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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
HONORING THE INNER-CITY MUSLIM ACTION NETWORK FOR THEIR 25 YEARS OF SERVICE TO THE RESIDENTS OF THE ENGLEWOOD COMMUNITY, CITY OF CHICAGO AND COOK COUNTY
WHEREAS, The Inner-City Muslim Action Network (IMAN) is a community organization that fosters health, wellness and healing in the inner-city by organizing for social change, cultivating the arts, and operating a holistic health center; and
WHEREAS, IMAN incorporated as a nonprofit in 1997 through the drive of people directly affected by and deeply invested in social issues affecting communities of color living on Chicago’s South Side. Since that time, IMAN has steadily grown and, in 2016, opened a second office in Atlanta to continue mobilizing a cross-section of people committed to this mission; and
WHEREAS, the organization models an integrative approach that employs holistic interventions to address a spectrum of structural and systemic injustices, incorporating primary and behavioral health; artistic expression; leadership development; organizing and advocacy; housing; and job training, in an effort to substantially increase the quality of life for people in marginalized communities; and
WHEREAS, IMAN is celebrating its 25th in existence. 1997 was also the first year IMAN held "Takin' it to the Streets” in Chicago’s Marquette Park. These arts, organizing, and community festival, resulting from the drive of diverse communities across the Chicagoland area, would become a sought-after event for years to come, bringing tens of thousands of people to the Marquette Park neighborhood to connect through music, art, conversations centering social justice and spirituality, and a common mission for health, wellness, and healing in the inner-city; and
WHEREAS, In 2010, IMAN launched Green ReEntry, a housing, leadership development, and workforce development program focused on returning citizens/residents and young people aged 18-25 who are navigating cycles of violence. Green ReEntry is an intergenerational, transformational program that currently trains participant leaders in the construction trades, with a host of wrap-around support and immersion into primary and behavioral health therapy, artistic cultivation, community organizing, and housing. Through the initiative, participant leaders renovate foreclosed, abandoned, or vandalized homes in the neighborhood and transform them into leadership development sites, rental units, and single-family homes for individuals in the program; and
WHEREAS, In 2016, IMAN led the creation of the MLK Living Memorial, the first permanent memorial to Dr. King and the Chicago Freedom Movement in the state of Illinois. The Memorial is located in Marquette Park. 2016 marked the 50th Anniversary of Dr. King's and the Chicago Freedom Movement's march protesting housing segregation into Marquette Park on August 5, 1966. On August 6, 2016, IMAN led a march into the park, retracing the route of the 1966 protest, bringing likely the largest and most diverse crowd of marchers into the neighborhood since King’s presence 50 year prior, and cutting the ribbon on the MLK Living Memorial. IMAN's Beloved Community Ceramics Studio was born as a legacy project of this initiative; and
WHEREAS, In September 2019, IMAN became a Federally Qualified Health Center. This designation both underscores the holistic model of health, wellness, and healing that connects staff members and departments and identifies the entire organization as a Federally Qualified Health Center. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, IMAN has administered over 3,200 COVID-19 tests, distributed over 3,300 COVID-19 vaccines, and more importantly, has continued to encourage and influence the holistic health and wellness of its community, encompassing everything from integrated primary and behavioral health care to the foods people consume; and
WHEREAS, In July 2021, along with its Empowering Communities for Public Safety (ECPS) partners, IMAN celebrated the passing of the ECPS Ordinance: the most robust police accountability ordinance in the country. Following years of organizing around police accountability issues, ECPS formed in 2020 when the Grassroots Alliance for Police Accountability (GAPA) and the Civilian Police Accountability Council (CPAC) joined forces. ECPS was later dubbed The People's Coalition. IMAN leadership was integral to the creation and passing of this ordinance; and
WHEREAS, After 25 years of organizing around the issue of food access and racial tensions in inner-city corner stores through IMAN’s Corner Store Campaign, IMAN opened the Go Green Community Fresh Market in the Englewood neighborhood at the corner of 63rd and Racine on Tuesday, March 8, 2022. The Fresh Market brings fresh, affordable, halal, nutrient-dense food options, a dignified shopping experience, creative expression, and health and wellness resources to residents and shoppers in a first-of-its-kind establishment. The Fresh Market is the first project of Go Green On Racine, an equitable development neighborhood initiative focused on revitalizing the 63rd & Racine intersection in Chicago's Englewood neighborhood, led by Teamwork Englewood, Resident Association of Greater Englewood (RAGE), E. G. Woode, and IMAN.
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that President Toni Preckwinkle, the Cook County Board of Commissioners and on behalf of the 5.2 million residents of Cook County takes great pleasure in honoring and celebrating the Inner-City Muslim Action Network on their 25 years in existence, and their service to the Greater Englewood Community, City of Chicago and the County of Cook; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a suitable copy of this Resolution is shared upon the official proceedings of this honorable body and that an official copy of the same is tendered to IMAN in honor of this auspicious occasion.
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