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SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY The South Side Weekly is a nonprofit newsprint magazine written for and about neighborhoods on the South Side of Chicago. We publish in-depth coverage of the arts and issues of public interest alongside oral histories, poetry, fiction, interviews, and artwork from local photographers and illustrators. Started as a student paper at the University of Chicago, the South Side Weekly is now an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting cultural and civic engagement on the South Side, and to providing educational opportunities for developing journalists, writers, and artists. Editor-in-Chief Executive Editor Managing Editors
Osita Nwanevu Bess Cohen Olivia Stovicek
IN CHICAGO A week’s worth of developing stories, odd events, and signs of the times, culled from the desks, inboxes and wandering eyes of the editors
Charters Catch a Break 4th Ward Alderman Will Burns has been chairman of the Education Committee since late May, and he’s already making waves; his most recent move as chairman of the city’s Education Committee was to block the advancement of a resolution that would create a moratorium on charter schools around the state. Coincidentally, Burns has also received thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from charter supporters. The resolution, which was signed by forty-two aldermen, somehow did not find its way onto to the agenda for Monday’s committee meeting. 6th Ward Alderman Roderick Sawyer, one of the resolution’s sponsors, said he was not “overly surprised.”
Politics Editor Christian Belanger Education Editor Mari Cohen Music Editor Maha Ahmed Stage & Screen Julia Aizuss Editor Visual Arts Editor Emeline Posner Editors-at-Large Lucia Ahrensdorf, Jake Bittle, Austin Brown, Sarah Claypoole, Cabs v. Uber Emily Lipstein Popular taxi service Uber is currently fighting a pitched PR battle on Contributing Editors Will Cabaniss, two fronts. While the South Side will soon bear witness to the launch Eleonora Edreva, Lewis Page, of a new fleet of the company’s drivers—an initiative spearheaded by Hafsa Razi influential, vocal St. Sabina pastor Michael Pfleger, for those looking Social Media Editor Sam Stecklow to cross a popular name off their topical Chicago Bingo cards—City Web Editor Andrew Koski Visuals Editor Ellie Mejia Hall staged a smaller skirmish this past week, as aldermen played Layout Editors Adam Thorp, to opposing crowds of drivers for hire in the latest round of budget Baci Weiler, hearings. The issue under discussion? The plummeting price of taxi Sofia Wyetzner Senior Writers: Patrick Leow, Jack Nuelle, Stephen Urchick Staff Writers: Olivia Adams, Amelia Dmowska, Maira Khwaja, Emiliano Burr di Mauro, Michal Kranz, Zoe Makoul, Sammie Spector, Zach Taylor Staff Photographers: Juliet Eldred, Finn Jubak, Alexander Pizzirani, Julie Wu Staff Illustrators: Javier Suarez, Addie Barron, Jean Cochrane, Lexi Drexelius, Wei Yi Ow, Amber Sollenberger, Teddy Watler, Julie Wu, Zelda Galewsky, Seonhyung Kim Editorial Intern
Clyde Schwab
Webmaster Publisher
Sofia Wyetzner Harry Backlund
The paper is produced by an all-volunteer editorial staff and seeks contributions from across the city. We distribute each Wednesday in the fall, winter, and spring, with breaks during April and December. Over the summer we publish monthly. Send submissions, story ideas, comments, or questions to editor@southsideweekly.com or mail to: South Side Weekly 1212 E. 59th Street Ida Noyes Hall #030 Chicago, IL 60637 For advertising inquiries, contact: (773)234-5388 or advertising@southsideweekly Read our stories online at southsideweekly.com
Cover by Zelda Galewsky.
medallions, which sold for a mere average of $240,000 this past year, down from a peak of $360,000 in 2013. Many cab drivers accuse Uber (along with its less popular, orthographically uglier cousin, Lyft)
of flooding the market with unlicensed part-time drivers (who are, nevertheless, quite good at providing you with free bottled water). Taxi drivers were apparently out in full force downtown, hissing and jeering at Maria Guerra Lapacek, commissioner of the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection, but it remains to be seen how well this competitive spirit will help them capture the hearts (and, more importantly, the app storage space) of consumers. #FlytheW The Chicago Cubs don’t look great on paper. No Cubs fan wants to be—or Sox fan needs to be—reminded that, barring 2015, they’ve had five consecutive losing seasons and six without a postseason appearance. This season, however, suggests an upward trajectory: the great Victory Flag (white background, big blue W) has sailed atop Soldier Field, and more recently, the Michigan Avenue Bridge, exactly twenty-two more times than the somewhat more familiar Loss Flag (blue background, big white L). A wild card game against the 9864 Pittsburgh Pirates gives the 97-65 Cubs an opportunity to sneak into the National League Division series. As a result, “Fly the W” deep-dish pies (thanks, Giordano’s) and square, hole-less “FlytheW” donuts (square donuts, Dunkin?) have likely never sold faster. This may be the beginning of a new era for the Cubs, but the Weekly can’t promise that we won’t be watching the Blackhawks season opener on Wednesday night instead.
IN THIS ISSUE outside that system and hence
ashes to ashes
unspeakable
I have explored and documented the diverse array of spaces that fall under the umbrella of the UofC juliet eldred...4 never again
This rally came about a week after the end of the hunger strike, a monthlong endeavor where fifteen protestors drank only liquids and some suffered hospitalizations.
“That’s such a big part of what our city has become, because of the efforts and strength that came out of the fire.” coming through
Pushcarts have been community staples for decades emeline posner...8
will cabaniss...10 a chicago architecture biennial calendar
A calendar of South Side artists and events in the inaugural festival jon poilpre...12
olivia adams...6 OCTOBER 7, 2015 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 3
Category II : Kenwood Park, Toward 49th and Dorchester
Category III: Arts Incubator, Garfield Boulevard and Prairie Avenue
4 SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY
ÂŹ OCTOBER 7, 2015
photos by juliet eldred
Expanded UCPD patrol boundaries
VISUAL ARTS
Outside That System and Hence Unspeakable BY JULIET ELDRED
M
y interest in the boundaries created by the University of Chicago was piqued as a first-year during Orientation Week. I noticed that the upperclassmen leading our orientation meetings on transportation and city life did not tell us exactly where we should or shouldn’t go, but instead told us the boundaries of the UofC Police Department’s patrol zone: Lake Shore Drive to the east, Cottage Grove Avenue to the west, 37th Street to the north, and 64th Street to the south. Over the course of my years at the UofC, this definition of space and place in terms of police boundaries became increasingly apparent and significant, especially as tensions have flared among community members unaffiliated with the university who have experienced harassment and racial profiling at the hands of the
UCPD. As I began to expand outward from the UCPD boundaries as designators of space and community, I also became interested in the university’s role in Hyde Park’s long history of urban renewal. Already the owner of massive amounts of property outside the patrol zone, the university acquired twenty-six properties in the Washington Park neighborhood between 2008 and 2014 to add to the four charter schools it runs at the patrol zone’s peripheries. Over the course of the past six months, I have undertaken a large-scale, cross-disciplinary project titled “Outside That System and Hence Unspeakable,” that uses photography and archival research to examine the nature of place-definition and the properties, boundaries, and visual identity of the University of Chicago, particularly when viewed in relation to Hyde Park and the surrounding communities of Woodlawn, Kenwood, and Washington Park. Through
Category I #2: Loading Dock behind the D’Angelo Law Library
my work with these themes, I have explored and documented the diverse array of spaces that fall under the umbrella of the UofC, and divided them into three general spatial typologies: Category I: Places that lie within the official boundaries of the campus core, as designated by maps produced by the UCPD, but do not fit the particular architectural or aesthetic identity that is promoted by the UofC marketing and promotional materials, such as portions of the hospital complex, parking garages, utility plants, and loading docks. Category II: Places that lie within the boundaries of the UCPD’s patrol zone but are not owned by or affiliated with the university, such as the housing complexes along 55th Street, properties between 61st and 64th Streets, and north of Hyde Park Boulevard. Category III: Places that are owned or
operated by the UofC that are outside of the campus core and/or the UCPD patrol zone, such as University-operated charter schools, the Arts Incubator and other properties in Washington Park, Harper Court, and graduate student housing. By documenting the vast scope of what constitutes the University of Chicago, I aim to show the ways in which the UofC is able to use its institutional influence to both directly alter and subtly redefine the spaces that lie on its peripheries, to look closely at what’s revealed in the ostensibly banal features of the built environment, and to encourage members of the community—particularly UofC students—to think critically about the decisions and actions that have caused the University’s surrounding areas to change in the ways that they have. More photographs and maps may be found on the project website, unspeakable.info.
Category II #1: Alley, 61st Street between Ellis and Ingleside OCTOBER 7, 2015 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 5
Ashes to Ashes
photos by will cabaniss
The Second Annual Great Chicago Fire Festival BY WILL CABANISS
“I
t is not failure or the frequency of failure or even the scale of failure that is the deciding factor in the arch of a career or project, but the response to it.” So wrote Jim Lasko, the performance artist and Executive Artistic Director of Pilsen’s innovative Redmoon theater company, in a Tribune op-ed this past January, four months after the largest public failure of his career. The first iteration of the Great Chicago Fire Festival, Lasko’s brainchild, played out over the summer of last year. His organization, in a massive display of public outreach, brought performances, art, and workshops to the city’s South and West Sides. 6 SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY
But when it came to the festival’s climax, a controlled fire that would consume wood structures on a Chicago River barge, Redmoon’s pride turned to embarrassment. Days of rain had soaked the wood, and the fire failed to spread. The audience was visibly stunned. The Weekly’s Stephen Urchick called it “a spectacularly slow burn.” So when Redmoon announced that it would try again, many were surprised. But this year’s festival would be different. Redmoon had less money to work with; Lasko told the Tribune in September that this year’s budget was around $900,000, about $1.5 million less than in 2014. The festival’s closing ceremony was re-
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located from the uncertain waters of the river to the solid ground of Northerly Island, perhaps to make certain that not even a light mist would dampen Redmoon’s ambitions this time around. For this year’s festival, Lasko’s company ventured out into the city once again, presenting performances and working with adults and children alike to build “community portraits” of eight neighborhoods, including Calumet Park, Little Village and Lawndale. Videos about each greeted the more than five thousand people who showed up to the closing ceremony on September 26. The scene was striking enough for one to wonder why Northerly Island isn’t the venue for every large-scale outdoor event in
the Chicago area. Looking toward the food trucks lined along the back of the meadow, one could see the South Side. The glass panels of Soldier Field stood to the west, looming over local artists’ pop-up shops. And at the center of the meadow, amidst the stages and DJ booths, stood the main attraction— the house. Nicknamed G.R.I.T. (for Group Ritual Imagining Tool, naturally), the all-wood structure stood two stories tall. Crescent-moons were carved into its walls, to be revealed once the façade of the building started burning away. Special effects technicians had been working for three weeks to ensure it would burn cleanly and wholly to the ground.
STAGE & SCREEN
Seated in a corner of the cramped space, a cellist played, maneuvering his bow around the people brushing up against him. Attendants stationed outside the house strongly encouraged festivalgoers to write their afflictions on small pieces of wood and place them inside the house to be burned.
formances, speeches and, of course, conflagrations. The spectacle had little time for history. Instead, Redmoon rolled out an almost entirely incomprehensible hour of faux rituals and poorly choreographed ceremony. After a group representing Chicago’s orig-
But none of it mattered all that much. The audience, after all, had come for the fire. Draped in a purple shawl and seated at a small desk, Gloria Needlman of Hyde Park offered markers with which to do so. It was the “ ‘Great Chicago Fire’ Festival” in name only. The fire itself, an event in the city’s collective memory important enough to warrant its own six-pointed star on Chicago’s flag, served mostly to unite what was otherwise a scattered set of per-
inal First Nations inhabitants “blessed” the festival, hundreds of children took the stage alongside the drumline ensemble of the Chicago Bulls. Flaming cauldrons atop tall, crane-like structures crowded the air with smoke. But none of it mattered all that much. The audience, after all, had come for the fire. Bruce Strong, a veteran special effects
crewman for NBC’s Chicago Fire and one of the men responsible for the impending blaze, bet his colleagues that the house would go in thirty minutes. They replied with variations on that number. The task of ignition fell, fittingly, to Lasko. Climbing a small set of stairs to the front door, he hurled a pair of burning sticks over and into the roofless house. Triumphant, he lifted his hands and backed away. The music stopped, letting five thousand people watch uninterrupted as the fire glowed through the façade’s moon-shaped cutouts. Framing a concert-style atmosphere around a historical event that killed hundreds and displaced tens of thousands may seem crude. But it was the city’s eventual rebirth, not the fire itself, which fueled the celebration. “I think the biggest thing about the fire is that after it happened, it was so much about looking to the future and rebuilding,” says Ani Schmidt, an education specialist at the Chicago History Museum. “That’s such a big part of what our city has become, because of the efforts and strength that came
out of the fire.” Even more than unity, what emerged during the festival was the small-town persona that hides behind Chicago’s big-city sheen. To see thousands of people invested in a ritual intimately tied to the history of their hometown made Northerly Island feel more like a village green in colonial New England than anyplace else. As soon as the fire died, and as suddenly as the music had stopped, fireworks exploded from behind the stage. The electronic dance music of Justin Bieber and Rihanna blared through the speakers. Whether the sense of shared experience with which attendees left the festival would last for more than twenty-four hours was hard to tell. Also uncertain is whether this is the closing chapter in Redmoon’s redemption; city funding for the festival has run dry, and the company has not announced whether it will return next year. But this time, at least, Redmoon took its unique brand of pop mysticism and grafted it onto the landscape of an entire island, creating a blaze that was nothing if not memorable.
CROSSWORD
BY JOE LOTHAN OCTOBER 7, 2015 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 7
POLITICS
Coming Through Push for pushcarts succeeds in City Council
BY EMELINE POSNER
A
fter decades of operating in fear of the law, pushcart food vendors across Chicago now have the opportunity to legalize their businesses. When the City Council convened on September 24, aldermen voted unanimously to update the existing vendor license, which previously was available only for food trucks and vendors selling frozen desserts and uncut produce, to include pushcart vendors as well. This made Chicago the second largest city in America to legalize pushcarts. Vendors and their legal advocates—the Asociación Vendedores Ambulante (AVA), the Institute for Justice Clinic at the University of Chicago, and the Street Vendors Justice Coalition—celebrated the long-awaited license after the conclusion of the council meeting. Pushcarts have been community staples for decades, especially on the South and West Sides of Chicago, providing afterschool elote as well as the early morning tamale for early-risers who set off for work before the nearest corner store opens. Vendors had also long been subject to the city’s erratic enforcement of street vending law, enforcement that varied in extremity depending on the neighborhood: some have seen upwards of five fines for selling food without a license, while some have received none at all. Beginning in November, with a twoyear license that costs $350, pushcart vendors will be allowed to sell food and drink that has been prepared and pre-wrapped in a licensed kitchen from 5am until 10pm and under the conditions that they keep their 8 SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY
products at appropriate temperatures, meet health department standards, and change location every two hours. The new license is expected to generate over 6,000 new jobs, up to 8.5 million dollars in local sales tax revenue, and forty to 160 million dollars in total annual sales according to the Illinois Policy Institute. According to a survey conducted by the Institute several years ago, seventy-nine percent of vendors surveyed said they would expand their business if pushcart vending were legalized, and sixty-four percent said they would be interested in expanding their business by adding more carts. However, it is likely that at least some surveyed vendors did not take into account the price of cart upgrades that would be required in the event of pushcart vendor legalization. Many of the carts currently in use do not meet the standards set by the new ordinance—carts must have smooth, nonporous surfaces with heating and cooling capacities—and most vendors cook their food not at a licensed kitchen, but at home. As there are few licensed kitchens on the South Side and carts tend to cost upwards of $3,000, the new standards present something of a hurdle to vendors, who on average make a profit of $328 per week — around $11,150 per year. Vicky Lugo, vice president of the AVA, says that the AVA is currently working to help improve and increase resources for current and future vendors. “There are very few [licensed] kitchens available, but we are in the process of expanding a kitchen in a church,” Lugo says. “We are also trying to open more kitchens and [are] working with restaurants, churches, banquet halls, or any other place that has a
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registered kitchen. On the South Side there are no shared kitchens, but there are some that exist as private catering businesses that could get a shared kitchen operator license.” Beth Kregor, director of the Institute for Justice Clinic on Entrepreneurship, says they are thrilled that the law passed, but that they will continue to advocate for the licensure of a wide variety of vendors, including those who prepare food on their carts. “In major cities around the country, vendors may do at least some food preparation—if not all-out cooking—on a cart.” Lugo said that in the meantime, the IJC
will monitor the vendor licensing process “to make sure it is clear and consistent,” and work closely with community groups interested in opening licensed kitchens. Lugo also said that the AVA was looking into forming a cooperative in order to buy carts in bulk and directly from the providers, thereby hopefully reducing the overall cost to each vendor. She said another option would be for vendors to lease carts or to take out a small business loan to finance a first cart. Upon the passage of the new license, Alderman Brendan Reilly moved to propose thirty-one no-peddle zones downtown, citing concerns about public safety and traffic congestion in the Loop’s busier areas. Alderman Tom Tunney of the 44th Ward, a large proponent of curbside cafés, also expressed concerns about congestion on Clark Street. Kregor expressed disappointment at Alderman Reilly’s movement, saying that it is “a shame that some aldermen jump to
the conclusion that vendors are problems instead of assets for their communities,” and that before banning them in any specific area, the law requires City Council to determine that the vendors’ presence is actually creating safety problems. Lugo also expressed concerns about the clause requiring vendors to move their carts every two hours given that they often need assistance transporting them to and from their homes. Both the Illinois Policy Institute and the IJC have also spoken out against the two-hour limit that is in place for all mobile vendors, recommending that they either remove the over-regulating limits entirely or leave them to be determined by each ward’s alderman. It is unclear whether the AVA and the IJC were planning to take action to have the clause changed. Although impediments do remain for pushcart vendors, the legitimization of an estimated two thousand businesses across Chicago, businesses that provide thousands of meals every day and a livelihood for many, is an excellent first step. With continuing support from the AVA and the IJC, making the changes to meet the new standards may become less daunting for vendors within the next few years.
illustrations by baci weiler
Free licensing workshops for vendors are available in Spanish from the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection, and the AVA continues to host weekly meetings for vendors at 2857 S. Christiana Ave. on Wednesdays from 12pm-2pm.
A new school and a new focus thirty-four days after the Dyett hunger strike
Dyett: What’s Next?
BY OLIVIA ADAMS
photos by sylvia wei
L
ast Tuesday, dozens of people gathered outside the James R. Randolph Center to recognize the efforts of local activists’ thirty-four day hunger strike in protest of Chicago Public Schools’ handling of Dyett High School’s future. The rally also supported a resounding call to replace Chicago Public School’s appointed school board with an elected representative one. Members of various education and community-based organizations like the Kenwood-Oakland Community Organization (KOCO) and Raise Your Hand stood with picket signs and friends on the corner of Clark and Randolph. Jitu Brown, an education organizer with KOCO and face of the Dyett movement, opened
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the rally with a chant. “Education is a human right! What do we do?” “Fight! Fight!” This rally came ten days after the end of the thirty-four day hunger strike during which fifteen protestors drank only liquids and some required hospitalization. The hunger strike began on August 17 in response to CPS’s postponement of an announcement of its selected proposal for the school’s future. “There were days when all you could do was just sit there and be balled up because you were so hungry,” Brown said of the experience. “It was bad!” Despite this, activists from the Coalition to Revitalize Dyett pressured city officials with public
protest throughout the hunger strike—a September 2 budget meeting quickly turned into a Dyett protest, forcing a security team to escort Mayor Emanuel off stage as protestors confronted him face-to-face.
W
alter H. Dyett High School, nestled in Washington Park’s north end on 51st Street, was slated to close after the class of 2015 graduated. The Board of Education voted to phase out the school in early 2012, citing poor performance and low enrollment. But in late 2014, after pressure from the community—led by Brown and KOCO activists—CPS announced Dyett would reopen for the 2016-2017 school year and solicited proposals for the school.
EDUCATION MUSIC
Three proposals were submitted: Kenwood-based Little Black Pearl Workshop proposed a plan for a visual and performing arts school, Dyett’s former principal Charles Campbell and the Washington Park Athletic Career Academy Design Team proposed a sports culture and athletic entrepreneurship school, and the Coalition to Revitalize Dyett proposed Walter H. Dyett Green Technology and Global Leadership High School, a plan developed over three and a half years and built in part on Dyett’s relationship with the Chicago Botanic Garden’s (CBG) Windy City Harvest Farm. Since 2013, students from the high school have been employed by CBG, learning about farming and food accessibility in Chicago. All three proposals described an openenrollment, neighborhood school, but Little Black Pearl would have run the school as a private operation with a contract with CPS,
February 22, 2012 Board of Education votes to phase out Dyett High School over three years due to underperformance.
while the Coalition demanded a traditional CPS-operated school .
O
n September 3, day eighteen of the hunger strike, CPS announced that Dyett would reopen as a “new open enrollment, arts-focused neighborhood high school and community innovation lab,” in 2016. The school would not be run by Little Black Pearl. Some saw this decision as a plea for hunger strikers to end their protest. Some considered it a victory because it resulted in a neighborhood, open enrollment school. The establishment of Dyett as an openenrollment, neighborhood school was a priority for the activists from the start of their organizing around the school, but the Coalition saw the decision—which selected none of the three proposals—as an example of CPS’ unwillingness to work with the community and continued the hunger strike.
November 26, 2012 Former CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett announces a five-year moratorium on school closures to begin in 2013.
December 19, 2014 CPS releases a request for proposals for Dyett to the public.
While the new school will not have the green technology components that the Coalition and KOCO have fought for, it will feature an “Innovation Technology Lab” that the Illinois Institute of Technology will assist in developing, according to the CPS press release regarding the reopening. The Coalition continued to demand a curriculum focused on green technology, a seven-year plan to reach LEED platinum certification, and vigorous community involvement in the school. The Coalition also took issue with the proposed arts focus of the school. “We are not opposed to a strong arts program in our school,” Brown said in an interview with Carol Marin on the Chicago Tonight show. “But we just want to see a school that prepares our young people to be the next scientists, the next civic leaders and the next doctors,” The Coalition was also frustrated that
August 6, 2015 HB4268, a bill to replace the current appointed Board of Education with an Elected Representative Board of Education, is filed.
August 7, 2015 CPS announces that a public hearing on the Dyett proposals originally scheduled for August 10 is being moved to September 15, angering the Coalition to Revitalize Dyett High School.
CPS would not work with them despite their willingness to work with CPS. During the rally, Brown told the crowd that the Coalition always attempted to operate through bureaucratic channels before moving forward with protest tactics. “This was not something we did to get attention,” Brown said. “We never start off in the street, we always start off at the table.” 4th Ward Alderman Will Burns— who has been an opponent of the coalition throughout the Dyett struggle—was quoted in a September 16 Hyde Park Herald article saying that KOCO’s demands are not shared by the majority of Bronzeville, and that “the overall community has voiced and asked for an arts-based school with open enrollment since at least 2012.” In the same article, he said that KOCO wanted their proposal to win “so they can provide work within the school.” He pointed to the parts of the Dyett Global Leadership and Green Technology
August 17, 2015 The hunger strike begins.
September 3, 2015 CPS announces that Dyett will reopen as an open enrollment arts-focused school.
September 19, 2015 The hunger strike ends.
September 24, 2015 CPS announces Beulah McLoyd as the new principal of Dyett.
September 25, 2015 CPS holds a public meeting concerning the boundaries of the new school. September 29, 2015 The Kenwood Oakland Community Organization and the Coalition to Revitalize Dyett stage a rally to celebrate the hunger strikers and to speak out in favor of an elected representative school board.
OCTOBER 7, 2015 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 11
VISUAL ARTS
Community High School proposal that say that KOCO would work with the school to provide “Student Leadership and Summit Institutes” and summer employment opportunities for the students. Brown called the accusations that KOCO was motivated by the group’s own interests “slander.” Burns’ office did not respond by press time when asked to provide more explanation on the motivation for the comments. “History, if written by them, will look at us a certain way. Rabble Rousers, money hungry, whatever they would say,” Brown said of the struggle to gain a voice. “But history written by people in our neighborhoods would look at people like [hunger striker] Irene Robinson as heroes.”
T
he Coalition to Revitalize Dyett continues to campaign for the curriculum, boundaries, and increased community involvement for the new school. Brown suggested that the tone of the hunger strike would inspire the group’s future actions. “The hunger strike was protracted, [a] very clear message, and determined. And I think that’s what we need to do moving forward,” Brown said. Decisions regarding Dyett’s fate are already finding their way to pen and paper. A new principal, Beulah McLoyd, was chosen on September 24. On September 29, the CPS Board approved a resolution for Dyett’s boundaries to be placed at 41st to the north, Lake Michigan to the east, 60th to the south, and both King Drive and Cottage Grove to the west, an area smaller than the Coalition’s vision. The Coalition’s plan had advocated for attendance boundaries where seventyfive percent of students would come from the Bronzeville neighborhood, twentypercent from Greater Bronzeville (an area bounded by 41st to the north, 67th to the south, the Dan Ryan to the west, and Lake Shore Drive to the east), and an additional five percent citywide enrollment, numbers that ensure the school would reach capacity, 12 SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY
according to Brown. The same resolution also stated that Dyett will begin the year with a “transitional advisory body,” and that a Local School Council “will be established in a timely manner.” Jirebu Lee, education organizer for KOCO, had mentioned to the Weekly a concern that CPS might be “fighting back” against establishing a Local School Council for Dyett. While the Coalition and KOCO remain committed to having a voice in Dyett’s rebirth, they are also moving forward to fight for the establishment of an elected representative school board (ERSB) for the City of Chicago’s public schools. The Coalition and KOCO’s choice to move forward with advocating for an ERSB is closely tied to their Dyett effort; it exhibits a hope that, if an elected school board is won, decisions about public schools in Chicago will finally be in the hands of the community. Lee noted that while KOCO has campaigned for an ESRB for over ten years, this rally represents a larger effort to make public school in Chicago more democratic, with an ERSB as a clear, necessary step in that direction. Since 1995, Chicago has been the only district in the state of Illinois with an appointed school board. “One ingredient for us to really be able to have democracy in our education, is to have an elected school board that’s actually accountable to the voters,” Lee said. The bill, titled HB 4268, currently sits in the House of the Illinois General Assembly with fifty-five cosponsors. Part of KOCO’s efforts is to ensure the bill has a veto-proof total of seventy-one cosponsors before the vote. With those numbers, Governor Rauner loses veto powers, and the bill would move immediately to the Senate. “We’re at a critical point in history, and we want to really make sure that everybody is clear so that we can be moving forward together, getting [the legislation] across the finish line.” Lee says. “So that never again do people have to go on a hunger strike. Never again do people have to take over city hall to get heard.”
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The Chicago Architecture Biennial A calendar of South Side artists and events in the inaugural festival
T
he inaugural Chicago Architecture Biennial, which kicked off on October 3, presents the work of artists, architects, activists, and policymakers to the global public as a way of encouraging new perspectives on how we live and experience our spaces. This year’s Biennial, The State of the Art of Architecture, explores everything from applications of creativity to issues of space through panels, exhibits, demonstrations, and film screenings that will run until January 3, 2016. The Weekly presents a handful of artists whose work either focuses on or is being exhibited on the South Side. More information on events with these artists and the rest of the events of the Biennial can be found at chicagoarchitecturebiennial.org. (Compiled by Jonathan Poilpre)
CARLOS BUNGA Stony Island Arts Bank, 6760 S. Stony Island Ave. October 3-January 3. Tuesday–Saturday, 11am–6pm. Free. (312) 857-5561. rebuild-foundation. squarespace.com Portuguese artist Carlos Bunga creates work that tries to engage with its environment as opposed to living beside it. His installation “Under the Skin,” commissioned for the Biennial, is a site-specific piece. Bunga often works with commonplace materials like cardboard and adhesive tape to reference what he has called “the interrelationship between doing and undoing.” ( Jonathan Poilpre)
illustrations by lauren scott
AMANDA WILLIAMS Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington St. Tuesday, October 27, 6pm–7:30pm. Free. RSVP required. (312) 744-6630. chicagoculturalcenter. org
CALENDAR
Amanda Williams creates art with a focus on elements of space, color, and race. One of her contributions to the Biennial is an appearance on a panel that will discuss the intersections of public space, art, and architecture. Williams has explored this intersection on the South Side through her work painting abandoned and foreclosed houses in vibrant and culturally resonant colors. ( Jonathan Poilpre)
exhibition “BOLD: Alternative Scenarios for Chicago” at the Chicago Cultural Center will suggest their own innovative projects and ideas for the city of Chicago. These projects delve into Chicago’s limitations, and subsequently, its possibilities. The
Stony Island Arts Bank, 6760 S. Stony Island Ave. October 10–January 2. Tuesday–Saturday, 11am–6 pm. Free. (312) 857-5561. rebuild-foundation. squarespace.com
Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington St. Tuesday, October 20, 6pm. Free. RSVP required. (312) 462-6300. chicagoculturalcenter.org In this panel, architects whose work is featured in the Biennial-long
United Working Families, 2229 S. Halsted St. Saturday, October 17, 10am. (773) 442-2628. unitedworkingfamilies.org
Turn Out For Your Local Bus! exhibition features several South Side architects: David Brown, a professor who researches process-oriented methods for urban design in the city; David Schalliol, a sociologist who conveys the metamorphosis of urban centers through film and photography; and Landon Bone Baker Architects, a group that applies responsible design to affordable housing and neighborhood planning for low- and middle-income residents of Chicago. (Elizabeth Ortiz-Menchaca)
CTA Headquarters, 567 W. Lake St, 2nd floor. Wednesday, October 14, 10am. Arrive before 9:30am to ensure a seat. (312) 681-5022. transitchicago.com/board
Forms of Imagination
STOP Benefit: Steppin’ for Justice
Arts Incubator Gallery, 301 E. Garfield Blvd. September 18–January 8. Tuesday–Friday, 12pm–6pm. Free. (773) 702-9724. arts.uchicago.edu
Alternative Scenarios for Chicago
United Working Families Platform Convention
After holding various regional meetings to discuss issues affecting working families, United Working Families will host a convention on October 17 to choose a platform that aligns with their vision. Election Day is not yet upon us, but show up ready to debate and vote! (May Huang)
FRIDA ESCOBEDO
An independent architect from Mexico City, Frida Escobedo creates projects that the Biennial describes as raw, ready to change and develop with their environments. Her work encourages questions about topics like cultural differentiation and the concept of time as a social operation. The Biennial will offer tours of a courtyard she designed at the Stony Island Arts Bank. (Elizabeth Ortiz-Menchaca)
BULLETIN
As part of the UofC’s Arts + Public Life initiative, the Arts Incubator Gallery aims to build “creative communities” on the South Side. “Forms of Imagination” showcases the program’s architecture and public design projects, highlighting its relationship with the neighboring community. The exhibit features projects by Mikel Patrick Avery, PORT Urbanism, and Carlos Rolón/Dzine, as well as ideas for the future Green Line Arts Center. (Hafsa Razi)
Few things matter more in the Chicago winter than public transportation, especially if you don’t have a car. Turn out to fight for the CTA 31 and CTA 11 bus lines and equitable transportation for all with the Crosstown Bus Coalition at the CTA’s October board meeting. Free t-shirts included. (Yunhan Wen)
Tre’s Banquet Hall, 1528 E. 63rd St. Friday, October 16, 9pm–2am. $7 in advance/$10 at the door. (773) 217-9598. eventbrite.com
millennials”—is holding its second bilingual community tech day. Apart from the obvious, exciting stuff (coding games, robots) there will also be the less obvious, equally exciting stuff (raffles, music). (Christian Belanger)
Grassroots Collaborative Fifteenth Anniversary Celebration Co-Prosperity Sphere, 3219 S. Morgan St. Wednesday, October 28, 6pm–8:30 pm. $75 before October 7; $95 after. thegrassrootscollaborative.org The list of honorees for the fifteenth anniversary celebration of the Grassroots Collaborative is a who’s who of prominent Chicago-area politicians, including Karen Lewis of the Chicago Teachers Union, Roderick Sawyer and Carlos Ramirez-Rosa of the Chicago City Council, and the leaders of the South Side Trauma Center campaign. (Adam Thorp)
STAGE AND SCREEN Agnès Varda: Photographs Get Moving (potatoes and shells, too) Logan Center for the Arts, 915 E. 60th St. Opening reception Friday, October 9, 5–9pm. Through November 8. Free. (773)-702-6082. arts.uchicago.edu
This coming Friday, join Southside Together Organizing for Power at their combined benefit event and birthday celebration for one of the group’s leaders, Deborah Taylor. There will be a cash bar, door prizes, raffle, food, dancing—the list goes on! (Yunhan Wen)
Left Bank filmmaker Agnés Varda is taking to the South Side as the artist in residence for UChicago Arts’ weeklong CinéVardaExpo. The French New Wave director was trained as a photographer; this exhibit features her photos, video installations, and works that explore “the polarity between still and moving” images, as well as a lecture by Varda herself on October 9. (Benjamin Chametzky)
Bilingual Community Tech Day/ Día de la Tecnología
Black Perspectives on Horror: Tales from the Hood
Cultura in Pilsen, 1900 S. Carpenter St. Sunday, October 18, 11am–3pm. Free. latinotechies.com
Black Cinema House, 7200 S. Kimbark Ave. Sunday, October 25, 6pm. Free. (312) 8575561. rebuild-foundation.squarespace.com/ black-cinema-house
Latino Techies—self-described as the “first tech network in Chicago for Latino
Mr. Simms welcomes you to his mortuary. OCTOBER 7, 2015 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 13
To begin a series about black horror films, their relationship with black culture, and their rarity, Black Cinema House is screening cult classic Tales from the Hood, in which a trio of drug dealers tries to buy drugs from an undertaker—but first he’s intent on telling them about his latest corpses, their moral failings, and gruesome deaths. (Olivia Stovicek)
Self and Otherness: Fall Filmmaking Workshops Stony Island Arts Bank, 6760 S. Stony Island Ave. Wednesday, October 7, 5pm-7pm. Through spring. Free. (312) 857-5561. rebuildfoundation.squarespace.com/black-cinemahouse Dive into the filmmaking process with a series of artistic workshops created by Black Cinema House. Learn the art, technique, and history behind film, and get hands-on experience making movies with artist and filmmaker Marco G. Ferrari. (Sarah Liu)
Heaven, How I Got Here Provision Theater, 1001 W. Roosevelt Rd. 3pm, 8pm. Through Sunday, October 25. $30, discounts available for students, seniors, children, groups. (312) 455-0066. provisiontheater.org/season.htm Adapted from Evangelical Pastor Colin S. Smith’s book of the same name, Heaven, How I Got Here, follows the thief put to death closest to Jesus as he looks upon earth from heaven. (Bess Cohen)
Chicago Architectural Biennial Film Series: Hyenas Stony Island Arts Bank, 6760 S Stony Island Ave. Tuesday, October 20, 6pm-9pm. Free. rebuild-foundation.squarespace.com/blackcinema-house This screening of the film Hyenas by Senegalese filmmaker Djibril Dior Mambety is meant to provoke a discussion about the use of public space through its story of rapid development in postcolonial Africa. The movie is presented by the Black Cinema House in conjunction with the Chicago Architectural Biennial. (Adam Thorp)
14 SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY
Augustana Lutheran Church, 5500 S. Woodlawn Ave. Friday, October 9, 8pm. $5. hydeparkcommunityplayers.org
Reggies Chicago, 2105 S. State St. Thursday, October 8. Doors 7:30pm. 21+. $10 in advance, $12 at the door. (312) 949-0120. reggieslive. com
Come for a staged reading of author David Egan’s imagined version of a conversation between philosophers Ludwig Wittgenstein and Karl Popper and subsequent discussion; stay for an atmosphere of scruffy intellectualism possible in only a handful of places in the country. (Adam Thorp)
In what is likely the most eclectic lineup of the month, indie reggae group Chicago Loud 9 (or CLOUD9), former punk rockers Jetpack Hotline, and funk bassist PJ & Soul—all locals—take the Reggies stage for what’s sure to be, at the very least, an interesting show. (Sam Stecklow)
Freedom Stories: Contested Meanings of America’s Black Past
Billy Branch
The Fly-Bottle
DuSable Museum of African American History, 740 E. 56th Place. Thursday, October 8, 6:30pm. Doors 6pm. $10, $5 for members. (773) 947-0600. thedusablemuseum. eventbrite.com Hear new insights on the issue of racial criminalization in this lecture and booksigning with Dr. Khalil Gibran Muhammad, Director of the Schomberg Center for Research in Black Culture in New York and author of The Condemnation of Blackness: Race, Crime and the Making of Modern Urban America. Muhammad’s book will be sold for $20 at the event. (Nadine Faisal)
Precious Memories: Strollin’ 47th Street DuSable Museum of African American History, 740 E. 56th Place. Sunday, October 25, 2pm. Doors open 1:30pm. $10, $5 for members. (773) 947-0600. thedusablemuseum. eventbrite.com Watch this documentary film written by Francis Ward and experience 47th Street as it was in its heyday, when it was the entertainment hub of Black Chicago. Attendees will have the chance to get up close and personal with the film’s artistic director, Val Gray Ward, and cast members in a Q&A session following the screening. (Nadine Faisal)
MUSIC Chicago Loud 9, Jetpack Hotline, and PJ & Soul
¬ OCTOBER 7, 2015
The Promontory, 5311 S. Lake Park Ave West. Friday, October 9. Doors 7pm, show 8pm. $12 standing room, $19-$30 seats. (312) 8012100. promontorychicago.com This Friday, Chicago-born singer and blues harmonica player Billy Branch will return to the Promontory with his Son of Blues band in tow. Branch has numerous world tours and three Grammy nominations to his name, but has also earned a lasting legacy through his Blues in the Schools program. For blues-lovers, it doesn’t get much better than this. (Christopher Good)
Ari Brown Quarry Event Center, 2423 E. 75th St. Friday, October 9. Doors 7pm. 21+. (312) 2591143. mobetterjazzchicago.us Chicago native and acclaimed saxophonist Ari Brown brings his smooth style of expressive jazz back to the Windy City. With decades of performing experience harkening back to soul, rock, and blues musicians like B.B. King and Lou Rawls, Brown is sure to whisper and croon his music back in our psyches. (Rachel He)
The Socialists Reggies Chicago, 2105 S. State St. Saturday, October 10. Doors 7pm. $5. 21+. (312) 9490120. reggieslive.com The name of this family band is not a nod to Marx or Mao, but a way of indicating the equality of its members: the father, brother, and two sisters of The Socialists all sing and play every instrument in the band. Their upcoming show is a 21+ event, but—in true family style—parents can bring their
children for free. (May Huang)
Latino Music Festival: Música Temprana Logan Center for the Arts, 915 E. 60th St. Wednesday, October 14. Doors 7pm. $25, seniors and students $5. (773) 702-2787. arts. uchicago.edu Follow the history of Latin American music through this performance by Música Temprana as they draw inspiration from the Renaissance and Baroque eras while exploring the repertoire of music from the age of exploration and onward. (Lily Li)
Generations of Soul: Raphael Saadiq, BJ the Chicago Kid, and Lee Fields Thalia Hall, 1807 S. Allport St. Wednesday, October 14, 7pm. Free. 21+. (312) 526-3851. thaliahallchicago.com The “Generations of Soul” tour stars producer and R&B musician Raphael Saadiq, who wrote songs with legends like J Dilla and D’Angelo. The night will also feature Lee Fields, whose forty-six-year career bridged the gap between old-school soul and contemporary R&B, alongside rising star BJ the Chicago Kid, known for his epic collaborations with South Side natives like Chance the Rapper and Kanye West. (Christopher Good)
Warren G The Shrine, 2109 S. Wabash Ave. Sunday, October 18. Doors 10pm. $20 early bird, $30 general admission. 21+. Standing room only. (312) 753-5700. theshrinechicago.com The regulator himself, Warren G, hits The Shrine later this month as part of a tour supporting his new Nate Dogg (RIP)featuring EP, Regulate... G Funk Era, Pt. II, a twenty-one-years-in-the-making follow-up to his masterpiece of a first album. (Sam Stecklow)
Sexing Sound: Gender Sound Music
Logan Center for the Arts, 915 E. 60th St. Thursday, October 22. Doors 7pm. Free. (773) 702-2787. arts.uchicago.edu
CALENDAR
Think music is too sexualized or not enough so? Either way, come explore the role of gender and sexuality in contemporary music and sound art in this exhibit, on display from October 22-24. Thursday’s event will include panel discussions and performances by Annie Goh, Lynn Book, and Katherina Klement. (Lily Li)
VISUAL ARTS Art That Can’t Be Ignored Wabash Campus Room 203, 623 S. Wabash Ave. Thursday, October 8, 6pm. Free. (312) 369-7100. colum.edu In a lecture on the use of pastels and decorative art in her own work, Northwestern University Professor of Art Theory & Practice Judy Ledgerwood will investigate how she has leveraged these historically feminine components of art to take on the male-dominated tradition of painting. (Elijah Wolter)
Precarious Workers of the (Art) World Reunite! Cochrane-Woods Arts Center, Room 157, 5540 S. Greenwood Ave. Friday, October 9, 4pm–6pm. Free. (773) 834-8936. neubauercollegium.uchicago.edu As part of the Neubauer Collegium’s Art and Public Life project, artist and writer Gregory Sholette will examine how artistic projects across the globe both confront and are confronted by issues of military conflict, displacement, and wealth inequality, from migrant workers in Abu Dhabi to refugees in Berlin. (Elijah Wolter)
Strange Bedfellows Opening Reception Blanc Gallery, 4445 S. King Dr. Friday, October 9, 6pm–11pm. Through December 31. Free. (773) 373-4320. blancchicago.com This Friday will see the launch of Strange Bedfellows, a collaborative art exhibition featuring paintings by Kenrick Mcfarlane and “acoustical vibrations” by DJ Michael McClean, a.k.a Radio Moon. Mcfarlane and McClean, the eponymous bedfellows
RETAIL
of the exhibition and School of the Art Institute of Chicago graduates, promise to deliver an unforgettable multimedia experience. (May Huang)
Gag Gig Cobalt Studios, 1950 W. 21st St. Friday, October 9, 6pm–10pm. Free. cobaltartstudio. blogspot.com How can we relate humor in art to concepts such as emotions, the body, and criticism? Join the conversation about “funny art” at the opening reception for Gag Gig at Cobalt Studios. The answer may still evade you, but you’re sure to get at least one good laugh out of this humorous exhibit. (Yunhan Wen and Emeline Posner)
Under The Freeway RSVP for exact location. Friday, October 9, 6:30–9pm. $5-25 suggested donation. RSVP at eventbrite.com As part of Chicago Artists Month, artists Connie Noyes and Marvin Tate are hosting a participatory, multimedia performance highlighting extreme wealth disparity and inequality. The event will take place beneath the intersection of I-55 and I-94; the exact location is disclosed upon RSVPing on their website. Bring your singing voices for what’s likely to be a memorable night beneath the hum of the highway. ( Juliet Eldred)
Agnès Varda: Photographs Get Moving (potatoes and shells, too) Logan Center for the Arts, 915 E. 60th St. Opening reception Friday, October 9, 5–9pm. Through November 8. Free. (773)-702-6082. arts.uchicago.edu Left Bank filmmaker Agnés Varda is taking to the South Side as the artist in residence for UChicago Arts’ weeklong CinéVardaExpo. The French New Wave director was trained as a photographer; this exhibit features her photos, video installations, and works that explore “the polarity between still and moving” images, as well as a lecture by Varda herself on October 9. (Benjamin Chametzky) OCTOBER 7, 2015 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 15