November 2, 2016 by South Side Weekly

2 SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY

Â¬ NOVEMBER 2, 2016

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 4, Issue 6 Editor-in-Chief Jake Bittle Managing Editors Maha Ahmed, Christian Belanger Director of Staff Support Ellie Mejía Director of Writer Development Mari Cohen Deputy Editor Olivia Stovicek Senior Editor Emeline Posner Education Editor Lit Editor Music Editor Stage & Screen Editor Visual Arts Editor

Hafsa Razi Sarah Claypoole Austin Brown Julia Aizuss Corinne Butta

Contributing Editors Joe Andrews, Ariella Carmell, Jonathan Hogeback, Andrew Koski, Carrie Smith, Kylie Zane Video Editor Lucia Ahrensdorf Radio Producer Maira Khwaja Web Editor Camila Cuesta Social Media Editors Sierra Cheatham, Emily Lipstein, Sam Stecklow Visuals Editor Ellen Hao Deputy Visuals Editor Jasmin Liang Layout Editors Baci Weiler, Sofia Wyetzner Staff Writers: Olivia Adams, Maddie Anderson, Sara Cohen, Bridget Gamble, Christopher Good, Michal Kranz, Anne Li, Zoe Makoul, Sonia Schlesinger Staff Photographers: Juliet Eldred, Kiran Misra, Luke Sironski-White Staff Illustrators: Javier Suarez, Addie Barron, Jean Cochrane, Lexi Drexelius, Wei Yi Ow, Amber Sollenberger, Teddy Watler, Julie Wu, Zelda Galewsky, Seonhyung Kim Social Media Intern

Ross Robinson

Webmasters Alex Mueller, Sofia Wyetzner Publisher

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. 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

IN CHICAGO IN THIS 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

ISSUE

Redeveloping but not Replaced Six years ago, the city finished demolishing the Harold L. Ickes Homes, consisting of over 1,000 public housing units at 2326 S. Dearborn Street. Three years later, in 2013, residents protested at the former Ickes Homes site, demanding the replacement units that the Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) had promised to build on the site and expressing frustration that the city was spending money on a new Green Line station, Cermak-McCormick Place, across the street from the former Ickes Homes. Fast forward three more years to this October, and the CHA has finally voted to approve $3.6 million in predevelopment loans for the first phase of redeveloping the site, which is a new “mixed-income, mixeduse” complex. The proposed development will include 319 housing units, which breaks down into ninety-four public housing units, fifty-eight affordable units, and 167 market rate units. In 2015, the CHA said that the entire redevelopment, to be executed in four phases, would eventually include 867 units, with 204 units for public housing residents; however, public housing residents have complained that the city had promised to build twice that amount—400 public housing units—at the site.

food for thought

Tenth Circle of Hell Because this is the year 2016 and everything has to be as bad as it could possibly be, Dante Servin, the (now ex-) cop who shot Rekia Boyd while off duty in 2012 and subsequently resigned from the force just days before his firing hearing, has requested disability pay from the Chicago Police Department, claiming he has suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder since Boyd’s death. The killing was judged to be an involuntary manslaughter in 2015, in a verdict whose severity has been described as “rare,” but the charges were subsequently dropped due to a legal technicality, in what this year’s Police Accountability Task Force report called “an odd twist.” According to a representative from the police pension board, however, it remains to be determined whether Servin qualifies for the disability pay, since at the time of his resignation he hadn’t yet used up all his sick and furlough days.

“Paintings do not come before people.” stephanie greene...............................8

A Cat-Eat-Rat World This past May, the Weekly reported that Chicago was deemed the “rattiest city in America” by pest control company Orkin. A growing number of businesses and homeowners are looking to deal with the rat problem using the age-old survival-of-the-fittest solution: feral cats. Local animal welfare organizations Treehouse Humane Society and PAWS Chicago have programs where you can adopt feral cats that will live in your backyard and keep the rats at bay: all you need to do is provide a weatherproof shelter, water, and food. The demand for these “working cats” is so high that not only is the waitlist three months long, but DNAinfo also reports that some people are desperate enough to try to bribe the organizations to get bumped to the top of the list. While this sounds like a great way to control this ratty problem while also saving cats from being put down, feral cats actually pose a huge risk to local biodiversity, since they are one of the largest causes of bird mortality and, in some cases, extinction. Plus, their waste often harbors toxic parasites that are easily passed on to other animals. In any case, those who want to help PAWS get forty more cat shelters ready for the winter can help them celebrate National Feral Cat Day this Saturday at their 26th Street medical center from 10am–5pm.

These stores declare themselves not a part of, but apart from, their communities.

daniel kay hertz..............................4 quest for love

Togetherness was decidedly put to good use. efrain dorado...................................5 drum on, drummers

“Either I’m gonna do nothing and be nothing, or I’m gonna be something and be somebody.” emma boczek.....................................7 the fight to fund higher education

mexican folk art festival

“We hope you like our paintings as we enjoy painting every single one of them.” lorraine lu & marielle ingram...10 a future of peace and harmony?

These numerous redevelopment projects are part of Project 120’s ambitious plan to establish The South Parks Conservancy. rachel kim.........................................12

OUR WEBSITE S ON SOUTHSIDEWEEKLY.COM SSW Radio soundcloud.com/south-side-weekly-radio Email Edition southsideweekly.com/email

For advertising inquiries, contact: (773) 234-5388 or advertising@southsideweekly.com

Cover photo by Terry Hines, Jr. Cover design by Ellen Hao NOVEMBER 2, 2016 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 3

Food for Thought Design of two new grocery stores falls short on neighborhood integration BY DANIEL KAY HERTZ

4 SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY

building’s design tells you a lot about who it’s for. The new faux-Parisian townhomes in Lincoln Park appeal to people who want to imitate the prestige and sophistication of a European capital. The large, bright windows of a traditional commercial storefront ask everyone in the neighborhood to come in and check out the merchandise. Little media coverage so far has been given to the urban design of two high-profile grocery stores that opened in South Side neighborhoods this fall: a Whole Foods in Englewood and a Mariano’s in Bronzeville.

¬ NOVEMBER 2, 2016

DENISE NAIM

In part, that’s understandable: new full-service chain groceries don’t open in black neighborhoods in Chicago very often, and both of these openings dramatically increase the quality of food options for their communities, while creating hundreds of jobs—the design, at first, wouldn’t seem to be the most important thing. But now that the dust has settled, it’s worth taking a minute to think about what these buildings look like, and what their designs tell us about who they’re for. The Englewood Whole Foods sits at the corner of 63rd and Halsted Streets,

once one of the most bustling neighborhood downtowns in the city. Though it has been decimated by years of neglect, there’s still a Green Line station a block south and the campus of Kennedy-King College across the street, as well as several remaining businesses and the intersection of two major bus lines. Together, these factors keep a steady stream of pedestrians at the corner much of the time. Whole Foods might have chosen to embrace this corner, helping contribute to the revitalization of an entire district by placing itself alongside other storefronts and

DEVELOPMENT

businesses, and making itself a highly visible community institution to the people passing by Halsted and 63rd as they make their way around their neighborhood. Instead, it chose to be a suburban fortress. While a small, insignificant-looking structure sits on the corner, the main building is hundreds of feet away from the sidewalks at the intersection. In between is a massive parking lot, surrounded by a fence that reinforces the idea that Whole Foods is walled off from Englewood, rather than embracing it. In some ways, the Bronzeville Mariano’s is even worse. One side of the building faces Pershing Street, a commercial corridor pockmarked with empty lots that would benefit enormously from a big anchor store that brought people and their business to the street. Instead, Mariano’s presents Pershing with a low, windowless blank wall the length of a block, ensuring that the spillover from store to store that urban retail districts rely on will be absent. The other side of Mariano’s faces King Drive, perhaps the most beautiful street in Bronzeville and an iconic part of the citywide boulevard system. Half of this side is another blank wall; the other half is a parking lot. Most heinously, the city allowed Mariano’s to pave two broad, car-sized driveways into the planted median of the boulevard itself to make it easier for cars coming from either direction to enter the parking lot. Ironically, this year the city nominated our boulevard system for the National Register of Historic Places; unceremoniously paving over part of that system, which dates back to 1869, is a strange way of showing how much you care. Bronzeville residents wouldn’t be wrong to ask whether the city would dare allow cement trucks to back up onto, say, Kedzie Boulevard in Logan Square. Both of these stores present two big issues. The first is that their buildings take away from, rather than contribute to, the kind of continuous flow of buildings and shops that makes a neighborhood downtown more than just the sum of its parts, and which creates a sense of community and identity, as on 79th Street in Chatham or 26th Street in Little Village. These stores declare themselves not a part of, but apart from, their communities. The second is more practical: these are buildings that literally turn their backs on the tens of thousands of people who might

DENISE NAIM

like to shop there, but don’t drive. In the parts of Englewood surrounding Whole Foods, up to forty percent of households don’t own a car; in the census tract of Bronzeville, where Mariano’s sits, that number is around a third. But both stores’ designs declare that they are for people who drive first, and everyone else last. Their entrances face parking lots, rather than the sidewalk, and while each has taken the minimal step of creating a private walkway from the sidewalk to the door, the reality is that many pedestrians, including children, the elderly, and people with limited mobility, will find that the fastest way to get to the store is by crossing a large space made for cars, a situation that is always inconvenient and often dangerous. It’s more than possible to avoid this problem while accommodating drivers: in

two North Side and one Near West Side location, Mariano’s has shown that it is capable of building stores that meet the street, with entrances and windows on the sidewalk, while also making room for parking behind or above the main building. But you don’t even need to go that far. At 47th Street and Cottage Grove, a coalition of local nonprofits created space for a Walmart Neighborhood Market grocery store in a building that, while not perfect, placed storefronts with windows and entrances right on the sidewalk, helping rebuild the fabric of two major Bronzeville streets. Even better, they put three stories of affordable housing on top, adding to the density of local customers that neighborhood retail districts need to survive and making a small dent in the city’s deficit of

low-cost apartments. Why this wasn’t done at the two newer stores—particularly the Mariano’s, which was built on land bought from the Chicago Housing Authority—is unclear. These two new grocery options on the South Side are undeniably good news. But we can recognize that good news while also demanding that the companies that redevelop our neighborhoods do so in ways that add to, rather than subtract from, the physical fabric of the surrounding community. These new developments should also cater to all potential customers equally, regardless of how they arrive at the store. Chicagoans deserve that much. ¬

NOVEMBER 2, 2016 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 5

MUSIC

Quest for Love Mick Jenkins, Kweku Collins, and Smino take Thalia Hall

BY EFRAIN DORADO

oncerts have the ability to overwhelm you with feelings, but sometimes they can be too complicated to express. On the night of Red Bull’s Sound Select concert at Thalia Hall, the emotions I left with were distinct and articulate, because the performers had brought them out explicitly through each set. The national concert series made a stop at Thalia Hall for a hometown special headlined by local rapper and jazz lover Mick Jenkins and his fellow Chicago emcees Smino and Kweku Collins. Though diverse artists, all three rappers are transplants to Chicago, and through their music, they all emphasized the importance of love and togetherness. Seeing as how Chicago couldn’t even make it through October before the weather called for multiple layers, togetherness was decidedly important even before the show, in fending off low temperatures while waiting in line. Chicago-based DJ Boi Jeanius provided the preliminary attractions, with a concoction of soul classics and contemporary hype tracks that laid the groundwork for the night’s musical diversity, as well as its local emphasis. Boi Jeanius expressed the importance of the concert’s location by saying he only had to walk a few blocks to come do what he loves. His ability to get everyone singing and jumping was the perfect segue to the magnetism of Kweku Collins. Kweku’s youth is apparent in his charisma. It’s unique how his juvenile vibe enhances his work: his self-produced music comprises spaced-out ballad beats layered under eccentric wordplay—the epitome of millennial. Kweku doesn’t hide the fact the he’s relatively new to music, but that’s what makes what he does, and the way he does it, so fun. He seemed incapable of standing still as he ceaselessly traversed the stage as if it were his playground. I couldn’t help

6 SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY

but feel a sense of bliss as he played with poetics in a subtle but effective reggae-esque patois. Despite being born and raised in Evanston, Kweku has figured out how to fit into Chicago’s music scene—precisely by standing out. Serving once again as the sonic shift between sets, Boi Jeanius returned to helm his turntables, playing through Chicago hip-hop classics from the likes of Kanye and Common. He then time-jumped with “No Problem,” praising Chance and all the pioneering work he’s done for Chicago’s modern music scene. Many credit Chance with creating a platform that allows young Chicago artists like Zero Fatigue to find their footing. Regardless, modern music in the city has evolved to the point where young artists can reach prominence on their own merits, and there’s no better example of that than Zero Fatigue. Wordsmith Smino and eclectic producer Monte Booker represented the group without vocalist Ravyn Lenae and rapper Jay2AintShit, but the group’s aggregate talent was nonetheless present during the night’s penultimate set. If Kweku represented youthfulness that evening, Smino and Booker surely portrayed the harmony of togetherness. Much of Zero Fatigue’s success is a result of the evident camaraderie between the members: Smino led the audience in a chant of his group’s name between songs and expressed boundless love for his hometown of St. Louis. Smino’s talent was present in his timbre and flow, which paired swimmingly with Monte’s naturalistic yet cosmic beats. Finally Mick Jenkins, the man of the hour, emerged from a blast of smoke, dressed in an overcoat, and broke without warning into the first song that put him on the map, “Jazz.” Like Smino with his chant of “Zero Fatigue,” Mick led the crowd in proclamations of his original tagline,

¬ NOVEMBER 2, 2016

YEESOO CHAE

“drink more water,” and his more recent edict, “spread love.” Repetition turned these simple phrases into mantras. As mantras, they invite more thought— for Mick, there’s always been more to water than those three words. Mick shouldn’t be taken at face value, and the symbolism in his craft is nothing short of thematic. With his latest album, The Healing Component, his message has only evolved. To drink water was to be true to one’s self, and with his evolution, that self-introspection from his Water[s] mixtape has grown outward in the form of love. Throughout his set, Mick assumed the role of a preacher, and we were all attendees of his sermon: in

times as desperate as ours, Mick’s frequent monologues about the importance of truth and love felt needed. Mick’s performance was the apex of all the love that filled the room. As the oldest of the bunch, there was a bright sense of sophistication to his idea of love. To bring things full circle, Mick condensed togetherness to its purest during his collaboration with Hurt Everybody, “Social Network.” At the drop, the crowd lit up to the repetitive hook of “gang, gang, gang, gang,” a fitting conclusion to a night out with friends. The night’s experience, part of the aptly titled Quest for Love tour, succeeded in finding exactly what it set out to. ¬

STAGE & SCREEN

Drum On, Drummers

A film follows the Bucket Boys abroad

BY EMMA BOCZEK

“C

hicago’s so small,” marvels fifteen-year-old Dontay, poring over a world map with Damonte, Demetrius (Dre), and D’Quan. “I don’t see my street.” So begins a distinctly large journey: four teenage bucket drummers from Englewood have left the South Side, boarded their first airplane, and emerged among the driving drumbeats and crowded beaches outside Dakar, Senegal. Walk All Night: A Drum Beat Journey, the remarkable new documentary shown at the Gene Siskel Film Center this month, takes viewers along for the ride for the boys’ time in Senegal, where they take classes in traditional African drumming. Social worker Elilta Tewelde spearheaded the project, crowdfunding the trip after seeing the boys bucket drum on the overpass at 47th Street and the Dan Ryan. An Eritrean immigrant herself, Elilta aimed to connect the young musicians with the African-American community’s roots on the African continent. “Being an African American means that you are part of the African diaspora. Yes, you’re from the South Side of Chicago, but you’re also part of a greater whole,” says “Brother Kevin” McEwen in the film. He runs the company Rhythm N’ Dance, with which Elilta partnered for the trip. Rhythm N’ Dance provides African arts education for youth and aspiring artists. “As far as I’m concerned, as an African American you gotta step on this continent one time in your life,” he says. “ ’Cause it’ll change you.” It does change them, though it’s not easy. Even before they leave, Elilta struggles to get the boys to show up for meetings on time. Dontay nearly doesn’t make it to the airport. On the ground in Senegal, the boys struggle to adjust, breaking out packages of Top Ramen and daydreaming about cheeseburgers and breakfast cereal. While they get their bearings in a foreign country, tension

builds up between the boys. In one talking head, D’Quan gives the camera a memorable sheepish look. “I get into the zone a lot. Yeah, I be angry a lot,” he says. The boys fight, threatening each other in angry outbursts. It’s in the snags of these uneasy moments that the film excels. Co-directors Mallory Sohmer and Kate Benzschawel have a knack for revealing, in the clarity of a new place, the way their experience on the South Side has pushed the four boys to equate masculinity and violence. “I grew up in a different environment that you got to adjust to,” said Damonte in a discussion after the screening on October 19. “You got to. Or it’s gonna eat you up.” Senegal gives the boys the opportunity to define their values for themselves. Much of their guidance comes from Brother Kevin, an anchor for the young musicians and for the film. After a particularly tense moment, he takes D’Quan aside. “Look at me. Calm down,” he says. “You’re better than this. You hear me?….Your head is still [in Chicago]. I can tell by the language you use, I can tell by the stories you talk about…. Leave that shit behind. And bro, you got it in you to do that.” Sohmer and Benzschawel are white women documenting black lives, and this comes through in the film, which begins as impersonal and clunky before it hits its stride. Sohmer said that differences in race, age, and gender added “layers” to the process of getting to know the subjects of the documentary: “You can probably even see throughout the film how the interviews become more intimate” as she and Benzschawel learned more about the boys’ lives, Sohmer said after the screening. “There is a disconnect there. I think all you can do is learn from people, and listen, and be open, and as documentarians that’s kind of what we do.

COURTESY OF SISKEL FILM CENTER

We see what the footage shows us.” Despite this disconnect, Walk All Night does hit its stride, as do the boys, displaying their new drumming skills in a performance on the beach before heading home. As is the case with most nonfictional journeys, the boys’ post-homecoming lives can’t be tied up into neat bows. The film’s driving narrative of Englewood—the same place where the boys learned the bucket drumming that brought them to Senegal—as something the boys need to “leave behind” is suddenly complicated, perhaps inadvertently. A brief segment revisits the drummers two years after the trip, but it gives viewers only a fuzzy sense of what life is like for them after their journey to Africa. Dre, who dropped out of high school before going on the trip, is still bucket drumming, “trying to keep my head above water.” D’Quan keeps to himself, Damonte has been working temporary jobs, and Dontay is in his last year of high school. “Supposed to be. Hope it is, but I ain’t gonna lie,” he says. This haziness is honest, if narratively unsatisfying. At the discussion, Damonte filled in some gaps for an audience eager to know whether Senegal had a lasting impact on his life. He was the only one of the drummers present at the screening. Much of the discussion focused on Damonte’s perspective on his life in Englewood, rather than his time in Senegal or his experience in Chicago as a street performer. This is true to the spirit of the film: though it mostly takes place abroad, it is rooted in the boys’ home. Before the trip, Damonte said, “I was doing

a lot of bad things. Like, a lot of bad things that I weren’t proud of and I’m still not proud of. I didn’t know how to be a man.” He said that although bucket drumming did provide an alternative before he went to Africa, ultimately the trip to Senegal “gave me a perspective on what I need to do when I get home. Like, either I’m gonna do nothing and be nothing, or I’m gonna be something and be somebody.” Damonte now works as a host and greeter at The Second City on the North Side. He doesn’t have as much time as he used to for street performing, but he still bucket drums with Dre on his days off— though neither the film nor the discussion addressed whether their arts education influenced their drumming. He spoke of a simple lack of exposure to opportunities and to choices. “Being out here with all my friends—all of them just stuck in it, basically. I used to feel as though I was stuck in it, like, what else am I gonna do? This the only thing I got,” he said. “The thing to give back to our younger guys that’s out here…give back your experience—your life experience of something different that they know nothing about.” But getting “unstuck” is no easy task, said Damonte. “We got too much pride in asking people to help us out, look for jobs and stuff like that…. When everybody just gonna try to do something different?” he said. “You gotta go teach people the ropes, walk them through it, show them, ‘Man, you can do this.’ ” ¬

NOVEMBER 2, 2016 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 7

The Fight to Fund Higher Education

TERRENCE HINES, JR.

With state-funded MAP grants at risk for low-income students, activists push Illinois to reenvision public education BY STEPHANIE GREENE

n the afternoon of October 24, around 150 student activists and allies halted traffic on Michigan Avenue at Adams Street in front of the Art Institute of Chicago during a protest that called for improved funding practices for public higher education. Erica Nanton, an organizer and Roosevelt University alumna, quipped, “Paintings do not come before people.” Chicago Student Action (CSA), a network of student organizers from Roosevelt University, Illinois Institute of Technology, University of Illinois at Chicago, University

8 SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY

of Chicago, Northwestern University, and Governor’s State University, was behind the action. The demonstration was a part of the Moral Mondays Illinois series of protests, which is organized by Fair Economy Illinois, but this action was spearheaded by CSA. At the demonstration, onlookers snapped photos as students in caps and gowns participated in a mock graduation ceremony. When students went up to receive their diplomas, they were intercepted by cardboard cutouts—the huge heads of Governor Bruce Rauner and billionaire

¬ NOVEMBER 2, 2016

Kenneth Griffin, Rauner’s largest political donor and the richest man in Illinois. Each student who had their diploma taken by “Rauner” and “Griffin” also gave testimony detailing their own stake in the fight for free, fully funded higher education across the state. Students shared a range of personal stories, from the impact of their undocumented citizenship status on their access to higher education to how cuts in funding made it impossible for them to continue in school. But the protest put a particular focus on ensuring stable funding for the Mone-

tary Award Program (MAP) to universities in Illinois. MAP grants awarded by the state help give low-income students the chance to attend college without falling too far into debt, but the program has become one of the biggest victims of Illinois’s legislative budget battle. The state failed to fund MAP grants for the 2015-16 academic year until well into the year, forcing many students to leave school for a period of time. This year, the process is set to repeat: as universities extend grants to students on credit, many of the students are left in a state of uncertainty regarding their academic future. Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), located at 33rd Street and State Street in Bronzeville, was one of many public institutions counting on the state legislature to continue funding higher education last year, in part so it could provide its students with MAP grants. During the fall of 2015, after the state budget impasse had already gone on for months, IIT placed what were essentially placeholder grant credits in the accounts of students who were expecting to receive MAP grants as tuition aid. In the face of legislative stagnation in Springfield, IIT took an optimistic approach that allowed for its students to enroll in classes and continue their education. In general, MAP grants are vital for improving the financial accessibility of higher education for some of Illinois’s more vulnerable people. Fifty-seven percent of MAP grant recipients are first-generation college attendees, more than half of all black or Hispanic students who attend public universities in Illinois are MAP recipients, and fifty-eight percent of MAP recipients come from such low-income backgrounds that the federal government does not expect them to contribute any resources to pay for college. To be eligible for a MAP grant, a student must be an Illinois resident who exhibits need based on the information provided on their federal student aid application. The student must also attend one of Illinois’s MAP-eligible institutions. In Chicago, there are thirty-three MAP-eligible colleges for the 2016-2017 school year, ten of which are on the South Side. MAP grants are awarded by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission based on allocations in the state budget as approved by the state legislature. On December 16, 2015, IIT released a public statement urging all students to take part in the #MAPMatters discussion

EDUCATION

through posts on social media, and to call Rauner’s office and the office of their local state representative. The statement appealed to a collective sense of responsibility: “If we work together, we can make a difference in Illinois’s legislative process and bring back the MAP Grant to over 700 Illinois Tech recipients who count on this funding each year.” But on March 23, 2016, during Illinois’s eighth month without a state budget, and with no sign of resolution from Springfield, IIT students received a letter from Michael Gosz, the university’s Vice President for Enrollment, that said, “The university can no longer maintain the pending MAP credit that was issued to your student account.” Registration for the summer and fall semesters was set to open just twelve days later, on April 4. The news meant that students who could not pay the amount of MAP credit they were promised would not be able to register for summer and fall semesters. Esau Chavez, who organizes with CSA, was one of the more than seven hundred IIT students impacted by the state’s failure to allocate last year’s MAP grants. The withdrawal of the placeholder grant from students and the option to take on a loan proved costly for many students like Chavez. He has now been forced to take three consecutive semesters off from school in order to save funds and repay his debts to the university. “From early on, it was evident that you had to get a job to pay for expenses,” he says. “I had to consider loans. With loans, I would be able to focus more on being in class.” Before the spring semester of 2016 began, Chavez realized his return to IIT would not be possible because of unpaid debts. He was able to take advantage of his forced time off to work on a progressive Democrat’s campaign and find a summer internship later in the year, and because of that work he now only has about $500 left to pay IIT. He hopes to return to campus as a full-time student in the spring semester of 2017. “My generation has been told over and over again that education is the pathway to a better life, but cuts to higher education funding forced me and thousands more to drop out of school for a period of time,” Chavez said in a CSA press release. Given the fact that fifty-eight percent of MAP grant recipients have no expected family contribution, it’s likely that Chavez’s deci-

TERRENCE HINES, JR.

sion to leave school for some time is common across the city and state. Although he was forced to leave school, Chavez speaks positively of IIT, saying the school did its best to help him continue his education. “[Those in IIT’s Office of Financial Aid] try to work with you,” he says. On April 22, 2016, a month after IIT announced it would no longer extend MAP credit to its students, Illinois lawmakers approved spending $600 million on higher education for the fiscal year that had begun in July 1, 2015. A few days later, IIT announced that it would receive partial payment, likely in the amount of funding awarded for the fall 2015 semester, on the 2015-16 MAP grants that were awarded to eligible students. That meant students only owed unpaid MAP grants from the spring semester. Sanjin Ibrahimovic, a junior at IIT, took out a loan with a family friend and picked up extra hours at work to cover the balance of his semester without MAP funding. “I have a good scholarship and am luckier than many other students, but having to work extra to pay off the gap—it’s been a real burden,” he said. “I always have to calcu-

late whether or not I will be able to continue my education here.” A day before the July 1, 2016 deadline, Rauner signed a budget that provides $1 billion dollars to Illinois higher education through December 31, 2016. This budget included $151 million allocated to finish repaying universities and colleges; the funding allocated MAP grant money to students for the previous year, and meant that students’ debts from the spring were ultimately covered. But while the budget ensured that higher education institutions would remain open for the fall 2016 semester, it still leaves students and institutions in suspense regarding funding for the entire 2016-17 academic year. And though the Illinois Student Assistance Committee awarded MAP grants for this academic year, it has been unable to fulfill these awards because the state budget for the full fiscal year has, again, not been finalized. The Illinois General Assembly is expected to convene again in a few weeks, with many hoping that finalizing a full budget will be at the top of the docket. Until then, students are in much the same uncertain position as last year, choosing either to

take another precarious line of credit from their school, or simply to unenroll. It is in the midst of this uncertainty that a student protest movement fighting for higher education funding, one with carefully chosen targets and venues, has arisen. Griffin, the billionaire businessman and Rauner donor, is also a trustee at the Art Institute. In early 2016, he bought two contemporary paintings for a combined $500 million. For comparison, during the 2015 fiscal year the Illinois Student Assistance Commission awarded $357 million in MAP grants to about 128,000 students across Illinois. And while MAP grants were a central issue at the October 24 action at the Art Institute, one of the aims of this student movement has also been to emphasize that, at least eventually, a reliance on sporadically funded grants should not be necessary to access higher education. The action ultimately called for totally free higher education, in which the cost of tuition is covered and subsidies are provided for students based on their need for housing, fees, and books. “We want to give the public the view that free public education in Illinois is possible,” said Chavez. ¬

NOVEMBER 2, 2016 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 9

How Do We Make Social Change in an Age of Government Dysfunction? University Community Service Center First Friday Forum on Politics & Government Friday, November 4th, 1-3PM Ida Noyes Hall, 1212 E. 59th St. 1:00-2:00PM

Alumni & Community Leader Panel

Prentice Butler (AB ‘02) Director of Constituent Services & Development 4th Ward

Michael Strautmanis VP of Civic Engagement Obama Foundation

2:00-2:30PM 2:30-3:00PM

Carina Sánchez (AB ‘01) Deputy City Clerk

Crafting Culture

The National Museum of Mexican Art holds its eleventh annual Folk Arts Festival BY LORRAINE LU & MARIELLE INGRAM

Andrea Zopp

Deputy Mayor Chief Neighborhood Development Officer

Roundtable Discussion Networking

For more information or to register, visit UCSC.uchicago.edu/20for20 Food catered by Simply Soup Salad & Sandwiches in Bronzeville

As part of a long-running tradition, seven artists came from all over Mexico to the National Museum of Mexican Art to exhibit their art and tell the story of their heritage, each with their own personal style and perspective.

Miguel & Daniel Paredes: Ceramic Day of the Dead Figures from Puebla Daniel Paredes and his parents are from Puebla, Mexico. They specialize in making artwork that reflects the spirit of the Day of the Dead—a holiday that, Daniel says, truly represents their culture. Daniel focuses on making figurines that represent everyday life, while his father primarily works on his “shadow” boxes, or nichos. Inside of the boxes, there are recreations of scenes from everyday life—featuring Daniel’s figurines—and pastimes such as cooking, dancing, or even football games. Each project takes approximately a week to complete. Daniel and his father and mother first carve the figurines out of the clay of the Puebla region. Then, they paint each one before finally putting each figure into the oven to finish it. Each part of the process represents one of nature's elements: the clay extracted from the earth; the paint, which is water-based; and the oven, representing fire. Daniel told the Weekly that the artistic tradition has been in his family for many, many years. He chose to devote his life to art partly from a desire to preserve his culture, but also simply because he enjoyed the work. He now has his own workshop and employs up to eight people at a time. They learn from him while helping to craft his many works of art.

Jacobo Ángeles Ojeda: Wood Carving from San Martin Tilcajete, Oaxaca Like the Paredes family, Jacobo Ángeles Ojeda and his son, Ricardo, practice their art together. Their work is inspired by the Zapotec civilization, an indigenous pre-Columbian civilization from the Valley of Oaxaca. Their family has been carving wooden Zapotec figures since the 1960s. Each piece is made of copal wood, which is native to the stretch of the west coast from California to Peru. The figurines are of animals, representative of each day of the Zapotec calendar. The Ojeda’s workshop has over one hundred employees, including Jacobo’s wife, Maria, who paints the figures and teaches the other members of the workshop.

10 SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY

¬ NOVEMBER 2, 2016

VISUAL ARTS

Pascuala Vázquez: Back Strap Loom Weaving from Zinacantán, Chiapas At twelve years old, Pascuala learned to weave from her mother and sister on a backstrap loom. It is a pre-Columbian technique that has remained much the same over the centuries. Zinacantán textiles can be recognized by their use of distinctive colors—purple, blue and pink predominate, though their use changes from season to season. Now more subdued tones, especially black, dark green, and dark blue, are also used. Pascuala and the collective she has organized make clothes from these textiles by hand. Shearing, cleaning, dying, and knitting are all done in-house; nothing is purchased. Pascuala has managed to organize a group of twenty women, many of them setting aside time for weaving to earn money.

Porfirio Gutiérrez: Foot Pedal Loom Weaving from Teotitlán del Valle, Oaxaca MARIELLE INGRAM

Audias and Mariana Roldán of Xalitla, Guerrero, Mexico, displayed different handmade items such as festive Chicago t-shirts with colorful flowers and quotes, beautiful and intricate paintings, and tiny figurines. Their work depicted scenes from everyday life including farming, festivals and family reunions. They also displayed pictures of their granddaughters painting on the same tree bark paper that they use for their work. In front of their display, they hang a sign reading: “We are artisans from a small town named Xalitla in the state of Guerrero, Mexico. We started painting at the age of 10 and this is an ongoing tradition coming from generations. We are the 3rd generation. We are very proud of our heritage that even our grandchildren are following our painting style. They like it and that makes us very happy. We paint on tree bark paper most of the time, however we have been practicing our technique on other materials. We hope you like our paintings as we enjoy painting every single one of them.”

Porfirio Gutiérrez’s home in Teotitlán was home to the Zapotec civilization. He tells the Weekly there is evidence that his family has been practicing traditional Zapotec weaving since then. Recognized for preserving Zapotec’s weaving art, his village is also one of the few places that still speak the Zapotec dialect. Porfirio said that many of the villagers are engaged in some type of textile arts. They rely on selling their craft to tourists but are now suffering from the global recession, which has reduced tourism in Oaxaca dramatically. It has caused almost all the families who make a living from weaving to turn from traditional, natural pigments to chemical dyes, which save time and money. Porfirio and his family worry about pollution and other health issues, but more importantly they believe only natural dyes can preserve the ancient Zapotec heritage from slipping away. To gain wider appreciation and financial support for their practice, Porfirio has emigrated to the US where he exhibits and gives lectures and hands-on workshops on weaving and natural dye. At his exhibition booth, natural dyes and pigments made from earth minerals and insects are on display alongside his work. Not only do all the weavings include a list of ingredients and instructions on caring for natural dye weavings, but Porfirio also enthusiastically explained to us the meaning of certain patterns: “family unity”, “eyes of gods”, and so on. The educational element of his work helps to both preserve and continue a legacy of over 2,500 years.

Alejandra Nuñez Guevara: Talavera Pottery from Puebla

Mondragón Family, Sugar Skulls from Toluca, Estado de México

Alejandra Nuñez Guevara comes from a family that has been making talavera pottery since 1835. Puebla, the city she grew up in, was the first Mexican city to start practicing the craft, which originally came from a town in Spain that gave talavera its name. Alejandra told the Weekly about the rigorous process of making talavera: first, two types of clay are selected, processed, and molded into desired shapes. Dried pieces are then hand-decorated to obtain the desired patterns and use only traditional mineral pigments produced at local workshops that follow long-established recipes. The entire process may take up to several weeks. In Puebla, Alejandra is working hard to restore her family’s original workshop that has fallen into decay. Thanks to her efforts, the workshop’s products have been exhibited internationally. Alejandra said that the delicate pottery might get broken when shipped from place to place, but what is presented before us is a stunning collection of artworks that embody both traditional craft and technical perfection.

Sugar skulls, or calaveras, are customarily placed on altars for loved ones who have passed away. They're also exchanged among friends as sweet snacks. The Mondragón family has been making hand-decorated sugar skulls for around one hundred and fifty years, spanning five generations. They continue to do it because they want to preserve this tradition that dates back to the time of the Aztecs. The skull imagery turns a symbol of death into a symbol of life, and salutes the attitude that death should be both accepted and celebrated. Since 1995, the National Museum of Mexican Art has brought in the Mondragón family from Toluca to make their colorful confections alongside its annual Día de los Muertos exhibit. They have already become part of the museum, educating Chicagoans about their treasured culture.

Audias & Mariana Roldán: Amate Paintings from Xalitla, Guerrero

NOVEMBER 2, 2016 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 11

VISUAL ARTS

FINN JUBAK

A Future of Peace and Harmony A Yoko Ono sculpture lands in Jackson Park BY RACHEL KIM

12 SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY

¬ NOVEMBER 2, 2016

n October 17, Yoko Ono unveiled her permanent public sculpture “Sky Landing” in Jackson Park. The installation, composed of twelve twelvefoot-tall steel lotus flower petals rising from the ground, is one of the many ventures of Project 120, a nonprofit working with the Chicago Parks District and community members to “revitalize the South Parks” and initiate a “South Side cultural renaissance and resurgence,” according to its website. Park-goers can walk through the installation and around each of the towering lotus petals, while simultaneously admiring the surrounding garden in the Wooded Island section of Jackson Park. The debut of Ono’s “Sky Landing” was accompanied by a speech by Ono herself and a dance performance. She described the sculpture as a “place where the sky and earth meet and create a seed to learn about the past

and come together to create a future of peace and harmony, with nature and each other.” The installation lies in the Garden of the Phoenix, formerly known as the Osaka Garden, on the north side of the Wooded Island. According to the Garden of the Phoenix’s website, the creation of the Garden was meant to reflect the over 120-year relationship between the U.S. and Japan, and its designs were heavily inspired by Japanese art and culture. The installation is just one of Project 120’s endeavors: they’re also planning a recreation of the Phoenix Pavilion—a feature of Jackson Park that existed during the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition but was heavily damaged due to arson in 1946. The proposed Phoenix Pavilion will not only house a café and educational and exhibit spaces, but will also feature a Music Court—a large outdoor stage and performance venue right next to the lakefront. Project 120 has also proposed creating forty acres of open space for a Great Lawn in the park, on the current site of a driving range and parking lot. Ultimately, these numerous redevelopment projects are part of Project 120’s ambitious plan to establish The South Parks Conservancy, an organization that “will manage and foster the South Parks in partnership with the public,” according to the Project 120 website. However, the changes coming to Jackson Park, including the future Obama Library and the plans from Project 120, are not without opposition. Jackson Park Watch ( JPW), a community organization led by Brenda Nelms and Margaret Schmid, has been concerned with Project 120’s lack of transparency regarding the sculpture and the forthcoming changes to Jackson Park. According to JPW’s website, in July of 2014, the “Park District entered into a secretive Memorandum of Understanding with Project 120 that appears to give that organization surprising leeway to reshape large portions of Jackson Park.” And according to the Memorandum of Understanding itself, obtained by the JPW through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, “Project 120 and the Park District are working together in a civic public-private partnership to develop and implement plans with the community to revitalize and celebrate Jackson Park.” Furthermore, JPW claims on its website that the installation of Ono’s sculp-

EVENTS

ture occurred without “...community input, environmental assessment, and…traceable record of any decisions by the Park District Board of Commissioners itself.” According to a statement released by Jackson Park Watch on its website, after the debut of “Sky Landing,” the opening event was invite-only, most of the attendees were not local, and event organizers denied entrance to community members wishing to attend. Project 120 did not respond to the Weekly’s requests for comment about “Sky Landing.” Project 120 lists on its website several local organizations, such as the Jackson Park Advisory Council and Friends of the Parks, as “partner organizations” and advisors. Project 120 has also offered occasional public workshops since January of 2015 in which community members can learn about the process and implementation of upcoming projects. In May, 5th Ward Alderman Leslie Hairston held a community meeting about the park plans with representatives from Project 120 and the Parks District. However, JPW plans to continue challenging and publicizing Project 120’s plans and upcoming projects. JPW organizers have submitted FOIA requests and attended “People in the Parks” forums for several months in order to find out more about the process behind the sculpture installation, but received no response until October 18, when a member of the Park District Board said that Ono’s sculpture “was donated by Yoko Ono and Project 120 and that while the Park District owns it, it will not pay for maintenance,” according to an update on JPW’s website. JPW’s chief issues with the Phoenix Pavilion are not only with Project 120’s lack of transparency but also with the possibility that this project would lead to “another privatization of public park space” that solely focuses on “revenue-generation,” the JPW website writes. And while Jackson Park Watch says that they welcome the arrival of the Obama Library, they do not wish for the project to “be built at the cost of parkland for the public.” Ironically, the installation of Ono’s “Sky Landing,” a statue meant to symbolize peace and harmony, seems to only be a harbinger for bigger conflicts that will inevitably arise as plans for the redevelopment of the South Parks continue. ¬

BULLETIN Sustainable Alternatives on Chicago’s Southeast Side

recruiters, case workers, and experienced parents to learn about parenting opportunities in Illinois. Parents can ask questions and hear from experts in a casual atmosphere. (Lorraine Lu)

David Leggett: Black Drawls Galley 400, 400 S. Peoria St. Opening reception Friday, November 4, 5pm-8pm. Through December 17; Tuesday – Friday, 10am-6pm; Saturday 12pm-6pm. Free. (312) 996-6114. gallery400.uic.edu

Auditorium Building, Roosevelt University, 430 S. Michigan Ave., Sullivan Room. Wednesday, November 2, 4pm–5:30pm. Light refreshments. Register online at bit.ly/2eOg0UL. (312) 341-3500. roosevelt.edu/centers

Chicago's Urban Wildlife

Adding insult to injury, the factories that closed on the Southeast Side of Chicago not only took jobs with them but also left heavy-duty environmental contamination behind. Hear three "environmental justice legends" speak on the issue at this event. (Adam Thorp)

For the past six years, Chicago has been the site of the largest urban wildlife study—ever—led by Lincoln Park Zoo’s Urban Wildlife Institute. Come learn about the findings, and about how you can get involved with the citizen science project Chicago Wildlife Watch. (Hafsa Razi)

Garfield Park Conservatory, 300 N. Central Park Ave. Wednesday, November 9, 6pm– 7pm. Free. Register online at bit.ly/2etc60w. (773) 638-1766. garfieldconservatory.org

Learn about the public, private, and charter options for high school in the city of Chicago at this open event for 7th and 8th graders, presented by the New Life Covenant Church. (Adam Thorp)

Create a Dog Park in Bronzeville Ellis Arts and Recreation Center, 3520 S. Cottage Grove Ave. Saturday, November 5, 1pm. bit.ly/2eVASqK Chicago, according to event organizer "Ben in Bronzeville," has twenty-three official, park-district-approved dog parks, but only one is on the South Side, in the South Loop. At this event, attendees will plan to rectify that situation for Bronzeville residents. (Adam Thorp)

Finding Forever Families: Searching for Adoptive and Foster Parents UIC Student Center East, 750 S. Halsted St. Saturday, November 5, 10am–1pm. Free. Register online. Children and families are welcome. (847) 528-2044. letitbeus.org Let It Be Us invites potential foster and adoptive parents to this panel of adoption

High Concept Labs’ Fall 2016 Open House High Concept Labs, 2233 S. Throop St. 6th floor. VIP reception Saturday, November 5th, 6:30pm-7:30pm; 7:30-11pm general admission. $15-$75. (312) 850-0555. manacontemporarychicago.com

How to Choose the Best High School New Life Covenant Church Annex, 7757 S. Greenwood Ave. Saturday, November 5, 2pm–4pm. Bring student's last report card from the 2015–2016 school year. Register online at bit.ly/2f6SiBS. (773) 285-1731. newlifesoutheast.org

“Drawing” from the legacies of painter Robert Colescott and comedians Richard Pryor and Robin Harris, David Leggett comes to the empty canvas with an allencompassing hand. He pulls together references from history to pop culture to tackle pressing issues and create images layered both in style and meaning. (Corinne Butta)

VISUAL ARTS Tintin Wulia Hyde Park Art Center, 5020 S. Cornell Ave. November 2, 6pm-7pm. Free. (773) 3245520. hydeparkart.org Tintin Wulia, an internationally recognized conceptual artist, will discuss her practice and plans to activate various areas around Chicago during her residency at HPAC. With a background in music, architecture, and fine arts, Wulia presents her artwork through interactive multimedia, with an aim to make a social and political impact. (Sicely Li)

Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe Bond Chapel, 1025 E. 58th St. Friday, November 4th, 8pm. Free. (773) 702-8670. renaissancesociety.org A collaborator of Ben Rivers—whose film exhibition, Urth is currently showing at the Renaissance Society—Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe produces his own synthesized vocal and instrumental music under the moniker “Lichens.” Lowe returns to the city whose underground experimental music scene he once dominated to perform in a spiritual setting on the University of Chicago’s campus, transmitting vibes that resound with a religiosity of their own. (Sara Cohen)

High Concept Labs’ Sponsored Artists past and present reunite with an astounding array of their creations. Delight in the evening of artistic appreciation with complimentary refreshments and live performances. (Sara Cohen)

Retrograde Logan Center Exhibitions, 915 E. 60th Street. Friday, November 11, 6pm-8pm. (773) 702-6082. arts.uchicago.edu/logan-center Retrograde, an international group exhibition, is a recuperation and appropriation of avant-garde strategies, histories, and archives, which shows the continued relevance of avant-garde work and perspectives in everyday life. It is part of a larger exhibition entitled Concrete Happenings that marks the return of public viewing of Wolf Vostell’s Concrete Traffic. (Yarra Elmasry)

MUSIC Mitski with Fear of Men, Weaves Thalia Hall, 1807 S. Allport St. Saturday, November 5. Doors 7pm, show 8pm. $18

NOVEMBER 2, 2016 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 13

EVENTS

advance standing room, $20 door; $26 balcony seats. All ages. (312) 526-3851. thaliahallchicago.com

He’s got the records, so all you need to bring are your dancing shoes. (Austin Brown)

St. Thursday, November 3, 7 pm. $6. Free parking. (773) 322-1450. blackworldcinema.net

Among indie rock’s current frontrunners is Mitski, a fierce New York-based, Japaneseborn art-punker who’s turned heads with her songs about identity and self. Alternative British dream pop band Fear of Men and art rock group Weaves join her this Saturday at Thalia Hall. (Sara Cohen)

Lumpen Radio Launch Party

In the short 1932 film Daïnah la metises, a mixed-race woman flirts with catastrophe on a cruise ship to New Caledonia with her magician husband. The melodramatic, dreamlike movie is noted for its prescient approach to race and class. (Adam Thorp)

The Poetory ft. + (Plus Sign), H. Melt, Jamila Woods, and Erika Sanchez The Promontory, 5311 S. Lake Park Ave. West. Monday, November 7, 7pm. $5. 17+. (312) 801-2100. promontorychicago.com For this installment of the Promontory’s monthly poetry showcase, a pair of emerging talents—transgender literature pioneer H. Melt and self-described “President of the World” + (Plus Sign)— showcase their writing alongside two more of the city’s most revered spoken word veterans, Jamila Woods and Erika Sanchez. (Sara Cohen)

Co-Prosperity Sphere, 3219 S. Morgan St. Saturday, November 5, 4pm–8pm. Free. All ages. (773) 655-6769. lumpenradio.com Over the past year or two, Lumpen Radio (formerly entirely online) has slowly become the Little Engine That Could, scaling insurmountable odds to acquire an FM license and become Chicago’s newest 24-hour music station (105.5, if you’re curious). Come celebrate the vibes and people that made it possible this Saturday at Bridgeport’s Co-Prosperity Sphere. (Austin Brown)

STAGE & SCREEN

Augustana Lutheran Church, 5500 S. Woodlawn Ave. Friday, November 4, 8pm. $5. hydeparkcommunityplayers.org This month, the Hyde Park Community Players’s Friday Staged Reading presents— “just in time for election day”—Bertolt Brecht’s story of a Chicago mob figure whose life parallels the rise of the Nazi party. (Adam Thorp)

Third Cinema II Daïnah la métisse Studio Movie Grill Chatham 14, 210 W. 87th

Xibalba Itzaes Reggies Rock Club, 2105 S. State St. Friday, November 4, 7pm. $20. 18+. (312) 9490120. reggieslive.com Mexico City black metal pros Xibalba Itzaes are men of few words—in their time as a band, since 1992, they’ve only had seven releases to their name, including singles and EPs, the last being this year’s single “The Owl.” But their reclusive release style hasn’t kept these “kids on the verge of madness” and their live shows from acquiring a fierce reputation. (Austin Brown)

DJ Situps/Numero Group Punch House, 1227 W. 18th St. Wednesday, November 2, 9pm. Free. 21+. (312) 5263851. punchhousechicago.com The song selectors at Pilsen’s Punch House are swiftly becoming regular South Side can’t-miss events, and this night continues the streak—Chicago rock scene vet Adam Luksetich (of Circuit Des Yeux, Foul Tip, Lifestyles, and archival label Numero Group) is donning his DJ Situps persona for a night of funk, soul, and new wave. 14 SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY

The Resistable Rise of Arturo Ui

¬ NOVEMBER 2, 2016

filmfront, 1740 W. 18th St. Friday, November 4. 8pm. Free. bit.ly/2eVHYf0

The Pilsen cineclub is showing the Bolivian movie Yawar Mallku (Blood of the Condor) as part of a series on the sixties and seventies Tercer Cine movement, which rebelled against Hollywood norms and capitalism. Jorge Sanjines’s revolutionary classic exposed how the Peace Corps sterilized Andean Indian women. ( Joseph S. Pete)

African-American Film Pioneers: The Bronze Buckaroo Logan Center, 915 E. 60th St., screening room 201. Saturday, November 5, 7pm, doors 6:30pm. Free. (773) 702-2787. arts.uchicago. edu UofC film professor Allyson Field will introduce a 1939 Western that features The Four Tones, Andy from Amos ‘n Andy, and Duke Ellington Orchestra singer Herb Jeffries, billed as the first black singing cowboy. There’s crooked land speculators, a rescue, and, of course, plenty of singing. ( Joseph S. Pete)

NOVEMBER 2, 2016 Â¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 15