The Concrete Crews of Lawndale

In 1978, Coach Wayne Gordon moved into North Lawndale on Chicago's West Side — not to commute in for weekend charity, but to stay. The neighborhood had 48 percent unemployment, crumbling sidewalks, and not a single bank. Well-meaning suburban churches would bus in volunteers twice a year, hand out turkeys at Thanksgiving, then disappear until Easter. The food was welcome.…