Anton Seals, Jr.: Fighting for the Future of Englewood While Preserving the Past

The Englewood Nature Trail is part of the city's multimillion-dollar investment stretching 1.75 miles along an unoccupied railroad corridor. Once owned by Norfolk Southern, the city acquired the land in 2018 and invested $6 million for phase one design. This summer, the U.S. Department of Transportation awarded $20 million in grant funding for the design and construction of the trail project. Since the success of the 606 Trail on the city's Northside, a group of community agriculturists proposed this project as a productive commitment to bring vitality to Englewood through urban agriculture and clean environmental development.

Published in Bronzeville Life (August/September 2022)

Anton Seals, Jr. played a significant role in the effort to bring legislative awareness and fight for funding for the Englewood Nature Trail. He co-founded Grow Greater Englewood with Sonya Harper nearly eight years ago.

"We started in 2014 when it wasn't an organization; it was just a coalition. We were looking to ensure it would be Black people represented in this urban agricultural movement. They announced Whole Foods would be in Englewood, which led to a community benefits agreement. In 2016, we had seed money to grow, and in 2017, Sonya became the State Representative for the district," he says.

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