October 11, 2017 by South Side Weekly

CHICAGO A COMMUNITY HEALTH EDUCATION EVENT

FREE ENTRY. FREE HEALTH SCREENINGS. FREE DINNER.

Oct. 13–15 Logan Center for the Arts

at the University of Chicago, 915 E 60th St The Logan Center Bluesfest is an annual public celebration honoring the South Side roots of the blues tradition with three days of concerts, workshops, film, food, and conversation. Many of the events during the Logan Center Bluesfest are FREE. For tickets, and to make reservations for workshops, visit tickets.uchicago.edu.

Terri Odabi. Courtesy of artist.

www.awareforall.org or call toll free:1.877.633.4376

Use code BLUE to save $5 on evening concert tickets.

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2 SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY

¬ OCTOBER 11, 2017

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SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY The South Side Weekly is an independent 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. The South Side Weekly is dedicated to supporting cultural and civic engagement on the South Side and to providing educational opportunities for developing journalists, writers, and artists. Volume 5, Issue 3 Editor-in-Chief Hafsa Razi Managing Editors Julia Aizuss, Andrew Koski Directors of Staff Support Baci Weiler Writer Development Sara Cohen Community Outreach Jasmin Liang Senior Editors Olivia Stovicek Emeline Posner Politics Editor Adia Robinson Stage & Screen Editor Nicole Bond Visual Arts Editor Rod Sawyer Editors-at-Large Christian Belanger, Mari Cohen Contributing Editors Maddie Anderson, Mira Chauhan, Bridget Newsham, Adam Przybyl, Sam Stecklow, Margaret Tazioli, Yunhan Wen Data Editor Jasmine Mithani Radio Editor Erisa Apantaku Radio Host Andrew Koski Social Media Editors Bridget Newsham, Sam Stecklow Visuals Editor Ellen Hao Deputy Visuals Editor Lizzie Smith Photography Editor Jason Schumer Layout Editor Baci Weiler Staff Writers: Elaine Chen, Rachel Kim, Ashvini Kartik-Narayan, Michael Wasney Fact Checkers: Abigail Bazin, Sam Joyce, Bridget Newsham, Adam Przybyl, Hafsa Razi, Sam Stecklow, Rebecca Stoner, Tiffany Wang Staff Photographers: Denise Naim, Jason Schumer, Luke Sironski-White Staff Illustrators: Zelda Galewsky, Natalie Gonzalez, Courtney Kendrick, Turtel Onli, Raziel Puma Webmaster

Pat Sier

Publisher

Harry Backlund

Business Manager

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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. Over the summer we publish every other week. Send submissions, story ideas, comments, or questions to editor@southsideweekly.com or mail to: South Side Weekly 6100 S. Blackstone Ave. Chicago, IL 60637 For advertising inquiries, contact: (773) 234-5388 or advertising@southsideweekly.com

Cover illustration by Ellen Hao & Lizzie Smith

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

JPW Posts a Status Update On October 5, Jackson Park Watch ( JPW) announced its incorporation as a nonprofit organization in Illinois. Envisioning Jackson Park as a public space that should have transparent development processes with community input, JPW is one of the community advocates calling for a more inclusive development plan from Jackson Park’s next big project—the Obama Presidential Center (OPC), of course. On that front, former President Barack Obama just articulated his disapproval of the most vocal and radical among these advocates, the CBA Coalition. On the other end of the spectrum, another major community force, the Woodlawn, Washington Park, and South Shore Community and Economic Development Organization (WWPSS), is compliant and enjoys close ties with the OPC: Arne Duncan, former Secretary of Education under Obama, is now WWPSS’s co-chair. Given this state of affairs, JPW’s official nonprofit status might give fresh blood to this long-drawn-out fight to address the concerns of Jackson Park’s surrounding communities. But to do so, JPW needs to offer articulated plans about the legal counsel it will now have, which the organization claims will be the major destination of future funds. Kanye’s Childhood Home “All Falls Down” Back in November 2016, rapper Che “Rhymefest” Smith announced his purchase of the childhood home of superstar Kanye West. Located off South Shore Drive, the house is severely dilapidated due to longtime neglect, and the hopes of the South Shore community ran high when they learned about its upcoming renovation for a good cause: a community arts incubator. But now, nearly a year later, Kanye’s old house is facing the wrecking ball, since architects say the structural damage is too severe for any meaningful renovation. Instead, Rhymefest plans to build the facility and nonprofit headquarters for Donda’s House Inc. upon the demolished house. Sounds good, except now the simple idea of a permanent home for cultivating young hip-hop artists is growing into a million-dollar project. A fundraiser is scheduled for November 28, and we wish Rhymefest all the best. The ‘ICE Airlines’ Hub: Gary/Chicago International Airport Dozens protested last week outside of the Gary/Chicago International Airport, some eight miles across the state border with Indiana, hoping to call attention to the humming deportation business operating out of the airport. Chicago’s airports are controlled directly by Mayor Emanuel through the Chicago Department of Aviation. Emanuel is attempting to reinvent himself in Chicago as every immigrant’s best friend after pushing harsh immigration measures in the 1990s. Indiana has no such pretensions. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) has contracted flights through Gary Airport with a private charter plane company, deporting roughly 3,000 people a year since 2013, according to the Northwest Indiana Post-Tribune. This includes immigrants living in the Chicago area and elsewhere in Illinois. The airport’s governing body has attempted to shrug off responsibility for the deportations, describing itself as a “third party,” but this is a flimsy excuse for profiteering from deportations. “You can follow the white buses most Friday mornings from Broadview, Illinois, to the airport entrance in Gary,” protester and Indiana University professor emerita Ruth Needleman wrote in a recent op-ed. “The buses have covered windows and are accompanied by a McHenry County Sheriff ’s Department bus. The people awaiting deportation are in shackles.”

IN THIS ISSUE are the blue dog days over?

“[Third district residents] deserve a Democratic representative.” claudia fernandez...........................4 opening closed schools

“It’s a disgrace that we’re here right now, that we’re looking at a school that children should be coming to Monday.” adia robinson....................................5 logan center turns five with style

“It was important to us from the beginning that [the Logan Center] was a space...that supported the work of our students and faculty, but also became a very important part of the arts and cultural community of the South Side.” michael wasney................................6

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POLITICS

Are the Blue Dog Days Over? Progressives vie to oust a Democratic family dynasty in the 3rd congressional district BY CLAUDIA FERNANDEZ

year ago, Marie Newman was a nonprofit executive, a mother, and a successful business owner. Now, she is also candidate for the United States House of Representatives. She sat across from me at a downtown Starbucks facing Trump Tower which, on this afternoon, is glistening in the sun. With only a short time to talk before she had a speaking engagement, I asked her how she got to this point and where she wants to go from here. More than anything else, Newman said that she sensed a call to action after the 2016 election and felt that “all rights were under assault,” so she went about studying the possibility of a run for Congress. A resident of southwest suburban La Grange, her district— Illinois’s 3rd congressional district—begins in the northeast in Bridgeport, then dances a jagged line southwest to the Midway area, swoops to the east to pick up parts of Beverly and Mt. Greenwood, and then expands deep into Chicago’s southwest suburbs, extending nearly to Joliet. The current Representative, Dan Lipinski, has held the seat since 2005, when he became the Democratic candidate in a controversial political move. His father, Bill Lipinski, served twenty-two years as the area’s congressional representative, but retired after winning the 2004 primary election. With some maneuvering, the elder Lipinski convinced local Democratic Party officials, including Illinois Speaker of the House Michael Madigan and Cook County Commissioner John Daley, to appoint his son—at the time a professor at the University of Tennessee—as his replacement. Despite being criticized for “inheriting” the candidacy, Lipinski—who didn’t respond to requests for comment for this story—easily won the election in a majority-Democrat district, and hasn’t faced a serious challenger since. Bill Lipinski went on to start a one-man Washington lobbying firm that focuses on transportation, but he had to give up federal lobbying due to political pressure. Specifically, critics pointed out that Bill Lipinski was 4 SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY

¬ OCTOBER 11, 2017

getting paid hundreds of thousands of dollars by the Chicago Transit Authority, Metra, and others to lobby the House Committee on Transportation, a committee on which his son actively serves. Lipinski, like his father, has long been known as a conservative Democrat, which Newman is attempting to use to her advantage—after all, the district went to Bernie Sanders in the recent Democratic primary. “[Third district residents] deserve a Democratic representative,” Newman said. Indeed, Lipinski was one of the few Democrats to vote against the Affordable Care Act in 2010, opposes same-sex marriage, and was one of just three Democrats to support a GOP anti-abortion bill in January. Still, the district has a history of social conservatism, and Lipinski has deeply rooted support among some unions and trade associations (two of the top contributors to his 2016 run were the Air Line Pilots Association and the National Electrical Contractors Association). To defeat him in next year’s primary, Newman will need all the help she can get, and it seems like she is getting a lot. Aside from having a staff, connections to the grassroots-based Indivisible protest network that sprang up in the wake of Trump’s election, and thousands of small donors, Newman has also received help from former advisors to Mayor Rahm Emanuel such as John Kupper, a consultant who has been criticized in the past for attempting to plant negative stories about Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle to the Tribune. After Newman and Lipinski face off in the Democratic primary, however, another progressive candidate will have been waiting on the sidelines. Twenty-eight-year-old Mateusz Tomkowiak, who goes by Mat, is running as an independent. If elected, he will become the youngest member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Tomkowiak has been researching healthcare policy for years at Princeton University and wrote his dissertation on the structure of healthcare debates in American

society. A self-described introvert, he had never imagined that he would run for office and instead planned on studying hard, doing research, and advising our elected leaders. Then, his brother was diagnosed with schizophrenia, had to drop out of college, and lost his health insurance, and Tomkowiak became obsessed with fixing America’s healthcare system. After advising the writers of the Affordable Care Act, however, he realized that the policy wonks and healthcare experts were largely being ignored—to fix the healthcare system, he had to leave his comfort zone and run for office. When asked why he decided to run as an independent and not as a Democrat, Tomkowiak said, “I’ve been an independent most of my life. Growing up as a gay Polish immigrant, I don’t feel an ounce of loyalty to either one of the political parties.” Instead, realizing that there are more than two sides to every debate, he believes that the U.S.’s polarized political system is in dire need of an independent wave. Still, running as an independent presents serious obstacles for Tomkowiak, who has not aligned himself with any particular third party. First of all, to formally get on the ballot, he’ll need to collect twenty times the number of petition signatures than somebody running on one of the two party tickets would need— in his case, almost 15,000. Then, like all third party candidates, he will face an uphill battle just to be taken seriously during the campaign. But Tomkowiak is optimistic and cites the fact that nearly half the country did not vote in the 2016 election as evidence that there are people who feel alienated enough from the entire political system to potentially support an independent. Unsurprisingly, Tomkowiak (like Newman) is a strong supporter of universal healthcare and has made it a central focus of his campaign. As he puts it, healthcare is “a special sphere of life…you’ll pay any price to cure someone you love, but these institutions are designed to think in terms of profit.” Going further, Tomkowiak frames all policies,

from climate change policy to civil rights, in terms of their public health consequences. Of course, this race is not just about healthcare, and both Newman and Tomkowiak support the flagship policies of the Democratic Party’s energized progressive flank: a fifteen-dollar minimum wage, progressive income tax, free tuition (or path to) at colleges and universities, immigration reform, and strong action on climate change. But, whereas Newman’s other main rhetorical focus is to support small business, Tomkowiak proposes more radical policies, such as a university endowment tax, a cap on CEO pay, and fair pay for online content creators. Newman, as a retired businessperson, may lack the progressive flair of someone like Bernie Sanders, but she supports many of the same policies and replaces that flair with practicality. On the one hand, this practicality, perhaps left over from her business days, allows her to think analytically and realistically about policy. On the other hand, it seems to distinguish her from other progressive Democrats. For example, when speaking about the issues of youth unemployment and student debt, Newman said that not everybody should go to college, arguing that “many kids are passionate about things like carpentry or being an electrician.” As simplistic as that statement is, it sums up her rhetoric fairly well; in an era of stifling partisanship, Newman offers a commitment to compromise that may serve the Democratic minority in Congress well. It does, however, provide a striking contrast to Tomkowiak, who endorses Sanders’s College For All Act, which would make all public colleges and universities free and significantly restructure the student loan system. Newman supports maintaining incremental Obama-era policies designed to ease student debt—not do away with it entirely. Tomkowiak shares a similar commitment to collaboration rather than partisanship. Among his pitches is a dedication to problemsolving that would enable him to work with everyone in Congress. Moreover, Tomkowiak

EDUCATION

Opening Closed Schools At the former Overton Elementary, students and residents reflect on what the building could become BY ADIA ROBINSON

O LUKE SIRONSKI-WHITE

believes he is better suited to represent the 3rd district and its young population specifically—he is a millennial, LGBTQ, an immigrant, and has experienced the effects of health policy firsthand—and his Polish background could give him an edge in a district with a substantial Polish population. Regardless, it is clear that Newman’s campaign is more developed as both prepare for the upcoming March primary. Whereas she has developed PR and grassroots plans and held dozens of events where she has met potential constituents, Tomkowiak does not have a staff, has not started fundraising, and is a bit harder to reach. Though Tomkowiak’s election is farther away, given his campaign’s progress so far, it is hard to imagine him defeating Lipinski, a powerful incumbent with the backing of the Democratic establishment and nearly $1.4 million to fund his campaign. When comparing Newman and Tomkowiak, however, it is fair to point out that the former has had access to personal funds that have helped her jumpstart her campaign, having donated over $72,000 to

her campaign since April. As Tomkowiak noted, “Ms. Newman in one month spent more on her campaign than my parents make in a year.” But since May, Newman has also raised over $120,000 from individual contributions. At the end of the day, Newman and Tomkowiak are two candidates with varying degrees of political and progressive cred who wish to challenge what they see as a frustratingly conservative dynastic Lipinski brand, and change the political landscape of the 3rd district. In March, the winner of the Democratic primary, either Newman or Lipinski, will move on to face Tomkowiak in the general election (no Republicans have declared candidacy). There are certainly differences to be considered between Tomkowiak and Newman, but given the power of the Lipinski name, securing a Newman victory in the Democratic primary will be crucial for the district’s progressives. If and when Newman defeats Lipinski, those differences between Tomkowiak and Newman can be properly fleshed out. ¬

ver four years after the school closed, on Saturday afternoon, October 7, the Overton Elementary building temporarily reopened to the public for Opening Closings: Reactivating Closed Chicago Public Schools. Anthony Overton Elementary School was one of the fifty Chicago Public Schools (CPS) closed in 2013, at the time one of the biggest school closings in one district anywhere in the country. The school has been sold to developer Ghian Foreman, but to many Bronzeville residents, its future purpose remains unclear. Opening Closings is part of Creative Grounds, an initiative from urban design firm Borderless Studio to create dialogues around plans for repurposing closed Chicago Schools. The event was funded by a grant from the Chicago Architecture Biennial. DOCOMOMO-US Chicago, the local chapter of the committee for the documentation and conservation of the modern movement, and Chicago Arts Partnerships in Education partnered with Creative Grounds for this event. “This a way to keep the buildings active, not necessarily each day, but maybe on some occasions,” said Paola Aguirre, the founder of Borderless Studio. She views this event as a way to bring in community members and create visibility around plans to repurpose CPS’s many closed buildings. According to the Chicago Reporter, seventeen of the fortythree buildings closed in 2013 remain unsold

as of late September. Twenty-one schools have been sold, and five have been repurposed by CPS or another public agency, but as with Overton Elementary, not all the sold schools have a definite plan for repurposing. And, ever since CPS placed vacant schools on the open market in January this year, the reuse of school buildings could receive even less scrutiny from local communities. “If that’s the future of over forty schools in Chicago, let’s all pay attention to it and let’s talk about it and get involved,” Aguirre said. Both Aguirre and other organizers talked about the event as part of keeping school buildings public spaces once they’re sold or repurposed. “This resource was once public and should retain that public use, by very virtue of the fact that our public tax dollars funded this structure,” said Daniel Ronan, who works with DOCOMOMOUS Chicago. Throughout the afternoon, visitors could walk through Overton Elementary School, looking both at the building as it awaits remodeling and at art installations created by students from Daniel Hale Williams Preparatory School of Medicine, which is only a five-minute walk away. Outside, in the school’s parking lot, organizers painted a large map of Chicago with all of the closed schools and their current status. Inside, organizers gave guided tours, where they informed visitors about the history of the OCTOBER 11, 2017 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 5

EDUCATION

COURTESY OF BORDERLESS STUDIO

building, the current plans for its remodeling, and the building’s architectural significance. Designed by Chicago architecture firm Perkins and Will, Overton Elementary opened in 1963 and was planned to coincide with the opening of the Robert Taylor Homes to serve its residents and other nearby students. The building adheres to a modernist style, with large windows in the classrooms and hallways and thick black steel bars on the exterior of the building. Overton was “built to serve children from underserved neighborhoods,” and was the last of three postwar prototypes for modernist schools built by local architects. The school was named after Anthony Overton, the first African American to lead a major business conglomerate, establishing several businesses in home goods, realty, and life insurance. When the school was closed, its student population was ninety-two percent Black and ninety-five percent lowincome. Walking through the building felt eerie at times. The school’s history seemed to haunt the building: cabinets where you could imagine children hanging their backpacks and coats stood half open and empty, classrooms once full of desks and colorful posters were stripped bare, and the floors, which were probably once childproof 6 SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY

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linoleum, had been pulled up to leave concrete covered in old black glue. But also throughout the building were musings of what the space could be. On the whiteboards and blackboards in the classrooms, organizers asked visitors to write their ideas of how Overton could be repurposed. Responses ranged from turning the school into a nighttime art gallery, to an indoor agriculture space, to simply a place for the community to thrive. Organizers and student artwork from Williams Prep also asked visitors to engage with the idea and purpose of public education itself with art installations and more questions on chalkboards. One student art installation invited visitors into a tent made from a sheet to sit on cushions and journal about their experience with school. Another featured paper airplanes made from old, recycled worksheets hung from the ceiling of a classroom. Williams Prep students’ ideas about potential uses for the building filled what used to be Overton’s lunchroom. With their teachers, the students had spent a year drawing and modeling their plans for what the school could become. The students, many of whom lived near Overton, imagined turning the space into everything from a pediatric center to a dance studio to a health

foods store. The developer who owns the building, Ghian Foreman, plans to turn it into a business incubator called Anthony Overton Entrepreneurship Center. Although he originally planned to turn the building into a set of Live Work apartments—residences that individuals can operate a business out of—he said that the finances didn’t work out. “I went back to the drawing board and said, ‘What does our community need?’” Foreman said after the event. “Where’s that lawyer, that accountant, that guy who doesn’t need an office but just needs a desk. We don’t have Starbucks in our neighborhood, so somewhere that he could work.” He added that he wanted the space to continue Bronzeville’s history of black entrepreneurship, one rooted in Anthony Overton’s own legacy, calling the neighborhood “Black entrepreneurship central.” Despite all of the discussion around how Overton can be repurposed and reimagined for the community, several Bronzeville residents argued for returning the building to its original purpose. For residents formerly connected with the school, the building’s closing is still a source of pain, over four years later. On one of the blackboards, a visitor wrote that the building should to be

reopened as a school. Irene Robinson, a resident whose six children and several of her grandchildren attended Overton, called the school closures a “hate crime.” “It’s a disgrace that we’re here right now, that we’re looking at a school that children should be coming to Monday,” she said. “This was our second home. It was more than just a school, the school is more than just a building, it’s a heart. Coming here today, it’s heartbreaking to know that I’m not coming here to know that they’re going to open it back up for the children.” “I’m disheartened that whoever bought this building didn’t realize the history of the families, the teachers, and the communities of students that they kicked out,” said Jeanette Taylor. Her children attended Mollison Elementary School, where many of the students from Overton now go, and she served on Mollison’s LSC. “It’s classic, let’s push low-income and working families out and make it brand new for the incoming gentry,” she added. “So it’s gentrification on steroids and a disrespect to real community folks’ voice.” Linda Thomas, who taught at Overton for twenty years and now teaches at Mollison, said that she wanted answers from the event but had not yet gotten them. “It’s been sitting, standing for [four] years and nothing has been said.” Repurposing plans at other closed schools have stalled because of similar anger about the closings from the communities around them. Foreman responded to these desires from the community by saying that the neighborhood around Overton had neither the population to support the school nor the funds for costly maintenance to the school compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, to remove asbestos, and to repair windows. “I want to invite them to come on back and invite them to be part of the solution,” he said. “Let’s all come together and make this community better.” With Opening Closings over and Overton now closed again, Aguirre wants to replicate Opening Closings at other closed schools in the city. “My whole argument is that you cannot treat these places as a business as usual,” she said. “Let’s have a right process, a true and right process that people can connect to so that they can understand why these things have to close and how we can redevelop them all together.” ¬

VISUAL ARTS

The Logan Center for the Arts turns five in style BY MICHAEL WASNEY

y 9pm, the tent set up in the Logan Center for the Arts at the University of Chicago’s central courtyard was jostling with people. Outside it drizzled miserably, as it had all day, although this did nothing to deter the crowd. Emily Hooper Lansana, the Logan Center’s associate director of community arts engagement, must have been right when she introduced the next act as “magnetic.” A slice of Chicago was packed into that tent, ready to give some of their own a proper homecoming. After all, it’s a rare feat that the South Side-born and raised members of the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble—all of them children of the jazz legend Phil Cohran, and on the road to becoming legends in their own right—return to play a free set for their native city. The Hypnotic set was the capstone to a twelve-hour bonanza celebrating the Logan Center’s five-year anniversary. The whole thing was free, not just the jazz. Starting at 11:30am on that Saturday morning, Logan had become a hive of activity. Programming throughout the day, which spanned all imaginable media, was a healthy cross-section of the art being produced by the Logan community—which includes UofC-affiliated artists, as well as artists and organizations with whom Logan has formed partnerships. Festivities kicked off with the Gwendolyn Brooks Youth Poetry Awards, organized by Illinois Humanities in partnership with the Logan Center. As part of the citywide Our Miss Brooks 100 centennial celebration of Brooks’s birth, the award program that she herself ran for many decades was revived. Aspiring writers from kindergarten to twelfth grade participated in the contest; winners hailed from all over Illinois, all the way from Aurora to Galesburg to our very own Bronzeville. Subsequent workshops, exhibitions, and performances were dispersed across the Logan campus throughout the day—many of which were interactive, and many in a family-

friendly way. Kids eight and up got to animate their own Lego movie from 2pm–3pm; all day long, attendees who found themselves on Logan’s second floor could contribute to the making of a mural. And at 4pm, the UofC student arts organization Kitchen Sink—which provides free art supplies in the Logan Great Hall every Wednesday night for anyone who would like to use them— led families in a costume-making activity, followed by a parade about Logan (adorned in said costumes). To be sure, the Logan five-year bash was an eclectic affair—age-wise, medium-wise, and, pleasantly, demographics-wise; while the University of Chicago isn’t known for being overly welcoming toward its neighbors on the South Side, attendance was by no means limited to UofC students and faculty. Bill Michel, executive director of both the Logan Center and the broader UChicago Arts program, told me that in respect to the broader attendance, the festival was a good representation of the trajectory he and his colleagues have been trying to chart for Logan over the last five years. “It was important to us from the beginning that [the Logan Center] was a space...that supported the work of our students and faculty, but also became a very important part of the arts and cultural community of the South Side,” Michel said. Administrators like he and Hooper Lansana have sought to make Logan into such a space in large part by forming partnerships with artists and arts organizations based in the South Side. Art programming paused briefly at 5:30pm for a portion of the festivities called “Celebrating our Partners,” at which point Michel gave thanks to some of those that have worked closely with Logan in the past half-decade: Diasporal Rhythms, Rebirth Poetry Ensemble, and the Africa International House are all South Side-based arts organizations that received shout-outs during the night.

COURTESY OF THE LOGAN CENTER FOR THE ARTS

What’s clear is that, regardless of origin, many artists have come to call Logan home— it is for Avery R. Young, a musician, poet, and teaching artist affiliated with UChicago’s Arts and Public Life initiative, headed by Theaster Gates. But Young does a lot more besides his work directly linked to the UofC: running programming for the youth-oriented Rebirth Poetry Ensemble out of the Logan space, for example, or recording his album in the center’s music studio. He and his band, De Deacon Board, took to the courtyard stage shortly after Michael’s talk to perform a style of music that they coined as “sousefunk”—a genre-defying mix of jazz, soul, funk, and gospel which Young developed over his five year stay at the Logan center. His demeanor was easy in front of the crowd; one could tell that he was in his element. It is the Logan Center’s unique function—as both an academic arm of the UofC and an excellent resource for artists on the South Side—that has contributed to the incredible vibrancy of the art being made at the center. Michel said it’s a model he intends to continue. “In the next five years, we’re going to be very focused on continuing that work, really focusing on artistic practice, and looking for more opportunities to really support...projects that really benefit from a center that sits at the [crossroads] of the university and the community,” he said. Some of these projects are very near on the horizon. Next weekend, the Logan Center will be hosting its first (hopefully annual) Blues Fest, showcasing the artistry of local and national blues musicians alike. As with the Five-Year Bash, much of the programming

will be free and open to the public. “Returns” is another newcomer to Logan programming which will also kick off this weekend: it’s to be a multiyear series of conferences that will look into the implications of the twentieth century pan-Africanist movement for art and culture on the continent of Africa and in the greater diaspora. The future of Logan also holds a continuation of some of the more tried-andtrue programs. The Hypnotic Brass Ensemble returned to Chicago for more than just the Bash: on Tuesday, they also participated in the Logan Center’s School Matinee Program, a free series where world class artists come to perform before Chicago schoolchildren and educators in order to inspire a love of the arts. This will be Hypnotic’s second time participating. Hooper Lansana alluded to their first time participating as she introduced the group. “When Hypnotic did our school matinee, they absolutely positively showed out,” she said. “They made our young people feel like they were special. And that says to me that they recognize that the opportunity to touch the stage is more than an opportunity to perform. It is an opportunity to teach, to touch, and to change lives.” It’s that artistic philosophy that may explain why so many artists and organizations—the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble included—were so eager to take to the stage at the Logan Center’s five-year celebration: to give back to the organization that has taught, touched, and changed the lives of not only artists affiliated with the UofC, but those across the city of Chicago. ¬ OCTOBER 11, 2017 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 7

BULLETIN What Would It Take? A Youth– Inspired Community Conversation The Renaissance Collaborative, 3757 S. Wabash Ave. Thursday, October 12, 6:30pm–7:30pm. Free. (773) 924-9270. wbez.org. Based around WBEZ’s ongoing Every Other Hour series (referring to the average amount of time a person is shot in Chicago), this event will feature young people from around the city sharing stories about gun violence and what it would take to stop it. Food will be provided in a reception afterward. (Sam Stecklow)

Chicago and Women’s Labor History Tour Starts at Hyatt Regency McCormick Place, 2233 S. King Dr. Friday, October 13, 9am– 5pm. $30, including lunch and a brewery stop. (312) 942-1444. chicagowomenintrades2.org Learn about Chicago’s rich history in labor, and particularly female labor, with this Illinois Labor History Society–run tour of South Side labor, including the Stockyards, Steelworkers’ Park on the Far Southeast Side, Ida B. Wells’s home, and the Pullman Sleeping Car Porters Headquarters. (Sam Stecklow)

Obama Presidential Center Panel DuSable Museum of African-American History, 740 E. 56th Pl. Saturday, October 14, 2pm– 3pm. (773) 947-0600. bit.ly/ObamaPanel The latest in the never-ending series of public events surrounding the impending Obama Presidential Center, this one is a panel conversation about the design of the Center, featuring director Dr. Louise Bernard and members of the design team Amanda Williams and Andres Luis Hernandez. This is likely to be less contentious than many of the other events around the Center, as it is moderated by Monica Chadha, another member of the design team. (Sam Stecklow)

Englewood Hope Walk 6600 S. Hermitage Ave. Saturday, October 14, 10am–1pm. Free. Recommended 16+. hopewalk.gr8.com Take advantage of this week’s warm weather and join the Englewood Hope Group this 8 SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY

¬ OCTOBER 11, 2017

Saturday for the Englewood Hope Walk to help survey Englewood on what the community needs most. Walkers don’t have to go further than two city blocks, and will help community groups identify and meet the needs of Englewood. Sign up online. (Clyde Schwab)

Understanding Indigenous Roots: An Intercultural Discourse South Side Community Art Center, 3831 S. Michigan Ave. Sunday, October 15, 3pm–5pm. $12, $10 SSCAC members. (773) 373-1026. inheritchicago.org The second of two conversations about Native- and African-American intercultural relations (the first was at the Mitchell Museum of the American Indian in Evanston), this event examines “shared histories and unifying connections” between Chicagoland’s indigenous and Black communities. Part of the Chicago Cultural Alliance’s Inherit Chicago festival. (Sam Stecklow)

TRiiBE Tuesday: Cuffing Season Edition Refuge Live, 416 S. Clark St. Tuesday, October 17, 7pm–11pm. 21+. thetriibe.com It’s that time of the year again: cuffing season, when even the most stalwart of soloists start looking for love. That’s why the TRiiBE is hosting a “Cuffing Season Edition” of TRiiBE Tuesday, their once-amonth happy hour and panel series at the Refuge Live. Rome J is hosting, DJ Gemini Jones is spinning, and panelists will be discussing the hot (and not) of dating and relationships amongst Black millennials in Chicago. Sparks are guaranteed to fly. (Michael Wasney)

Hospital-Based Interventions to Reduce Violence and Recidivism The MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics, 5812 S. Ellis Ave. Wednesday, October 18, 4pm. (773) 702-1453. macleanethics. uchicago.edu Dr. Rochelle Dicker of the University of California, San Francisco is delivering a talk on ways hospitals can reduce violence and recidivism amongst their communities. In the last two years, her research has considered violence and trauma prevention in hospitals around the world, including

EVENTS

UIC Student Center East, 750 S. Halsted St. #302. Thursday, October 19, 7pm–9pm. Free. (312) 413-5100. inheritchicago.org Drawing connections between how Japanese-Americans were treated during World War II and how Arab-Americans are treated in post-9/11 America, this conversation hosted by a plethora of Japanese and Arab organizations aims to tell personal stories from individuals in both communities about living in a “society where one’s own culture makes them a target for hatred.” Part of the Chicago Cultural Alliance’s Inherit Chicago festival. (Sam Stecklow)

VISUAL ARTS

Pintura Obscura The Surreal Rabbit, 2059 W. 18th St. Reception Friday, October 13, 7pm–10pm; exhibition through October 27. Free. (312) 285-2795. surrealrabbit.com If you’re craving some pre-Halloween spookiness, put on your most macabre outfit and check out Pilsen-based art hub Surreal Rabbit’s “Pintura Obscura,” an exhibit centered on exploring artists’ subconscious. There will be monsters, creepy art, and drinks—what more do you need? (Clyde Schwab)

Rare Earth: Performance by Growing Concerns Collective

Rootwork Gallery, 645 W. 18th St. Opening Friday, October 13, 6pm–10pm, exhibition through December 16. Free opening. (917) 8213050. facebook.com/rootworkgallery

Arts Incubator, 301 E. Garfield Blvd. Thursday, October 19, 6:30pm–7:30pm. Free; reserve tickets at arts.uchicago.edu/cab. arts.uchicago. edu/artsandpubliclife/ai

In Rootwork’s latest exhibition, supported by the Chicago Architecture Biennial, curator Tracie D. Hall posits architecture and altarkeeping as a Black practice of sacred space. From Diasporal Rhythms president and art collector Patric McCoy to Afrofuturist Krista Franklin to Englewood photographer Tonika Johnson, the many artists featured in this exhibition promise a variety of interpretations that demand to be seen. ( Julia Aizuss)

An upcoming segment of Rare Earth, an exhibition series by Theaster Gates, will feature Growing Concerns Poetry Collective, a group that uses hip-hop poetry and lyrical narrative to address social issues. Viewers can see the show in an outdoor pavilion along Garfield Boulevard next Thursday. (Clyde Schwab)

CYBERDELIC: From Pilsen to Pluto, Yollocalli’s 20th Birthday Celebration Co-Prosperity Sphere, 3219 S. Morgan St. Friday, October 13, 6pm–10pm. Free. (773) 521-1621. nationalmuseumofmexicanart.org

National Museum of Mexican Art, 1852 W. 19th St. Friday, October 20, 6pm–8:30pm. Free. (312) 738-1503. bit.ly/ErikaSanchezBookRelease Erika L. Sánchez, a second-generation Mexican American and Princeton professor, has come back to her native Chicago to read excerpts of her debut novel I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter. Sánchez, who also published the poetry chapbook Letters on Expulsion earlier this year, will talk about how she wrote her first novel around a pair of sisters, parental expectations, and an unexpected tragedy. ( Joseph S. Pete)

Waves of Pan-Africanism in Contemporary Art and Society — Returns —

with Abdul Alkalimat, Romi Crawford, Haki R. Madhubuti, Dominique Malaquais, Naeem Mohaiemen, Marilyn Nance, Floyd Webb, and Françoise Vergès

— October 13 –19

THAT BIND

#tiesthatbind

Yollocalli Arts Reach is celebrating its twentieth birthday with an exhibit featuring art from the past two decades, installations, and more. An initiative of the National Museum of Mexican Art, Yollocalli was created to provide opportunities for young people, especially those in the Pilsen area (and now Little Village), to explore their

“I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter” Book Release

THE TIES

tiesthatbind.uchicago.edu

Altar Call: The Architecture of Black Sacred Space

Logan Center Exhibitions • Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts • 915 E 60th St Chicago IL 60637

The Targeted Other: Shared Experience of Japanese and Arab Americans

artistic talents. The word comes from the Aztec language and means something like “heart-house.” Yollocalli has evolved to include an open community center in the heart of Little Village with a computer lab, radio production studio, and an art library. It also has regular shows on Lumpen Radio. (Adam Przybyl)

October 13 –19

in Uganda, India, and the United States. (Michael Wasney)

OCTOBER 11, 2017 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 9

EVENTS

Día de los Muertos Xicágo National Museum of Mexican Art, 1852 W. 19th St. Sunday, October 29, 3pm–8pm. Free. Street parking limited. Deadline to submit photos October 15. diadelosmuertosxicago.com In its original Aztec form, Day of the Dead was a festival dedicated to the goddess of Death and would last an entire month. Spanish influence moved it to coincide with the Western Christian holidays of Allhallowtide, like All Saints’ Eve (Halloween), but it’s kept many of the old traditions and rituals, like building ofrendas (altars to the dead), face painting, and Pan de Muerto (Bread of the Dead). Come commemorate this special day in these ways and more at the National Museum of Mexican Art two days before Halloween. You may even send a picture of a departed loved one to celebrate their memory as part of a larger ofrenda. (Adam Przybyl)

MUSIC The Old Comiskeys Reggies, 2105 S. State St. Friday, October 13, 7pm. 21+. $8–$10. (312) 949-0120. reggieslive.com As their name might suggest, The Old Comiskeys are a South Side punk band. They’re having a record release show at Reggies with some great Chicago-based openers—Nightcap, No Dead Heroes, and Hymen Moments—that shouldn’t be missed. (Andrew Koski)

Tony! Toni! Tone! The Promontory, 5311 S. Lake Park Ave. October 13, 7pm doors, 8pm show, and 9:30pm doors, 10:30pm show. $38–$78, all ages. (312) 801-2100. promontorychicago.com “If It Feels Good” knowing “It Never Rains in Southern California,” it will feel even better hearing the trio who penned these songs sing them live this week at The Promontory. The Oakland family trio will perform these classic chart-topping songs for an all-ages show with something for everyone. Enjoy laid-back front row VIP table seating or make the night an R&B dance party in the standing lounge. Cousin Amor Khalil, now on lead vocals since Raphael Saadiq’s departure, will not disappoint; at first glance you will even think it’s him. (Nicole Bond) 10 SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY

Fundraiser for Mexico & Puerto Rico

on to share her talent with the California Institute of Arts. (Nicole Bond)

The Dojo, message on Facebook for address. Friday, October 13, 9pm–2am. Donations accepted via both cash and credit card. bit.ly/DojoFundraiser

Indigo Nations (mod)AMERICANA Denim Exhibition

The Dojo is teaming up with several bands—including MALADICTO, Kelroy, Súbele, and DJ Angelfuk—this Friday for a fundraising concert, art exhibit, and live painting in support of relief efforts for the recent environmental disasters in Mexico and Puerto Rico. Come out to support the cause, as well as, of course, the performers—this will be Kelroy’s first time at the Dojo. ( Julia Aizuss)

Benjamin Booker Thalia Hall, 1807 S. Allport St. Monday, October 16, 7:30pm doors, 8:30pm show. $20 in advance, $22 at the door. 17+. (312) 526-3851. thaliahallchicago.com

Chicago Art Department, 1932 S. Halsted Ave. Friday, October 13, 6pm–10pm. (312) 7254223. chicagoartdepartment.org AMFM, in collaboration with Runwayaddicts and Off-Kilter Magazine, presents an “abstract exploration” of denim culture in modern America. The exhibition will feature interactive art installations, fashion presentations, and live music. (Nicole Bond)

DREAMSTATES Stony Island Arts Bank, 6700 S. Stony Island Ave. Friday, October 13, 7pm–10pm. (312) 857-5561. rebuild-foundation.org

Singer, songwriter, and guitarist Benjamin Booker comes to Thalia Hall with a sound that has been described by the Tribune as “a raw brand of blues/bougie/soul.” The Virginia-born, Tampa Bay, Florida–bred artist’s most recent album Witness was released in June and written primarily in Mexico City. (Adia Robinson)

This 2016 LA Film Festival selection, starring poet Saul Williams and Rwandan actress Anisia Uzeyman, mixes the ebb and flow of a love story with the annoyances of a road trip against the backdrop of a series of performances and backstage glimpses of the Afro-Punk music movement. The screening is a Black Cinema House presentation in collaboration with the Gary International Black Film Festival. (Nicole Bond)

Selena Tribute Night

The Man With the Golden Arm

Punch House, 1227 W. 18th St. Wednesday, October 18, 9pm–2am. Free. (312) 526-3851. bit.ly/SelenaTribute

Beverly Arts Center, 2407 W. 111th St. Wednesday, October 18, 7:30pm. $6, $5 for BAC members. (773) 445-3838. beverlyartcenter.org

Dance the night away to the music of Selena, one of the biggest Tejana and Latina pop stars ever, spun by DJ’s Alive Girl and Ariel Zet. (Sam Stecklow)

A “true Chicago classic,” per the event page, this 1955 Frank Sinatra/Kim Novak-starring noir thriller based on the novel by Nelson Algren features drugs, card games, and also, if we didn’t already mention, Frank Sinatra and Kim Novak. (Sam Stecklow)

STAGE & SCREEN Cauleen Smith: CAL – CHI – CAL Harris Park, 6200 S. Drexel Ave. Wednesday, October 11, 6:30pm. Free. southsideprojections.org Join celebrated experimental filmmaker and multimedia artist Cauleen Smith for a screening of selections from some of her films as well as a discussion about Chicago’s influence on her entire body of work. This our chance to say farewell to the artist we’ve claimed as our own since 2010, as she moves

¬ OCTOBER 11, 2017

An Evening of Horror and Suspense VIII Augustana Lutheran Church, 5500 S. Woodlawn Ave. Saturday, October 21, 7pm. $10 in advance, $12 at the door. (773) 493-6451. hydeparkcommunityplayers.org This makes the eighth year the Hyde Park Community Players have revived old-time radio plays complete with live spooky sound effects for the Halloween season. This year’s frightening features, directed by Shonte

Wesson, are: Valse Triste and The Flame by Arch Oboler; Evening Primrose, based on the John Collier short story; and an adaptation of the Edgar Allen Poe poem “The Raven.” (Nicole Bond)

The Poet: World Premiere South Shore Cultural Center, 7059 South Shore Dr. Sunday, October 29, 4pm. $50–$175. southshoreopera.org The South Shore Opera Company of Chicago works to bring opera and musical theater to underserved communities on the South Side, and to present rarely performed work by black composers. For its annual fundraising gala, it will perform “The Poet: A Chamber Opera on the Life of Paul Laurence Dunbar,” the acclaimed poet who Frederick Douglass fittingly called “one of the sweetest songsters.” ( Joseph S. Pete)

The Revolution Will Not Be Improvised The Revival, 1160 E. 55th St. Every Saturday through November 11, 7:30pm. $5–$15. therevival.com Ever since Gil Scott-Heron, people have speculated on what the revolution will not be. The Revival’s Fall South Side Sketch Comedy Review adds to that conversation and wrings needed laughs out of the current sociopolitical climate. Max Thomas, Elias Rios, Jared Chapman, Lexi Alioto, Sara Savusa, and Mo Phillips-Spotts blend improv humor and music under the direction of Molly Todd Madison. ( Joseph S. Pete)

eta Family Theatre Initiative: The Tiger Who Wore White Gloves eta Creative Arts, 7558 S. South Chicago Ave. Friday, October 20–Saturday, December 23. $40, discounts available for seniors and students. (773) 752-3955. etacreativearts.org Nora Brooks Blakely’s musical adaptation of a book by her mother Gwendolyn Brooks was already a fitting choice, in the year of the Brooks centennial, to start off eta’s 2017–18 season. Even more fitting, given Brooks’s dedication to youth poetry, is that the musical will launch eta’s partnership with the Chicago Teachers Union Foundation. The initiative will encourage Chicago students to read the book and then to see the musical. ( Julia Aizuss)

Left: Mariia Feliksovna Bri-Bein, Woman Worker and Woman Collective Farmer, Join the Ranks of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, 1934, lithograph on paper, Ne boltai! Collection. Right: Olga Chernysheva, March, 2005. Courtesy: Diehl, Berlin; Pace, London; Foxy Production, New York.

ext rnships,coleg andcare radvisng,an THE LEO S. GUTHMAN FUND THE THE LEO LEO S. S. GUTHMAN GUTHMAN FUND FUND THE LEO S. GUTHMANFUND FUND THE LEO S. S. GUTHMAN GUTHMAN FUND THETHE LEOLEO S. GUTHMAN FUND THELEO LEOS.S.GUTHMAN GUTHMANFUND FUND THE THE LEO S. GUTHMAN FUND THE LEO S. GUTHMAN FUND THE LEO S. GUTHMAN FUND

Smart Museum of Art The University of Chicago 5550 S. Greenwood Avenue smartmuseum.uchicago.edu

CHICAGO CULTURAL ALLIANCE PRESENTS

Blackstone Bicycle Works Blackstone Bicycle Works Weekly Bike Sale Weekly Bike Sale Every Saturday at 10am Every Saturday at 10am Wide selection of refurbished bikes!

A citywide, intercultural festival of art, ideas and performance at neighborhood cultural centers and heritage museums.

(most are between $120 &bikes! $250) Widebikes selection of refurbished (most bikes are between $120 & $250)

CELEBRATING OUR PAST, EMBRACING OUR FUTURE.

OCTOBER 1-29, 2017

Blackstone Bicycle Works is a bustling community bike shop that each year empowers over 200 boys andcommunity girls from bike Chicago’s Blackstone Bicycle Works is a bustling shop that south mechanical business each side—teaching year empowers them over 200 boys andskills, girls job fromskills, Chicago’s literacy and how to become responsibleskills, community members. south side—teaching them mechanical job skills, businessIn our year-round ‘earn and learn’ youth program, participants earn literacy and how to become responsible community members. In bicycles and accessories forlearn’ theiryouth work in the shop. In addition, our our year-round ‘earn and program, participants earn bicycles and accessories fortutoring, their work in the shop. In addition, youths receive after-school mentoring, internships andour youths receive after-school tutoring, mentoring, internships and externships, college and career advising, and scholarships. externships, college and career advising, and scholarships.

Hours Hours - Friday 1pm - 6pm Tuesday 1pm- -5pm 6pm Tuesday - Friday10am Saturday 10am - 5pm Saturday (773) 241 5458 (773) 241 5458

Reserve your tickets at InheritChicago.org #InheritChicago @ChicagoCultural

Anonymous

6100 S. Blackstone Ave. 6100 S. IL Blackstone Chicago, 60637 Ave. Chicago, IL 60637

A PROGRAM OF A PROGRAM OF

OCTOBER 11, 2017 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 11

SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY OPEN HOUSE SATURDAY, OCTOBER 14 1PM–3PM HOSTED IN OUR NEWSROOM AT THE EXPERIMENTAL STATION 6100 S. BLACKSTONE AVE. CHICAGO, IL 60637

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