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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
HONORING THE LITTLE VILLAGE LAWNDALE HIGH SCHOOL (LVLHS) ON ITS 20TH ANNIVERSARY
WHEREAS, the Little Village Lawndale High School (LVLHS) is a public high school located in the South Lawndale (Little Village) neighborhood of the City of Chicago; and
WHEREAS, the LVLHS opened in 2005 and serves students from the South Lawndale (Little Village) and North Lawndale areas; and
WHEREAS, the LVLHS originated from the community's fundamental conviction that dignified education is a human right that should be accessible to the Brown and Black young people of the South, West, and Southwest sides of the City of Chicago. Community members and advocates fought for what was promised to them about opening a new high school and led fourteen parents and grandparents to a nineteen-day hunger strike in 2001; and
WHEREAS, on May 13, 2001, 14 parents and community activists began a hunger strike demanding that the city move forward with building the promised school; and
WHEREAS, the group known as "The 14" or sometimes the "Hunger Strikers" fasted for 19 days, drinking only water; and
WHEREAS, "The 14" camped outside the site at 31st Street and Kostner Avenue, drawing media attention and political pressure; and
WHEREAS, as the activists of the hunger strike continued to advocate for control of the school model, they collectively went door-to-door asking parents to create an ideal situation in which their children could learn. These surveys produced fascinating results. Parents responded that they wanted a safe, small, and academically rigorous place for their children; and
WHEREAS, out of the survey results, the LVLHS created a structure that encompassed four autonomous schools within its campus; and
WHEREAS, one of the high schools is the Multicultural Academy of Scholarships (MAS) High School that aims to celebrate art, dance, and music as part of the curriculum; and
WHEREAS, the World Language High School aims to value bilingualism and bicul...
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