>> I sometimes refer to myself as a genius but only in an air quotes.

But our next guest is a real-life genius.

She's a familiar face on Chicago tonight, photographer and Social Justice artist Tunica Louis Johnson.

She is among the 22 people named as this year's MacArthur Fellows.

The award also known as the Genius Grant, the Inglewood native.

She joins us now.

Welcome back to Tunica.

Lewis Johnson, congratulations, fake you.

How exciting is it been since last?

my goodness.

been just so amazing to be able to.

>> Be recognized in this way.

All of the messages and text that I've been getting from everyone saying they're so proud.

>> And really uplift my neighborhood, you know, when people learn about me and I work and they learn about my neighborhood.

>> So we always knew that you are a genius, but agree with because obviously we can't really take a credit some of your major projects.

include the folded project equity for sale in unblocked Englewood, all of which, of course, spotlight the history of discrimination, legal housing practices that kept black Chicagoans out of home ownership.

What was this particular issue?

A source of inspiration for you because it pretty much color every part of my life so many people that I know.

But >> as the city as a whole, it's what we're facing.

The racial wealth gap.

The lack of black homeownership and then also specifically my neighborhood in us having a problem with getting new homeowners.

And so this issue has never gone anywhere.

And I really wanted to help people understand how it's impacted throughout history, but also the ways in which we have the resilient and trying to combat it and take care of by neighborhood you your latest project unblocked Englewood started back in 2023.

In partnership with the Chicago Bungalow Association.

>> And the project reclaims vacant.

Lots in restores homes along the 6500 block of South Aberdeen in Inglewood.

We know that's, of course, a quarter that's been greatly impacted by segregation.

How does that work and how do you get people to sort of come together to work on this?

>> Well, first of all, the people are ready working together.

This block is full of people who are call my adoptive grandparents because everyone on that block is over 65 years old.

And what I put the landmark are on their block connected to my inequity for sale project.

That's how I met this.

wonderful block of amazing people who just really needed support.

They were helping each other and they're always trying to get home repairs, doing makeshift repairs, but they really needed some with more significant repairs.

And so this project was really just an effort to uplift what they've already been doing and boasted the work that they've been doing together.

And so really just bringing some funds to help them.

Do roof repairs, get the electrical work that they could not afford so that we can kind of offset the ways in which they had been depleting their own savings.

We also have a clip from be unblocked.

Inglewood project documentary.

>> Is the actual proof?

This is the direct consequence of those contract, very homes that black people were denied the opportunity to own.

I now vacant lot.

>> Vacant buildings and deteriorate buildings in this neighborhood.

But then the next surprise.

With actual heat meeting, people who are the children, those people.

>> Tell us about those people, the children, the descendants of the folks who are the victims of those land sale contracts.

How does this history continue to touch communities?

it continues to touch is because it is the reason that we have so many vacant.

Lots in greater Inglewood is the reason that so many of our schools are underfunded and now closed.

It is the reason that people are told to not go and so its rear of project, the don't go exactly to see it the shine a light on all of the issues that people who have been invested and living in that neighborhood for decades are struggling in facing and the support that they need and the fact that they have been engine in this neighborhood and they have been trying to remain homeowners for decades without getting that the support that they need.

And so these people are just an amazing well of wisdom, but also they are the future of us.

We're going to age and hopefully we want to age in place just like them.

community building.

Of course, it's central to the work that you do, especially in the folded map project, which he started back in 2018.

That is, of course, the project where you bring together map twins, people who live at corresponding addresses one northside once outside.

What has been the most surprising outcome from that project >> it being a demonstration that people sometimes people think that our issues shouldn't all we can get soft to policy.

But really this project served as a reminder that it is people people make up systems, people make a policy.

So if they seek a certain way, then they're going to behave and make decisions in a certain way and so for that matter, really help people too.

Not just see that its data, but it's about all of our lives and how we're all impacted by it.

Not just black and brown communities but predominantly white communities as well.

And >> it kept us from being together and what we can learn from each other.

But also how we can learned to breach these divides in ways that don't require policy change.

How can you remind people because a lot of your work is about the people who are part of the story, then being a part of air, the own their own repair, write their own fix up.

And like you just said, it's not always going to be policy or the government or someone else solving the problem.

How can you remind folks that they too can come up with their own way of solving a problem?

>> Through community?

Well, what I where we're at now, not only in this country, but in a city proves that policy hasn't gotten us to where we want it to be.

>> But the way that we show up for each other is how we continue to inspire, build hope.

And it also help people see how they can be problem solvers in their own lives.

And if the goal of segregation is to keep us a pardon.

We need to bridge the gap and start to learn more about each other because then if you do that, then you can break down stereotypes.

And if you break down stereotypes than you can envision and create together.

And so that's what I want my work remind people that we can do that.

We have the power to start a movement and create change by simply disrupting segregation.

So the MacArthur Grant comes with this little doses are in LA.

what's next for you?

What does that mean for you and your work?

>> It means the freedom to have stability did to dream bigger, to not necessarily have to worry about my livelihood when I want to do large, bold projects.

And also I want to help make my neighborhood more of arson culture hub.

So that means thinking about investment properties struck says that can outlive me, but also to help.

>> You know, have fun event my neighborhood.

You know, that