James De Salvo was photographed by Bill Kirby as part of the CITY 2000 photodocumentary project. He is deaf and speaks mostly in sign language. I met him at his town house in Wheaton about two years ago, and we spoke with the help of his daughter Priscilla and son Rocco. We continued the interview by letter and finished last month.
I grew up in Chicago, around Taylor Street. My parents immigrated from Italy and they settled in the Italian neighborhood, just to be around their own people. None of them could speak English. I was born there and raised there. That was before they built the University of Illinois. The neighborhood was much different then. We would open up the fire hydrants, play around all the time. There were always lots of people outside. They’d be cooking food outside; they would block off the streets and have block parties. There were lots of people who spoke only Italian. And just the next street was Roosevelt and it was all Jewish.
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It was very hard to find a job when I came back. Being deaf, I didn’t have many options. I had to rely on my body and settle for a job with no future. I found a job in building construction. I worked on buildings in the Hillside Shopping Center, the projects at Western and Van Buren, something over on 35th and Halsted. But in construction you get laid off in the winter, you go back and forth. I decided I needed something steady, so I found a job at Zenith. I did assembly: TVs, radios, appliances. Ten years on and off, not very good pay. I wasn’t satisfied. While I was there I was looking for another job, and I found one at UPS. It was very steady. But I had a supervisor who would talk about me behind my back, and they fired me. I felt it was discrimination.
I still attend mass two or three times a month at Saint Francis Borgia on Addison. There’s a priest there, Father Joe, whose grandparents were both deaf. Father Joe has been a service to the deaf community for many years. There’s also a deaf assistant pastor, and we have a choir. Instead of singing they sign the hymns. I arrive early and socialize a little bit before mass with deaf and hard-of-hearing people. After mass there are refreshments and people are welcome to stay and socialize more. Both the religion and the socializing are important to me. I was born and raised Roman Catholic. I attend mass because I feel the need to learn about God. It is very important to me to have a connection with people also. It makes me happy to be able to share my thoughts and ideas.
My biggest regret is that I did not pursue my dream of owning my own business. I always wanted to have a little grocery store, or fruits and vegetables. Even if it was small, it would still be an accomplishment. There’s still time to pursue my dream.
