'I Want You to See What I See'

Accompanying us on the tour is Ron Carter, publisher of the South Street Journal, a community newspaper. He grew up during the area's heyday in the 1950s. "These buildings were taken care of just like the condominiums downtown were taken care of," he says.

"That's my high school," he says, as we pass DuSable High School. "You've heard of Quincy Jones? He went to this high school. You've heard of Nat King Cole? He went to this high school."

We drive by Oak Woods Cemetery. Carter reels off the famous names on some of the graves, including Olympic star Jesse Owens and Chicago mayor Harold Washington.

Teen tourgoers Veronica Kovengold and her friend Ellen Behr tell me later that the trip brought them out of their comfort zone -- in a good way. Ellen says she was fascinated by the book her class is reading about the South Side and had wanted to see the area for herself.

We end the day at the "Ghetto Gallery." Of course, no tour is complete without a gift shop.

The tiny storefront doubles as an art gallery and the Demo Kings Recording Studio. Artwork with African American and revolutionary themes hangs from the walls. A group of framed photographs and newspaper articles showcases the housing projects, resident protests and such celebrity visitors as Jesse Jackson. I am most drawn to a photograph of gray, prisonlike buildings that loom over tiny patches of lawn. These were the Robert Taylor Homes.

Certainly this is history many people would like to forget, but the Ghetto Bus Tour helps us remember.

* Ghetto Bus Tours are available by appointment. $20 per person on group tours. Info: 773-297-5619, http://www.beautysghettobustours.blogspot.com.