Marion Perkins
Oral History
Recorded in Spring 2021 with StoryCorps, a national nonprofit whose mission is to preserve and share humanity's stories in order to build connections between people and create a more just and compassionate world. Interview by Jonathan Kelley, edited by Mary Bess Ser.
Biography
Marion Perkins is originally from Little Rock, Arkansas. She moved to Chicago when she was 4 years old and has lived on the West Side most of her life. She worked at General Motors for 29 years until her recent retirement. Since 2014 she has served as a beat facilitator for Chicago CAPS. Marion (known as "Dean" to most!) co-founded Unity Park as a way to provide beauty and safe activities for the children of the neighborhood, which has always been her main interest.