Editor by: Marla Thompson

Author: Marcus Robinson

In and area that has seen it’s fair share of violence stands a ray of hope. A once run down and forgotten basketball court was brought back to life last year when a group of black men  all came together to make a big difference in the lives of many youth in the Englewood community.

The basketball court sits along 60th and Halsted street just a few miles south of the Loop. The neighborhood kids once called it the D. Center but these men changed all of that, the new name is The All Good In The Hood Center. While parents watch they can trust there kids to the hands of these  men who sits out there and supervise the young men ,boys and girls.  Last year they had basketball games the men coached them and provided uniforms and fed them.

Jokim Noah who plays for the Chicago Bulls basketball team made and appearance  last year many of the kids got a chance to see him, unfortunately for me I was off on another assignment.

At times I wanted to quit this going around from park to park documenting the youngsters playing basketball, but knowing that these guys trusted me to shoot these games kept me in good spirit of doing this project my goal is to get sponsors to sponsor my photo exhibit from Hoops to hope so that all can see it, and enjoy it.

Dre, Larry and many others are the men behind this center on Halsted  there is no time limit for the kids to come and play at the center were they are well  supervised. These men are from all walks of life, and decided to give back to the community that  some of them help destroy at one time in there lives. This court is along Halsted street a perfect illustration of what black men can do for there own neighborhoods when they come together in unity. DSC_3553DSC_3568 DSC_3567 DSC_3553 DSC_3509 DSC_3495 DSC_3476 DSC_3486 DSC_3493 DSC_3494 DSC_3454 DSC_3418 DSC_3579 DSC_9618 the all good in the hood center before the make over

By CCNM

I have functioned as a Business and Media Consultant over the past sixteen years and spent many years developing my capacity to function in our ever evolving use of technology, communication, education and training.