavez Elementary School after the younger kids are done for the day.
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© 2021 Robb Hill
Jose learns math. Jose was later jailed for beating someone to death as part of a gang ritutual.
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© 2021 Robb Hill
Shaggy reviews his math test.
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© 2021 Robb Hill
Sutdents wait before class in the alley behind the Cesar Chavez Elementary school.
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© 2021 Robb Hill
Norma, not able to find a babysitter, had to bring her oldest child to school.
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© 2021 Robb Hill
Frank and Sergio skip class behind the school building. Both of them didn't finish school at Second Chance.
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© 2021 Robb Hill
Father Shea prays with students on Ash Wednesday. He was not directly affiliated with Second Chance but Father Shea tried to maintain a constant presence in the lives of the students.
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© 2021 Robb Hill
Karen waits with classmates for their graduation ceremony to start. Her marriage didn't last a year but she stayed focused on school and finished at the top of the class.
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Sergio in Social Studies class. He was later jailed for shooting someone in a rival gang.
Public Story
Coming of Age
Credits:
robb hill
Updated: 07/31/16
After the prom there was a party at Joe’s. It was a steamy Chicago evening, but no one had thought to get ice for the beer. Mexican music was coming from a car stereo. Despite the temperature, it was a good night to be outside, hanging with your friends. No adults, no worries, and just a couple more weeks of school.
I did not photograph much that night. Instead I talked to Sergio and Carlos and Joe and Stephanie. They were used to me being around at school but were just recently letting me accompany them into their neighborhood. We talked about cars, who was dating whom, and plans for after high school. Sergio showed me his new tattoo.
For the first time, I was no longer the white guy with a camera. They were no longer gangbangers. We were just people hanging out together on a hot summer night.
This project isn’t meant to be anything more than me hanging out with the kids, letting them be themselves in front of me.