QUILEN AND HANNAH BLACKWELL and their three children visit with Derek Hough at Walt Disney World Resort. Hough, co-host of “The Wonderful World of Disney: Magical Holiday Celebration,” interviewed them for the special, highlighting their work training youth to convert vacant lots into commercial flower farms using solar powered rainwater irrigation. The family is featured in the special airing on ABC7 Chicago on November 26. Photo by Mark Ashman.
An Englewood couple is doing wonders for the community with their flower gardens, which also serve as employment for local teens. Their company is called Chicago Eco House, which was started by Quilen and Hannah Bonham Blackwell 10 years ago. The flower farms project managed under the company is called Southside Blooms.
Quilen, a Peace Corps alum, and Hannah purchased a two-flat in Englewood and soon secured two vacant lots to build the first off-grid commercial flower farm to grow and sell flowers, creating jobs for local youth, while teaching them business skills. There are three flower farms: in Englewood, West Garfield Park, West Woodlawn and one in Detroit.
QUILEN BLACKWELL STANDS proudly in one of his flower gardens, and two youth work in the background as part of Southside Blooms.
Quilen’s story spans three generations and intersects with many of the biggest events that shaped African American history over the last 70 years: The suffering his grandfather endured working the land in the Jim Crow South led to the freedom Quilen now enjoys as a social entrepreneur in Engle-wood.
Their commitment to revitalizing urban communities caught the attention of Disney Parks, who hosted the family for five days at the “happiest place in America.” This was the family’s first trip to Disney World.
As a part of the Walt Disney World vacation, the family will be featured in Disney Parks’ primetime special: “The Wonderful World of Disney: Magical Holiday Celebration,” which will air on Sunday, November 26, at 7 p.m. on ABC7 Chicago.
The Chicago Crusader reached out to the Blackwells to find out more about their commitment to embracing sustainability efforts to alleviate poverty, as well as their Disney World experience.
“Hannah’s and my faith as Christians inspired us to start Southside Blooms as a way to transform the ‘hood as we know it forever,” Quilen said. “Our vision is to establish flowers as the anchor industry in the Black community in order to stem the out-of-control poverty, violence and blight that has plagued the inner city.”
The company employs youth between the ages of 16 and 25, and the Englewood location was chosen for good reason. “Hannah is originally from Kansas, and I’m from Wisconsin. While many are seeking to flee communities like Englewood due to the violence, we are running to it in the hopes of bringing peace and prosperity.”
The family was surprised by the trip’s announcement at the shop, which was presented by ABC7 Chicago. “Hannah kept the surprise from me. Seeing all the youth who we worked so hard with to create a space where they could thrive…the news did bring tears to my eyes.”
YOUNG MEN HOLD buckets of flowers at Chicago Eco House. For information about Chicago Eco House, visit chicagoecohouse.org.
Quilen added: “We really enjoyed the rides and attrac-tions at Magic Kingdom, and my daughters enjoyed meeting Moana.”
Other Southside Blooms locations are planned. “We are look-ing to open up a second flower shop in North Lawndale, and then from there we hope to scale not only in Chicago but across the nation to other inner cities,” he said.
Quilen is adamant in his continued commitment, with echoes of iconic Black leaders’ self-sufficiency programs in mind. “We are building on the work of people like Booker T. Washington and George Washington Carver, who believed that creative agricultural solutions could uplift entire communities and permanently alleviate poverty. We are hoping our work will preserve human life for many generations to come.”
To learn more about Southside Blooms, visit southside-blooms.com.
Look for the Blackwell’s seg-ment during “The Wonderful World of Disney: Magical Holiday Celebration” on November 26 at 7 p.m. Chicago time on ABC7 Chicago.
And on Christmas Day, “Disney Parks Magical Christmas Day Parade” will air on ABC7 Chicago on Monday, December 25, beginning at 9 a.m.
Both specials will also stream on Hulu and Disney+ the day after their premieres.
