41.8949⁰ N, 87.7654⁰ W. To some, these numbers may not mean much, but to others, this is their home. This is the location that family and friends join together to exist as a community. Austin, Chicago’s largest neighborhood, has a rich history beyond the stories that are commonly heard. The history of Austin is as vast as the community itself. However, often that history is shadowed by a few stories that others may share about the community. Sasha Phyars-Burgess, a Black Metropolis Research Consortium fellow and full-time visiting artist in the Photography department at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, has spent the past several months trying to change the narrative surrounding the community of Austin through her photographs.
