Stories of migration are the heartbeat of Chicago.
On a cold night in 2022, several buses pulled into Chicago, arriving from the Southern border, carrying exhausted families from Venezuela. They arrived with little more than the clothes on their backs, stepping into a city that promised sanctuary but also one that’s still wrestling with what that word truly means.
This moment is not new for Chicago. The city has always been built on stories of migration. A landing ground for people in search of safety, work, and belonging. Long before the gleaming skyscrapers, there was Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, a Haitian of African descent, who became the city’s first non-Indigenous settler in the late 1770s or 1780s. After the Great Fire in 1871, waves of European immigrants rebuilt the city brick by brick.
In the early 20th century, thousands of African Americans journeyed north during the Great Migration, carrying with them the music, faith, and culture that transformed Chicago. Chinatown rose amid exclusionary laws; Latino communities laid roots through labor and struggle; and now, new arrivals from Central America, Venezuela, and Ukraine are adding their stories to the city’s living tapestry.
It is these often-overlooked histories that come to life in the new video series Chicago: Built by All, presented by the Westside Media Project and led by Chicago Peace Fellow Frank Latin.
A City Seen Through Stories of Migration
Each episode focuses on a pivotal era, not just through the lens of policy or statistics, but through the stories of the people who lived it. What emerges is a portrait of Chicago as it truly is: not one city, but many – layered, contested, resilient.
For Frank, the driving purpose was clear: to highlight that Chicago has always been a destination for those in search of a better life, whether it be immigrants from abroad or African-Americans seeking refuge from the harsh realities of southern life in America. “So much of the city’s identity—the neighborhoods, the culture, even the food comes from people who arrived here with nothing but their hopes,” he explains. “We wanted to show that these stories are not separate from Chicago’s story. They are Chicago’s story.”
Asking harder questions
Chicago has long declared itself a Sanctuary City. But sanctuary is not a static promise; it is a practice, and one that can be as fragile as it is aspirational. By tracing these histories, the series asks a question that resonates far beyond Chicago’s borders:
What does it mean to be a sanctuary in 2025 and who gets to belong?
More than a history lesson
Through its mix of history, personal testimony, and urgent questioning, Chicago: Built by All becomes more than a video series. It is an invitation: to listen, to reflect, and to join the conversation about what kind of city, and what kind of world, we want to build together.
You can catch the collection of shorts here:
https://www.youtube.com/@westsidewriting/shorts
This project is made possible through the generous support of the Walder Foundation. The Westside Media Project extends its gratitude for their commitment to uplifting community voices and ensuring these stories are told.
