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CHICAGO (CBS)– As Black History Month winds to a close, we’re shining the spotlight on another community hero.
Carlos Nelson, a proud son of Auburn Gresham, is selflessly restoring the shine to a crown jewel of the South Side.
A morning cup of coffee often turns into a community meeting for Nelson.
While meeting with CBS 2’s Ryan Baker a coffee shop, customers came up to Nelsen, knowing his name, and called him, “the man.”
“You know, it’s genuine, it’s authentic,’ He said. “I’m not one of those guys that just sits in the office, I pound the pavement.”
Nelson has been pounding the pavement as the CEO of the Greater Auburn-Gresham Development Corporation for nearly two decades.
“I always like to say I haven’t worked a day in 19 years because this isn’t work when you’re working with your community,” Nelson said.
The mechanical engineer walked away from the lucrative corporate world to pay it forward in the South Side neighborhood where he grew up.
“I think this was my destiny,” He said. “I really do not know many people can say they’re doing what they were put on earth to do. Yeah, I walked away from big salaries, but there’s so much more gratitude.”
From spearheading major projects like the 60,000 square foot healthy lifestyle hub and the renewable energy and urban farming campus.
“This is part of the vision of Auburn Gresham right here, this is it,” Nelson said.
To supporting Black-owned businesses like Afro Joe’s on 83rd and Halsted streets, Nelson’s purpose is promoting Auburn Greshman as a thriving and safe community.
“But the real work and effort is to instill that same pride in the younger group, the millennials or the Gen-X ,who have only experienced Auburn Gresham through the media or reading reports of high crime and high unemployment and it being ‘da hood’ as opposed to our hood.”
Besides getting a six-figure donation from the Chicago Bears, Nelson really scored when his favorite football team selected him to announce their top pick in the 2021 NFL draft thanks to his efforts in Auburn Gresham.
“It was just so exciting,” He said.
Nelson is more than content to quarterback the team at the Greater Auburn-Gresham Development Corporation, he shared with Baker that his father, another lifelong Bears fan, passed away just weeks before his NFL draft intro, making the moment even sweeter.
Carlos has also helped Auburn Gresham become a United Way Neighborhood Network, which is a community hub of service providers to help support residents in the area.
Source: ChicagoCBS
