African American Literature Discussion Group

Underground Railroad: Concretizing a metaphor

noreply@blogger.com (Lesley Williams) — Fri, 14 Apr 2017 18:30:00 +0000

Our book for next week is Colson Whitehead's The Underground Railroad. Whitehead was recently in Evanston, speaking for the Family Action Network series and then in Winnetka for the New Trier Seminar Day, "Understanding Today's Struggle for Racial Civil Rights". Check out this 10 minute video in which he discusses how he came up with the idea for the book (16 years ago!) and how he sees each "stop" along the railroad as a different possibility for race relations in the U.S. Whitehead describes the journeys Cora takes as kind of a Gulliver's Travels of African American life, with fantasy standing in for deeply troubling realities.We'll be meeting Tuesday April 18th, 7 pm at the Gibbs-Morrison Cultural Center, 1823 Church Street in Evanston.

For another similar "what if?" take on the same topic, try Ben Winters' Underground Airlines, in which a black slave catcher in an alternative contemporary America tracks his prey from the "Hard 4" states which have never abandoned slavery. A future possible AAL choice!

Evanston Literary Festival

From April 29 to May 11, 2017, Evanston comes alive with free readings, live lit, and workshops. Featured speakers of African American interest this year include Angela Jackson, Mary Barr, Alex Kotlowitz, John Keene, Martin Deppe and Sandra Seaton. Of special note: a celebration of Gwendolyn Brooks, and a trilogy of plays about black life on the South Side of Chicago directed by Fleetwood-Jourdain's Tim Rhoze.

Sunday Salon

Operation Breadbasket: An Untold Story of Civil Rights in Chicago

Wednesday, May 3, 2017
7:30pm 8:30pm 19:30 20:30
First United Methodist Church

Author Martin L. Deppe was one of the founding pastors of Operation Breadbasket, the interfaith economic justice program in from 1996-1971 that transformed into Jesse Jackson’s Operation PUSH (now the Rainbow PUSH Coalition). Begun by Martin Luther King Jr. during the 1966 Chicago Freedom Movement, Breadbasket was directed by Jackson. Deppe digs deeply into the program’s past to tell Breadbasket’s little-known story in the fight for civil rights in Chicago.

Black Women as Giants: A Celebration of Gwendolyn Brooks

Thursday, May 4, 2017
10:00am 11:30am 10:00 11:30
Lutkin Hall

Acclaimed poets, Toi Derricotte, Nikky Finney, Vievee Francis, Angela Jackson, and Patricia Smith come together as an unprecedented collective to celebrate and reflect on the life, work and impact of Chicago’s literary giant. This roundtable discussion, moderated by Parneshia Jones, will focus on the literary impact of Gwendolyn Brooks, her stark literary portraits of the often overlooked and oppressed black life in America, and her social and artistic influence as a cultural and community worker. The panelists will reflect and discuss Brooks’ significance on their personal literary careers, her importance during the Black Arts Movement, and how her work and legacy continue to be a defining voice in literature. Generous support provided by the Poetry Foundation. This event is co-sponsored with the Northwestern University Libraries, Center for Writing Arts, Department of African American Studies, Department of English, Poetry and Poetics Colloquium, Women’s Center.

Evanston Literary Salon: The Rhythm in the Words: How Music and the Beat Informs Books for Kids and Teens

Saturday, May 6, 2017
4:00pm 5:30pm 16:00 17:30
Evanston Public Library

Musicians make music. Authors write books. And when musicians write books, the results can be eclectic. Join musicians Mike Grosso (I Am Drums) and Donovan Mixon (Ahgottahandleonit) as they discuss their latest books for children and teens with librarian Betsy Bird, and reveal how the influence of music, rhythm, and beat pervades their writing styles and works particularly well in books for young readers.

The Chicago Trilogy Stage Reading

Monday, May 8, 2017
7:00pm 8:30pm 19:00 20:30
Evanston Public Library

Sandra Seaton brings to life the world of Cyrus Colter. Experience the 1960s and the frustrations and triumphs of black life on Chicago's South Side in this powerful adaptation of Colter's prize-winning short stories. This stage reading of Seaton's trilogy of one-act plays is directed by Tim Rhoze, artistic director of Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre. This event is cosponsored by the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame, the Guild Literary Complex, and Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre.

Northwestern Spring Writers Festival: John Keene

Thursday, May 11, 2017
5:30pm 7:00pm 17:30 19:00

John R. Keene.was born in St. Louis in 1965. He graduated from Harvard College, and New York University, where he was a New York Times Fellow. In 1989, Keene joined the Dark Room Writers Collective, and is a Graduate Fellow of the Cave Canem Writers Workshops. He is the author of Annotations and Counternarratives, both published by New Directions, as well as the poetry collection Seismosis, with artist Christopher Stackhouse, and a translation of Brazilian author Hilda Hilst's novel Letters from a Seducer. He teaches at Rutgers University-Newark. , Keene received an award from the Mrs. Giles Whiting Foundation and fellowships from Cave Canem, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, the New York Times Foundation, Yaddo, the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, and the Pan-African Literary Forum. He has taught at Northwestern University and Rutgers University and served as the managing editor of Callaloo.

Friends Disappear: The Battle for Racial Equality in Evanston

Thursday, May 11, 2017
7:30pm 9:00pm
Second Baptist Church

Clemson professor Mary Barr discusses her book about local racial segregation, Friends Disappear: The Battle for Racial Equality in Evanston. Northwestern sociology professor Al Hunter moderates the discussion with audience members about racism in Evanston, past and present. This Illinois Speaks program is made possible in part by a grant from Illinois Humanities, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Illinois General Assembly.

Twin Traumas: War and Slavery

noreply@blogger.com (Lesley Williams) — Mon, 20 Mar 2017 17:02:00 +0000

The Civil War era, with its 750,000 dead saw a heightened interest in spiritualism and mysticism. In 1861, a spiritualist newspaper appeared called the “Banner of Light” and according to Civil War Talk,

"The Banner of Light proposed to seek out dead soldiers to find out how they were doing after death, what conditions they were in when they died, and whether they died the “good death.”

Each issue of the newspaper provided a litany of answers from dead soldiers in a monthly article known as “Voices from the Dead.”. A Mrs. Conant would go into a trance and seek out dead soldiers on both sides.

Some of the dead channeled Mrs Conant with things like, “as a favor of you today, that you will inform my father, Nathaniel Thompson of Montgomery, Alabama, if possible, of my decease. Tell him I died …eight days ago, happy and resigned.”

Leonard Bolton wants to give my mother …”a little sketch of the manner of my death.”

Charlie Hiland reported, “I lost my life in your Bull Run affair, and the folks want to know how I died and what became of me after death… I should like to inform them.”

None of the soldiers mentioned were real soldier’s names. The Banner of Light did not present any reader’s actual kin, or any real details. The newspaper lasted well into mid-1870s."

Source: “The Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War” – Drew Gilpin Faust

Sounds very similar to Sadie's experiences in Balm, doesn't it?

While spiritualism was extremely popular among whites, there is less of a record on its following among African Americans. Yet they too were experiencing traumatic separations, as plantations were disbanded, and slaves either escaped, were sold away or were taken up by Union regiments. Like Hemp, many slaves had no way of tracing what had become of their loved ones.

By juxtaposing the experiences of Sadie, the white widow trapped into channeling the spirit of a dead Union soldier, and Hemp, a displaced former slave, Dolen Perkins-Valdez skillfully links these twin traumas, and highlights the unrecognized and untold suffering of fractured African American families.

Please join us for our discussion of Balm this Tuesday March 21st, 7 pm at the Gibbs-Morrison Cultural Center at 1823 Church St in Evanston. Copies of Balm are held at the 2nd floor desk of the Evanston Public Library.

"Playing the Race Card" in Detroit?

noreply@blogger.com (Lesley Williams) — Sun, 19 Feb 2017 18:06:00 +0000

This Tuesday, 7:00 pm at the Gibbs-Morrison Cultural Center, we'll be discussing Detroit: an Autopsy, journalist Charlie LeDuff's look at the crumbling infrastructure and hopeless corruption that continues to plague the Motor City. This may seem an odd choice for an African American literature book group, since the author is white, and much of the book's sympathies lie with white working class families. African Americans tend to be either victims or perpetrators, (note City Council woman Monica Conyers absurd argument with a 13 year old, shown in the video below) p 69.

While LeDuff focuses much of his anger on callous Wall Street and automobile executives, he accuses former mayor Kwame Kilpatrick of "playing the race card" and sympathizes with a police chief accused of excessive force (and of murdering a 7 year old girl),: "Citizens were complaining that the police were too tough, but at least they were alive to complain"(p 281) . LeDuff also opines that "Factory work tends to give you perspective on the importance of things. Of course in the hip-hop world, work was for suckers" ( p145). Then there's his less than evenhanded description of the Black Muslim brotherhood (p 229).

So is LeDuff a racist, or at best an apologist for racism? What did you find valuable or insightful abut this version of the fall of Detroit? What part of the picture is he missing?

For some other critical examinations of what went wrong, take a look at the article Motor City Breakdown, an excellent review of recent fiction, nonfiction and film about Detroit. I'll be interested to hear your reactions at our meeting this Tuesday!

Revisiting Roads Not Taken

noreply@blogger.com (Lesley Williams) — Mon, 09 Jan 2017 15:59:00 +0000

Greetings and Happy New Year!

I skipped posting about our November discussion, Grant Park; but if you haven't read it yet I urge

you to check it out! As the Obama administration comes to an end, this nail-biter of a suspense novel, flashing back to the King assassination in 1968 and forward to Obama's inauguration night triumph in Chicago's Grant park encompasses all the struggles of our African American half century.

This month we're taking it a bit slower, with Terry McMillan's I Almost Forgot About You. Georgia Young, a 50-something successful optometrist with two grown (sort of) daughters is in a rut. After learning that a former flame has recently died, Georgia decides to sell her home and practice, explore a new career as a designer, and take off on a cross-country train ride, while coincidentally looking up her past loves (including her ex husbands) to see what she has, or has not learned from them. Of course life intervenes, in the form of family crises.

McMillan gave an interview to Code Switch on NPR in which she discusses how Georgia's journey reflects her own, and those of her readers, many of whom have been fans for decades. "Life is a lot of stops and starts, but when you get in your 50s, you see there is a finish line, and I want to go out sliding into home," says McMillan.

Does Georgia's story resonate with you? Join us next Tuesday January 17th for our meeting at the Gibbs-Morrison Center and let's talk! Copies of the book are available at the 2nd floor desk of the Evanston Pubic Library; call 847-448-8620.

Other discussions of African AMerican interest coming up this month:

History Book Discussion Group: The Defender

January 18, 2017 7:00pm

1703 Orrington Ave. Evanston, IL

Venue Main Library Seminar Room

The History Book Discussion Group reads The Defender: How the Legendary Black Newspaper Changed America, by Ethan Michaeli. The story of Chicago’s black paper and its influence throughout the nation, from Teddy Roosevelt’s presidency to Barack Obama’s, which The New York Times called “an extraordinary history. . . deeply researched, elegantly written.”

Science Fiction & Fantasy Book Discussion Group: Kindred

February 1, 2017 7:00pm

Address 1703 Orrington Ave. Evanston, IL

Venue Main Library Seminar Room

This combination of slave memoir, fantasy, and historical fiction is a cornerstone of black American literature. The novel follows Dana, an African-American woman in 1976, who is suddenly and inexplicably wrenched through time into antebellum Maryland. After saving a white boy from drowning, she realizes the challenge she has been given: to protect this young slaveholder until he can father her own great-grandmother.

African American Literature: Detroit: an American Autopsy

February 21, 2017 7:00pm

Address 1823 Church St. Evanston IL

Venue Gibbs-Morrison Cultural Center

An exposé of Detroit, icon of America’s lost prosperity, from Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Charlie LeDuff. Back in his broken hometown, LeDuff searches through the ruins for clues to its fate, his family’s, and his own. Once the richest city in America, Detroit is now the nation’s poorest. It is an eerie and angry place of deserted factories and abandoned homes and forgotten people. LeDuff sets out to uncover what destroyed his city, and shares an unbelievable story of a hard town in a rough time filled with some of the strangest and strongest people our country has to offer.

Keepinitreal: The Other Wes Moore

February 28, 2017 7:00pm

Address 1703 Orrington Ave. Evanston, IL

Venue Main Library Seminar Room

Two kids with the same name were born blocks apart in the same decaying city within a few years of each other. One grew up to be a Rhodes Scholar, army officer, White House Fellow, and business leader. The other is serving a life sentence in prison. Here is the story of two boys and the journey of a generation.

How "United" Are We?

noreply@blogger.com (Lesley Williams) — Mon, 24 Oct 2016 16:04:00 +0000

This is a bittersweet time to be reading Senator Cory Booker's somewhat triumphalist memoir, United, when the US seems more fragmented and divided than ever before, especially around issues of race. Is there really any common ground between say, Trump supporters and the Movement for Black Lives? Has Booker's tenure as a Newark city councilman and then mayor made a significant difference in the lives of the public housing residents he describes so movingly? And what is the role of elected officials in solving entrenched urban nightmares of poverty, drugs and violence? Click below to see Senator Booker respond to these very questions on the Steven Colbert show.

We will be meeting tomorrow night, Tuesday October 25th at our new location, The Gibbs -Morrison Cultural Center , at 1823 Church Street in Evanston (just east of Church and Dodge). There is street parking, and you can also park in the ETHS parking lot. I will be bringing copies of our November 15th book, Grant Park, by Leonard Pitts.

See you then!

Lesley

An Interview with Natalie Moore

noreply@blogger.com (Lesley Williams) — Thu, 08 Sep 2016 02:58:00 +0000

Natalie Moore graciously afforded me a brief phone interview to discuss her book The South Side, which we'll be discussing on Tuesday September 20th. Below is an edited transcript of our conversation.

Lesley Williams: In the New York Times article "Affluent and Black and Still Trapped by Segregation, the authors point out that African Americans of all income levels tend to live in segregated neighborhoods near poverty. Does segregation always equal poverty and lesser resources? Why have other ethnically homogeneous communities managed to thrive when African American ones have not?

Natalie Moore: It’s a race issue not a class issue. That's a point I try to drive home. Unlike other ethnic groups, Black people in Chicago were the ones subjected to restrictive housing policies and laws. They were the ones affected by block busting, redlining, and panic peddling. A great example is Lorraine Hansberry’s family, held back by restrictive covenants in the 1950s. Blacks of all incomes have been affected by these policies, which have reduced Black wealth.

Williams: Your book brought up many memories for me of growing up in "Pill Hill" a very middle class neighborhood, yet being embarrassed to invite white friends home because of the derelict look of Stony Island: liquor stores, boarded up businesses, "hourly rate motels". Like you, I’ve moved from a primarily Black neighborhood to a more integrated community with more resources. How do you respond to critics who claim we are "traitors" to the Black community, that middle class Black people have an obligation to stay in Englewood, Bronzeville, etc?

Moore: No one has directed that particular criticism to me; it's not something I've had to explain myself over. I think that Black people want to live in multiple places, including the suburbs, just like everyone one else. I lived in Bronzeville for several years until that became economically unfeasible, so I don't think anyone would begrudge me the chance to live elsewhere now.

Williams: I was glad to see you combat “Jim Crow nostalgia”. I’ve noticed that even younger people, in their 30s look back to an imaginary halcyon childhood when all the neighbors were together, watched out for each other etc. In Evanston, there is a lot of nostalgia for defunct, segregated institutions like the African American YMCA, and there is a movement to bring back a (de facto) segregated school in the historically Black neighborhood. Why do you think this Jim Crow nostalgia is so strong? Has integration failed African Americans, or is it still a worthy goal?

Moore: Segregation was not a good thing, let's be clear. How did integration hurt the Black community? Yes, the Black metropolis had beauty and drive, but the Black Belt also had overcrowded housing and schools. Most of the businesses were not black owned, contrary to popular belief. You might be surrounded by other Black professionals, but maybe you would die because you couldn't get to a hospital that would treat you. The issue is equity and lack of resources, not just people living next to each other.

Williams: A few years ago, our book group discussed Our Black Year, Maggie Anderson's memoir of committing to buy only from Black-owned businesses. Finding Black-owned grocery stores was by far the most difficult commitment, yet she found accessible stores that served African American needs and hired African American employees but were white owned. How important is it that businesses in Black communities be Black owned if they are serving Black residents well? (For example, you mention that white owned grocery chains like Whole Foods are a threat to local Black owned convenience stores, which don't serve healthy food.)

Moore: Because of the lack of economic development it is important for residents to see Black owned businesses, and for those owners to get loans to sustain themselves. But ultimately consumers are looking for the best deals, the best customer service. Non Black owned businesses can be beneficial to Black communities, as long as they are giving back to the community. We need to ask, How are they giving back? Do they have any social investment in the community? Do they treat the community with respect? Black business owners tend to live in the communities where they own stores, non Black business owners are less likely to do so.

Williams: My parents were both public school teachers who sent me to private schools. My friends who live in the city all send their kids to selective enrollment schools. How effective can magnet and selective enrollment programs be when they always skim the children from middle class, college educated families? How does this help the children of the less advantaged?

Moore: We definitely have a tiered system here in Chicago. A lot of families are jockeying to get into those classical selective enrollment schools, yet there are a number of high performing schools on the south side that have zero white enrollment. You'll hear parents say that they want "the best" schools for their children and yet they ignore these schools.

However I'm not interested in attracting white parents to successful Black public schools. I'm more interested in seeing CPS use changing housing patterns to achieve integration. Take a look at WBEZ's piece "How Chicago school construction furthers racial and economic segregation" which points out that new construction is disproportionately going to schools that serve the white, middle class, sometimes ignoring opportunities to create more diverse schools. Richard Kahlenberg, of the bipartisan think tank The Century Foundation states that, "in trying to raise academic achievement, providing an economically integrated environment for students is far more powerful than spending extra resources in high poverty schools". Yet CPS is not looking at opportunities to do so.

Williams: Steve Bogira presented at the Open Communities justice day about his work bringing high school students from New Trier together with kids from south and west side schools, and how shocked they were by the disparities. Recently a group of African American Chicago kids demonstrated the inequity by attempting to enroll at New Trier. Do you think that more forthright discussions of these disparities will lead to change? In discussing equity, how do we address the role of property taxes and school foundations, which guarantee that poorer children will get less per pupil spending than wealthier children in the suburbs?

Moore: Property taxes do play a role of course. We should be having a larger conversation about cities vs suburbs and the equitable division of state and city resources.

But my focus was on segregation. Segregation allows us to know only our default, not the broader community we’re a part of. We don't get to see other parts of our community.When kids see this unfairness it may translate into activism. Why have things stayed the same for so long? Because politicians respond to to what they hear their constituents saying. If more people, like those New Trier and Englewood kids, start demanding more equity, it can happen.

Williams: What would you say to white people who have never been south of Chinatown or Sox park? What are they missing out on?

Moore: I don't want to turn this into cultural tourism, but I would say: You’re missing out on most of the city. The largest geographical part of Chicago is one you have no interaction with. Think about exploring a new neighborhood, cultural institutions, museums, organizations, food, spaces, arts. Get out of your bubble; don't judge everything based on what you hear on the news.

Williams: Growing up I had white friends in Beverly with relatives in Bridgeport and Oak Lawn who honestly didn’t realize how racist their neighborhoods were, or why my parents were so loathe to visit them there. Do you think the Black Lives Matter movement is helping to break down these barriers? Are younger people, of all ethnicities more aware of these issues, and more prepared to address them?

Moore: I still think we have quite a ways to go. We are having some more conversations around race, but most of it is around policing and mass incarceration. But the root of a lot of problems goes back to residential segregation in many American cities.

One of the things I would like people to to get out of this is to look at your own housing choices and how you participate in segregation. Integration is not the be all and end all. But we’re not having a conversation on its benefits, for all communities.

What do YOU think of Natalie Moore's book? Join the discussion on September 20th, 1st floor meeting room of the Evanston Public Library.

Natalie Moore talks The South Side

noreply@blogger.com (Lesley Williams) — Sat, 27 Aug 2016 04:19:00 +0000

Greetings! My apologies for the long hiatus between postings; but I was out of the country for several weeks, visiting the West Bank in Palestine.

We've had an exciting summer: an author talk by Ethan Micaeli on The Defender: how the legendary black newspaper changed America; AAL discussions of The Sellout and Democracy in Black, both of which had huge turnouts. We're keeping up the momentum with our September book, Natalie Moore's The South Side. As you look what it means to live in a middle class black neighborhood, you may want to read this excellent article, Affluent and Black; Still Trapped by Segregation, from the New York Times (thanks to Carolyn Laughlin for sharing!)

In other news...we're moving!! Starting in October, the African American Lit group will meet at the new Gibbs-Morrison Center at Dodge and Church in Evanston. Times and dates will remain the same. There is ample parking both on street and in the lot across the street on Church.

annddd...in African American cultural news, there are some great movies coming out featuring African American stories. The Black Harvest Film Festival continues this week through September 1st at the Gene Siskel Film Center. Hot tickets include Charles Burnett's To Sleep with Anger, and Maya Angelou's' And Still I Rise.

August Wilson fans: set your calendars for December 16th and the release of the first ever feature film based on the Century Cycle plays: Fences starring Denzel Washington and Viola Davis, and starring most of the cast from the acclaimed 2010 Broadway revival. Group outing anyone?

More Library news: next spring we're launching a community read based on The Other Wes Moore. Wes Moore will be speaking in Evanston courtesy of the Family Action Network, (which is bringing Congressman John Lewis to Evanston this coming Monday August 29th!) We'll be looking for local organizations: churches, clubs, school groups etc. to host discussions, so please let me know if you are interested!

We'll catch up September 20th, 7 pm at the Library for The South Side. If you haven't yet gotten your copy, call or stop by the 2nd floor desk: 847-448-8620. And remember, October 25th at Gibb-Morrison for Cory Booker's United!

See Gordon Parks and Ralph Ellison; Meet Mrs Paul Robeson

noreply@blogger.com (Lesley Williams) — Wed, 01 Jun 2016 02:55:00 +0000

Did you know that legendary photographer Gordon Parks and legendary author Ralph Ellison were friends, and collaborated in the late 40s, early 50s? I sure didn't, but thanks to the Art Institute of Chicago, I do now. If you haven't already, check out "Invisible Man: Gordon Parks and Ralph Ellison in Harlem", running through August 28th, which exhibits Parks' photographic illustrations of scenes from Ellison's novel, which originally appeared in Life magazine. As the exhibit states:

This exhibition reunites for the first time the surviving photographs and texts intended for the two projects, including never-before-seen photographs by Parks from the collections of the Art Institute and the Gordon Parks Foundation and unpublished manuscripts by Ellison. Revealed in these frank depictions of Harlem is Ellison and Parks’s symbiotic insistence on making race a larger, universal issue, finding an alternative, productive means of representing African American life, and importantly, staking a claim for the black individual within—rather than separate from—the breadth of American culture.

Have you signed up for the African American Interest newsletter yet? You can get my personal selections of interesting African American themed books every month by clicking here.

At the moment I'm reading...

Eslanda: The Large and Unconventional Life of Mrs. Paul Robeson

Tags: / Biographies & Memoirs

Eslanda "Essie" Cardozo Goode Robeson lived a colorful and amazing life. Her career and commitments took her many places: colonial Africa in 1936, the front lines of the Spanish Civil War, the founding meeting of the United Nations, Nazi-occupied Berlin, Stalin's Russia, and China two months after Mao's revolution. She was a woman of unusual accomplishment—an anthropologist, a prolific journalist, a tireless advocate of women's rights, an outspoken anti-colonial and antiracist activist, and an internationally sought-after speaker. Yet historians for the most part have confined Essie to the role of Mrs. Paul Robeson, a wife hidden in the large shadow cast by her famous husband. In this masterful book, biographer Barbara Ransby refocuses attention on Essie, one of the most important and fascinating black women of the twentieth century.

Let me know what you think! Possible book discussion for the fall?

See you all on June 21st for The Sellout! Several copies still available at the 2nd floor desk; call 847-448-8620 to get one.

Jam on the Vine

noreply@blogger.com (Lesley Williams) — Wed, 11 May 2016 01:45:00 +0000

This month we're reading Jam on the Vine, LaShonda Katrice Barnett's fascinating and gripping novel of life as a female African American journalist in the early 20th century. A perfect complement to the age of "intersectionality", Jam on the Vine features Muslim characters, gay and bi-sexual characters, and feminist characters, unafraid to speak out and to be themselves. Like role model Ida B. Wells, Ivo and Ona, the heroines of Jam on the Vine take on racism without apology. In her fictional newspaper, Ivoe boldly states:

"Whitecappers, Ku Klux Klan, police, and lynchers beware! The black worm has turned. The United States has done much to stoke the embers of unrest. But a race that has furnished thousands of the best soldiers that the world has ever seen will no longer be content to turn the left cheek when smitten upon the right. Vigilante rule shall not prevail".

When we think of African Americans during this time period, we often leap to stereotyped images of quivering terrified victims, or docile servants. It's good to be reminded that even during the worst of the Jim Crow years, "The Nadir" of African American life, there were courageous men, AND women who stood up to injustice and tyranny.

For a brilliant nonfiction take on the significance of African American Newspapers, read The Defender: How the Legendary Black Newspaper Changed America.

See you May 17th! We've still got copies of Jam on the Vine at the 2nd floor desk.

Evanston Literary Festival Starts This Week

noreply@blogger.com (Lesley Williams) — Tue, 03 May 2016 20:50:00 +0000

Welcome to the 2nd annual Evanston Literary Festival! Co sponsored by the Chicago Book Expo, Northwestern University's Creative Writing program, Bookends and Beginnings bookstore and Evanston Public Library, the festival is bringing over 50 author readings, book discussions, exhibitions and other literary events to Evanston between May 4th and May 14th. Quite a few will be of interest to readers of African American themed literature...

"Writing American Race History Today"
Saturday, May 7, 3 to 4:30 pm Bookends and Beginnings Bookstore 1712 Sherman Ave., Alley #1,

Northwestern religion Professor Sylvester Johnson NU law professor and legal historian Steven Lubet discuss writing about America's racial past in light of today's controversies. How does an understanding of the past help us understand race relations in America today? And how do race relations today influence how historians research and write history? Professor Johnson's main area of study is African-American religion--see his African American Religions, 1500-2000 (Cambridge, 2015). Professor Lubet has written several books on slavery, abolitionism, and emancipation in mid-19th century America, among them Fugitive Justice: Runaways, Rescuers, and Slavery on Trial (Harvard, 2010). Their conversation will shed light on the turbulent past and the no less turbulent present in race relations in America.

"Writing From Life With Parneshia Jones, Megan Stielstra, and Ross Ritchell"

Saturday, May 7, 5 pm Bookends & Beginnings, 1712 Sherman Ave., Alley #1
The lines between “fact” and “fiction” are often blurred in literature, and the places where the two intersect can be both goldmine and minefield for writers. How do individual writers use life experiences in their work? Are some subject off-limits for publication? This event features a poet (Jones), a novelist (Ritchell), and an essayist (Stielstra) discussing these questions and reading from their works.

#LoveStories: A First Look Reading

Sunday, May 8, 3-4:30 pm, Community Meeting Room, Evanston Public Library
Join us for a special sneak peek! Inspired by #BLACKLIVESMATTER #LoveStories by Gloria Bond-Clunie, Marsha Estell and Tania Richard is a three part play exploring the breadth of love in a world of deadly conflict. This is a world premiere play commissioned by Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre.
Gloria Bond-Clunie is the founder of Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre and an internationally recognized playwright. Marsha Estell is an accomplished actor and playwright; FJT produced her hit play Heat and her critically acclaimed one-woman play Big Butt Girls and Other Fantasies/The Remix. Tania Richard’s brilliant one-woman play Truth Be Told was commissioned and produced by FJT; she too is an accomplished actor and playwright.
Read more: #LoveStories: A First Look Reading

Amina Gautier Reads from The Loss Of All Lost Things

Monday, May 9, 7 pm, Community Meeting Room, Evanston Public Library
The fifteen stories in The Loss of All Lost Things explore the unpredictable ways in which characters negotiate, experience, and manage various forms of loss. They lose loved ones; they lose their security and self-worth; they lose children; they lose their ability to hide and shield their emotions; they lose their reputations, their careers, their hometowns, and their life savings. Often depicting the awkward moments when characters are torn between decision and outcome, The Loss of All Lost Things focuses on moments of regret and yearning.

Amina Gautier, PhD., is the author of three short story collections: At-Risk, Now We Will Be Happy and the The Loss of All Lost Things. At-Risk was awarded the Flannery O’Connor Award, The First Horizon Award, and the Eric Hoffer Legacy Fiction Award. Now We Will Be Happy was awarded the Prairie Schooner Book Prize in Fiction, the Florida Authors and Publishers Association President's Book Award and a USA Best Book Award. The Loss of All Lost Things was awarded the Elixir Press Award in Fiction.

An Evening of Storytelling and Sharing: Exploring Racism
Friday May 13th, 6 pm potluck, 7pm program Unitarian Church of Evanston, 1330 Ridge Ave

Professional storytellers Susan O'Halloran and Mama Edie Armstrong will tell their stories beginning at 7pm after a potluck supper in the Unitarian Church Sanctuary.

Who Do You Serve, Who Do You Protect: Police Violence and Resistance in the United States

Saturday, May 14, 4 pm Community Meeting Room, Evanston Public Library

Contributors to the new Truthout essay collection, Who Do You Serve, Who Do You Protect?: Police Violence and Resistance in the United States—including Kelly Hayes, Sarah Macaraeg, Page May, Maya Schenwar, and Monica Trinidad—read from the book.

African American culture and literature is strong in Evanston!

noreply@blogger.com (Lesley Williams) — Sun, 10 Apr 2016 17:27:00 +0000

This spring we are experiencing a mini-Renaissance of African American cultural events here in Evanston...and much of it is at the Evanston Public Library! A few highlights I hope you'll attend...

A Celebration of Belizean Culture

Sunday, April 10, 3-5 pm, Community Meeting Room, Main Library

Belize Culture and Heritage Association (BCHA) in conjunction with the Evanston Public Library brings you an afternoon of fun-filled Belizean activities and treats. Join us for an array of folk songs, dance and childhood games and come experience some of the savor/sweet treats of Belize. It’s bound to be a blast! So come out, bring the entire family and let us introduce you to Belize and all its beauty.

African Presence in Mexico

Sunday, April 17, 3 pm, Community Meeting Room, Main Library

Africa has had a long and extensive influence in Latin America, particularly in Mexico. From Yanga, the leader of the first successful slave revolt, to some of Mexico’s most famous heroes of independence, the African presence cannot be denied. Paulina Nava of the National Museum of Mexican Art will trace the Moorish influence of Spain, to the African Diaspora in the Americas, and highlight some of Mexico's forgotten history. This lecture corresponds to the National Museum of Mexican Art’s 2006 national touring exhibition, The African Presence, and is part of the Big Read and Latino Americans 500 grant projects.

African American Literature Discussion: Negroland

Tuesday, April 19, 7 pm, Small Meeting Room, Main Library
Born in upper-crust black Chicago, daughter of a pediatrician and a socialite, Margo Jefferson has spent most of her life among the "colored aristocracy" blue-vein society. Since the nineteenth century they have stood apart, these inhabitants of "Negroland", a small region of African America where residents were sheltered by a certain amount of privilege and plenty.
Reckoning with the strictures and demands of Negroland at crucial historical moments--the civil rights movement, the dawn of feminism, the fallacy of postracial America--Jefferson brilliantly charts the twists and turns of a life informed by psychological and moral contradictions.
Copies of Negroland will be held at the 2nd floor desk. Please register or call 847-448-8620 to get a copy.
For more information, including related interviews, videos and other websites, see the AAL blog.

Check out our new monthly newsletter, African American Interest!

The Black Male Experience in Evanston: a Panel Discussion

Saturday, April 23, 4-6 pm, Community Meeting Room, Main Library

What is it like to be a Black male in Evanston? Join us in this panel discussion as we explore the history of the Black Male in Evanston, their current experience, as well as challenges and opportunities this poses for Evanston in the future. Come hear personal testimonies as well as what the latest research says of race relations among Evanston families, in our institutions, and across our communities. Share in exceptional stories of exceptional men whose experiences shed light and questions on race relations today. Panelists include Bennett Johnson, President, Path Press, Inc., Lionel Jean-Baptiste, Circuit Court Judge of Cook County, Dino Robinson, Founder of Shorefront and the Shorefront Legacy Center, Dereck Woods, 28-year volunteer coach of F.A.A.M. (Fellowship of Afro-American Men), and co-founder, Black Men Against Violence, and Nathan Norman, Youth/Young Adult Outreach Worker, City of Evanston Illinois Government.

Part of the Quality of Mercy Project, a three-month public programming initiative which invites our community to discuss the complex issues arising from the themes of Dead Man Walking, the play by Tim Robbins, adapted from the book by Sister Helen Prejean, playing at Piven Theatre Workshop April 16-May15. A collaborative effort of six key community partners: Piven Theatre Workshop, Chicago Innocence Center, Evanston Art Center, Evanston Twp High School, Literature for All of Us, and the James B. Moran Center for Youth Advocacy.

Documentary: Whatever Happened to Idlewild?

Sunday, May 1, 3 - 5 pm, Community Meeting Room, Main Library

Once called “The Black Las Vegas,” Idlewild was a wondrous place where African Americans could vacation and relax during America’s segregated Jim Crow era. Idlewild was an incredibly vibrant community from the 1920s through 1960s, but it is now far from being the luxury haven that it once was. The documentary “Whatever Happened to Idlewild” showcases the former “Black Eden” and proposes answers to what has come of the historical resort town. Following the screening of the film, we invite you to participate in a stimulating discussion led by director Coy Davis.
Cosponsored by Shorefront Legacy Center of Evanston.

#LoveStories: A First Look Reading

Sunday, May 8, 3-4:30 pm, Community Meeting Room, Main Library
Join us for a special sneak peek! Inspired by #BLACKLIVESMATTER #LoveStories by Gloria Bond-Clunie, Marsha Estell and Tania Richard is a three part play exploring the breadth of love in a world of deadly conflict. This is a world premiere play commissioned by Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre.
Gloria Bond-Clunie is the founder of Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre and an internationally recognized playwright. Marsha Estell is an accomplished actor and playwright; FJT produced her hit play Heat and her critically acclaimed one-woman play Big Butt Girls and Other Fantasies/The Remix. Tania Richard’s brilliant one-woman play Truth Be Told was commissioned and produced by FJT; she too is an accomplished actor and playwright. Part of the Evanston Literary Festival.

Part of the Quality of Mercy Project, a three-month public programming initiative which invites our community to discuss the complex issues arising from the themes of Dead Man Walking, the play by Tim Robbins, adapted from the book by Sister Helen Prejean, playing at Piven Theatre Workshop April 16-May15. A collaborative effort of six key community partners: Piven Theatre Workshop, Chicago Innocence Center, Evanston Art Center, Evanston Twp High School, Literature for All of Us, and the James B. Moran Center for Youth Advocacy.

This program is presented as part of the 2016 Evanston Literary Festival.

Amina Gautier Reads

Monday May 9th, 7:00 pm, Community Meeting Room, Main Library
The fifteen stories in The Loss of All Lost Things explore the unpredictable ways in which characters negotiate, experience, and manage various forms of loss. They lose loved ones; they lose their security and self-worth; they lose children; they lose their ability to hide and shield their emotions; they lose their reputations, their careers, their hometowns, and their life savings. Often depicting the awkward moments when characters are torn between decision and outcome, The Loss of All Lost Things focuses on moments of regret and yearning.

This program is presented as part of the 2016 Evanston Literary Festival.

Amina Gautier, PhD., is the author of three short story collections: At-Risk, Now We Will Be Happy and the The Loss of All Lost Things. At-Risk was awarded the Flannery O’Connor Award, The First Horizon Award, and the Eric Hoffer Legacy Fiction Award. Now We Will Be Happy was awarded the Prairie Schooner Book Prize in Fiction, the Florida Authors and Publishers Association President's Book Award and a USA Best Book Award. The Loss of All Lost Things was awarded the Elixir Press Award in Fiction.

African American Literature Discussion: The Sellout

Tuesday, May 17, 7 pm, Main Library, Small Meeting Room
A biting satire about a young man's isolated upbringing and the race trial that sends him to the Supreme Court, Paul Beatty's The Sellout showcases a comic genius at the top of his game. It challenges the sacred tenets of the United States Constitution, urban life, the civil rights movement, the father-son relationship, and the holy grail of racial equality--the black Chinese restaurant. Named one of the best books of 2015 by the New York Times Book Review and the Wall Street Journal.
Copies of The Sellout will be held at the 2nd floor desk. Please register or call 847-448-8620 to get a copy.
For more information, including related interviews, videos and other websites, see the AAL blog.
Check out our new monthly newsletter, African American Interest!

Fathers and Daughters: My Soul to His Spirit

Sunday, June 12, 3 pm - 4:30 pm, Community Meeting Room, Main Library

Author Melda Beaty reads from her compilation of stories and letters written by African American girls and women to their fathers. It gives voice to the sentiments of love, pain, disappointment, fulfillment, betrayal, and confusion for a diverse group of black women as they chronicle a journey of healing and redemptive love towards their fathers. My Soul to His Spirit: Soulful Expressions from Black Daughters to Their Fathers won the 2006 National Fresh Voices Award.

Girls and women in the community are invited to share their own stories an writings about their fathers at this event.

Beaty is an author, playwright, college English professor, and writing consultant. Her debut novel, Lime (2012), explores notions of beauty and bonds of friendship set against the horrors of domestic violence. Her current play, Front Porch Society, which was read at The National Black Theatre Festival, delves into the complex lives of four elderly black women in rural Mississippi Delta on the eve of the 2008 presidential election.

The Land of Privilege: Margo Jefferson's Negroland

noreply@blogger.com (Lesley Williams) — Wed, 23 Mar 2016 16:54:00 +0000

This month we're reading Negroland, Margo Jefferson's memoir of growing up light skinned, middle class and privileged in 1950s Chicago. She explains how despite the benefits of a comfortable lifestyle, she and members of her generation were under constant pressure to "uplift the race" not "show their color" or contaminate themselves by associating with lower class, often darker skinned African Americans.

In an interview with NPR's Fresh Air, Jefferson reveals that, ultimately, it was the Black Power movement that led her to question some of the tenets that she had grown up with: "Black Power was really a major challenge to the social privileges and structures of the kind of privilege that I had grown up with," she says. "That whole belief ... that you will only be able to advance if you are perfectly behaved, if you present yourself as what white people would consider an ideal of whiteness ... all of that just began to burst open."

Is the concept of "Negroland" a relic of the past, or do upper class African Americans still experience the pressures Jefferson faced? And how strong is the class/color dividing line in 21st century Black America? We'll wrestle with these questions at our discussion on April 19th, 7:00 pm.

**Jefferson will be speaking as part of the Chicago Humanities Festival on April 30th . Her talk, accompanied by Darryl Pinckney, author of Black Deutschland , is on "Style and the Black Bourgeoisie". Not to be missed!

Some books exploring similar terrain:

Black bourgeoisie by Franklin Frazier
The new Black middle class by Bart Landry
Two classic studies on black upward mobility and social culture.

Disintegration : the splintering of Black America by Eugene Robinson
Examines conflicts between 4 different subgroups within African American life: the "Abandoned" urban underclass; the "Mainstream" educated middle class; the super-rich, super elite "Transcendent"; and the "Emergent" population of mixed race and African/Caribbean immigrants.

The rage of a privileged class by Ellis Cose

Looks at the subtle forms of prejudice that black professionals endure: a black woman may be hired in public relations, but then whites will see the position as weak and nonintellectual; a black male lawyer hired to fill a quota may file brilliant briefs, but he'll be held back from a partnership. Written in 1993, but still pertinent.

Is Bill Cosby right? : or has the Black middle class lost its mind? by Michael Eric Dyson

Well, no one thinks Bill Cosby is right about anything these days, but this remains a provocative look at the "Afristocracy" and their disdain for low income urban Black Americans.

Oyeyemi's Racially Reimagined Fairy Tale

noreply@blogger.com (Lesley Williams) — Thu, 10 Mar 2016 16:53:00 +0000

Greeting! Can't believe it's been nearly 3 months since I last posted! Thanks to everyone who attended the combined KeepintiReal/AAL discussion of My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me, the gripping memoir by Jennifer Teege, an African/German woman who accidentally discovered that her father was the Nazi commandant from Schindler's List.

For March, we are back to fiction with Boy Snow Bird, Helen Oyeyemi 's "gloriously unsettling" re-working of the Snow White. In a small town in the mid-50s, the birth of a dark skinned baby girl unravels a marriage, a family and a town; and a young mother finds herself becoming the "evil stepmother" she never imagined she could be. Join us for the discussion next Tuesday March 15th at 7:00pm! We have copies available at the 2nd floor desk: call 847-448-8620 to reserve yours.

Some new books of interest...

Blood Brothers: The Fatal Friendship Between Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali, by Randy Roberts and Johnny Smith
Sports historians Roberts and Smith delve deeply into the little-known intricacies and tragic consequences of the close bond between the mentoring Nation of Islam minister Malcolm X and the young boxer Cassius Clay. As the authors tell the gripping personal stories of these two passionate revolutionaries and seekers, they cover Clay's genius for audacious self-promotion and strategic self-concealment, and Malcolm X's dream of resolving his increasingly dire conflict with the Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad by bringing Clay and his burgeoning international fame fully into the fold. Vividly set within the coalescing civil rights movement, this incisive anatomy of a fatal friendship turns on the bitter irony that Clay, soon to become Muhammad Ali, and Malcolm X became brothers in spirit by virtue of their shared insistence on equality and freedom in a racist society, only to be drawn to the Nation of Islam, which betrayed and terrorized them both, forcing them apart and ultimately murdering Malcolm X. Roberts and Smith portray both of these courageous and controversial, inspired and inspiring men with fresh, stinging clarity, and extend our perception of the interconnectivity of race, religion, sports, and media during this violent and transformative era, which is so very germane today.

The Defender: How The Legendary Black Newspaper Changed America, by Ethan Michaeli.
The 2nd Baptist Men's group will be reading this in June, but now is your chance to get a head start! As you may remember from reading The Warmth of Other Suns, The Chicago Daily Defender played a key role in spreading hope to African American residents of the Deep South during the Great Migration; letting them know about job opportunities, and keeping them in touch with friends and relatives how had moved north.For decades, it has chronicled Chicago, and indeed national black society offering an alternative perspective on the issues of the day. Micaheli's book is the first comprehensive history of this iconic newspaper.

Brown is the New White: How the Demographic Revolution has Created a New American Majority , by Steve Phillips
A manifesto to those seeking to change the way politics plays out in America today. 51 percent of eligible voters in America today are progressive people of color and progressive whites. Phillips has a background in both politics and law, and here he lays out reasons why white politicians (mainly calling out the whole of the Democratic party) have stalled in producing effective social change stemming from the progressive movement's failure to utilize this new and diverse eligible voting majority. The book pulls no punches (there's a chapter titled, "Fewer Smart-Ass White Boys") but is ultimately hopeful. This slim yet jam-packed call to action will be in demand, both because Phillips is a popular pundit and because the time is ripe for an upheaval in politics-as-usual.

Democracy in Black : How Race Still Enslaves the American Soul, by Eddie Glaude

It has been only a few months since Ta-Nehisi Coates struck the American nerve, in Between the World and Me, by pointing out that our racial history is more deeply ingrained in racism than Gunnar Myrdal suggested. Here Princeton scholar Glaude adds to that debate by equating our racist history to a basic gap in values, the notion that black lives matter less in this country and always have. He proves his point cogently, perhaps with less passion than Coates but with more than enough documentation to move the argument along this new and painful track. This is every bit as important a book as Coates' more personal account.

The Other Blacklist: The African American Literacy and Cultural Left of the 1950s, by Mary Helen Washington

Considering that any effort to achieve racial equality was viewed as subversive in the Cold War era, is it any wonder that so many black artists and writers were viewed as Communists? Yet very little has been written about the black artists and writers who were surveilled, investigated, and blacklisted because of their beliefs and their work. Literary scholar Washington remedies that neglect with this engrossing look at six artists: novelist and essayist Lloyd L. Brown, visual artist Charles White, playwright and novelist Alice Childress, poet and novelist Gwendolyn Brooks, novelist Frank London Brown, and novelist and activist Julian Mayfield.. Though some were Communist Party members and others not, they were all drawn to the Left's appreciation of black folk culture and support for the ideal of self-determination, themes that figured prominently in their work.

Gays in the African American Community

noreply@blogger.com (Lesley Williams) — Wed, 30 Dec 2015 17:54:00 +0000

Hope those who celebrate had a Merry Christmas and a Happy Kwanzaa! And I hope everyone is looking forward to a fabulous New Year's Eve and 2016.

On Tuesday January 19th, please join me for our discussion of E. Lynn Harris' controversial I Say a Little Prayer. Harris, who died unexpectedly in 2009 at age 54, was a publishing phenomenon: by the time of his death he had had 10 consecutive books on the New York Times best-seller list, and had sold 4 million copies of his novels.

Harris's work was notable for its upwardly mobile African American characters, many of whom were gay or bisexual. I Say a Little Prayer looks at an issue of continuing relevance: the role of gay men and women in the black church. Chauncey Greer is a believer, a faithful member of his local church, and a mostly out gay man. Although he is accepted by his pastor, when Bishop Upchurch, a conservative televangelist shows up, Chauncey and the other gay congregants decide to take a stand against Upchurch's anti-gay preaching and politics.

Here's what surprised me about this book; although there is definitely some homophobia, and a lot of hypocrisy about sexuality in general, there is a lot more acceptance of gayness than I would have expected. Chauncey's co-workers, sister and pastor all know that he's gay, and don't have a problem with it. His parents aren't thrilled, but they continue to support and love their son. When the church music director organizes a "Day of Absence" for churchgoing gays and gay supporters, over a thousand people participate.

It's this complex portrait of the contemporary black community that made Harris so popular. Rather than the competing stereotypes of African Americans as either sex crazed thugs or mindlessly emotional holy rollers, Harris' characters embody both spirituality and sensuality. There are plenty of sexy characters in Harris' books, and most of them are sincerely devout churchgoers.I think Harris' world reflects the nuanced reality of African American life in the 21st century far more accurately than many supposedly "mainstream" writers.

Agree? Disagree? Let's talk about it on January 19th! We've still got a couple of copies here at the 2nd floor desk, and it's a quick read. Hope to see you soon!

Black Colleges, Black Panthers and Black Broadway

noreply@blogger.com (Lesley Williams) — Sun, 22 Nov 2015 18:20:00 +0000

Great discussion of The Turner House Tuesday night! Sadly, Angela Flournoy did not win the National Book Award for fiction Wednesday, although Ta Nehisi Coates did win for nonfiction!

Some news...

Our next meeting won't be until January 19th, when we'll be discussing E. Lynn Harris' I Say a Little Prayer. Copies have already begun arriving, (sadly, they did not get here in time for our discussion Tuesday.) We have copies on hold for AAL at the 2nd floor desk; call us at 847-448-8620 or just stop by.

I often run across books which would make great discussions, but there just aren't enough copies in the library system to do it. Here are a few recent titles I highly recommend...

Where everybody looks like me : at the crossroads of America's Black colleges and culture
Historically black colleges and universities, or HBCUs, have long been the bedrock of black culture, graduating heroes like Toni Morrison, Thurgood Marshall, Oprah Winfrey, and Martin Luther King Jr. But the 104 HBCUs are under siege: funding cuts have forced universities to send home thousands of students, dozens of college presidents have been ousted from their jobs, criminal investigations have been launched, conservative legislators have schemed to shut down schools, and overworked faculty have feuded with bureaucrats. Chronicling this near breaking point for black colleges, Where everybody looks like me presents a compelling, tightly woven story of the challenges faced by HBCUs.

From the Bullet to the Ballot: The Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party and Racial Coalition Politics in Chicago

In this comprehensive history of the Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party (ILBPP), Chicago native Jakobi Williams demonstrates that the city's Black Power movement was both a response to and an extension of the city's civil rights movement. Williams focuses on the life and violent death of charismatic leader Fred Hampton, who served as president of the NAACP Youth Council and continued to pursue a civil rights agenda when he became chairman of the revolutionary Chicago-based Black Panther Party. Framing the story of Hampton and the ILBPP as a social and political history and using, for the first time, sealed secret police files in Chicago and interviews conducted with often reticent former members of the ILBPP, Williams explores how Hampton helped develop racial coalitions between the ILBPP and other local activists and organizations.Williams also recounts the history of the original Rainbow Coalition, an alliance of working class blacks, Latinos, and white Southerners, to show how the Panthers worked to create an anti-racist, anti-class coalition to fight urban renewal, political corruption, and police brutality.

Between Barack and a hard place : racism and white denial in the age of Obama

In this timely new book, Tim Wise explores how Barack Obama's emergence as a political force is taking the race debate to new levels. According to Wise, for many white people, Obama's rise signifies the end of racism as a pervasive social force; they point to Obama not only as a validation of the American ideology that anyone can make it if they work hard, but also as an example of how institutional barriers against people of color have all but vanished. But is this true? And does a reinforced white belief in color-blind meritocracy potentially make it harder to address ongoing institutional racism? After all, in housing, employment, the justice system, and education, the evidence is clear: white privilege and discrimination against people of color are still operative and actively thwarting opportunities, despite the success of individuals like Obama. Is black success making it harder for whites to see the problem of racism, thereby further straining race relations, or will it challenge anti-black stereotypes to such an extent that racism will diminish and race relations improve?

The Great White Way: Race and the Broadway Musical

Broadway musicals are one of America's most beloved art forms and play to millions of people each year. But what do these shows, which are often thought to be just frothy entertainment, really have to say about our country and who we are as a nation? The Great White Way reveals the racial politics, content, and subtexts that have haunted musicals from Show Boat (1927) to The Scottsboro Boys (2011). Presented chronologically, The Great White Way shows how perceptions of race altered over time and how musicals dealt with those changes. New archival research on the creators who produced and wrote these shows, including Leonard Bernstein, Jerome Robbins, Stephen Sondheim, and Edward Kleban, will have theater fans rethinking how they view this popular American entertainment.

Does a Home Make A Family?

noreply@blogger.com (Lesley Williams) — Sun, 15 Nov 2015 18:28:00 +0000

A family home is more than just a building; it can represent the hopes, fears, and memories that make a family a family. In The Turner House, Angela Flournoy skillfully traces the web of love affairs, betrayals, accidents, crimes and disappointments that have molded the Turner family, the 13 children of Francis and Viola Turner of Detroit. Francis has died, and a bedridden Viola does not realize that the family home has lost much of its value. Each sibling deals with this crisis differently, and each must come to terms with a problematic family legacy.

In this video for Well Read Black Girl , Flournoy reminds us that everyone needs to forgive their parents at some point to become a full fledged adult. Please join us this coming Tuesday November 17th, (the day before the National Book Award ceremony!) at 7 pm at Evanston Public Library as we discuss this beautifully layered novel. Call 847-448-8620 or stop by the 2nd floor desk to get a copy.

Isabel Wilkerson speaks next Monday at Evanston Township High School

noreply@blogger.com (Lesley Williams) — Mon, 09 Nov 2015 23:21:00 +0000

if you're a fan of The Warmth of Other Suns, I have very exciting news: author Isabel Wilkerson will be speaking at ETHS next Monday night November 16th, 7:00 pm! The event is free and no tickets are required. (Although I would suggest arriving early).

This Fall in African American Books, Movies and Stage...

noreply@blogger.com (Lesley Williams) — Fri, 23 Oct 2015 22:16:00 +0000

Hot discussion this past Tuesday on Medical Apartheid! One thing is clear: many African Americans of various ages and backgrounds feel deeply mistrustful of the American health care system. Stay tuned for more EPL health literacy programs in the near future.

We'll be moving back into fiction for our next two discussions. On November 17th, we'll discuss Valerie Flournoy's The Turner House, a novel treating some of the same issues we wrangled with in Family Properties; African Americans who discover that their property has not accumulated the wealth they thought it had. Yet this is also a rich story of African American family life in all its complexity, with brothers, sisters, cousins, aunts and uncles squabbling yet generally supportive of each others' needs and eccentricities. The Turner House is a National Book Award finalist.

We're skipping December (too much holiday shopping!) and will pick up again January 19th with I Say A Little Prayer, E. Lynn Harris's marvelous novel about a gay man confronting homophobia in the black church. I've been wanting to discuss a Harris book for ages, and this is one of his best.

Finally, February 16th we'll be teaming up with the KeepinitReal nonfiction group to read My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me, the memoir of a German-African woman who discovered that her grandfather was the notorious Nazi commandant featured in Schindler's List. How do you deal with the knowledge of such ultimate evil in your family tree, especially when that evil was directed at people who look like you?

In other news: be sure to catch the Chicago International Film Festival's Black Perspectives series, starting this weekend! Saturday night 10/25, pioneering black director Charles Burnett will be on hand to present his classic To Sleep With Anger, starring Danny Glover.

If you missed Gem of the Ocean at Court Theater, you have another chance to see an August Wilson play next month. Joe Turner's Come and Gone is on stage at Depaul Theatre School November 6th-15th, with previews on the 4th and 5th. Tickets are only $5-$15!

Aaannnddd, Raven Theatre is doing a highly acclaimed musical, Direct From Death Row; The Scottsboro Boys, in which the 9 young black men accused of rape in the 1930s, "return from eternity to our stage, where they keep their story alive through songs, a magic act, skits and soft shoe - all to convey the tawdry show that their case became".

Keep reading!

Beyond the Tuskegee Experiment: Mistreatment of Blacks in the American Medical System

noreply@blogger.com (Lesley Williams) — Sun, 18 Oct 2015 18:32:00 +0000

Most of us have heard about the notorious Tuskegee experiment, in which African American men were duped into letting doctors study the progression of their untreated syphilis . However, medical researcher Harriet Washington carefully documents how the callous use of black bodies both living and dead as research subjects goes all the way back to slavery times, and continues today in research on prisoners, institutionalized children, and Africans.

As with several other books we've read for AAL, this is a long and at times harrowing depiction of atrocities. To focus our discussion a bit, and make it easier for those who don't have time to read the entire book, let's concentrate on chapters 1, 2 , 10, 11, 12, 13, and the Epilogue, "Medical Research with Blacks Today". And, if you're really short on time, the above video interview with Ms Washington covers the major points.

Some questions to think about: does the history of medical mistreatment explain why African Americans have such disparate health outcomes from other Americans? Or is health care discrimination still going on?

Getting subjects for medical experiments is always difficult, and frequently involves either coercion, or financial compensation. But is it ethical to persuade poor people to undergo medical tests because they need the money? And if not, how should medical research be conducted?

Are African Americans overall more distrustful of medical science than other groups? If so how do we fix this? Should this be covered in medical education?

What can or should the medical establishment do to correct or atone for these past mistakes and abuses? Do individual medical schools, clinics or medical journals bear any responsibility?

If you haven't already seen them, I highly recommend the Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, The Pact, and Black Man in a White Coat for more on African Americans in the medical profession. Aaaannnddd...Wednesday night, (the day after our discussion) the History Book Group is discussing Remedy and reaction : the peculiar American struggle over health care reform.

See you this Tuesday October 20th at 7pm, Small Meeting Room on the 1st floor of the Evanston Public Library.

A King, a Saint or a Traitor? MLK's Last Year

noreply@blogger.com (Lesley Williams) — Sat, 26 Sep 2015 15:52:00 +0000

This Tuesday September 29th, AAL will be discussing Tavis Smiley's Death of a King, an eye-opening behind the scenes look at the travails, struggles and failures of Martin Luther King's final year. Given the hagiographic tone of most popular treatments of King, complete with the sanctification of his January 15th birthday, few remember that towards the end of his career, King's legacy was far from assured. Accused of being a communist and traitor by the FBI, and of being a sellout and an Uncle Tom by the newly militant Black Power movement; his fervent, outspoken critique of the Vietnam war lost him key allies. President Lyndon Johnson felt betrayed, and many of the core Civil Rights leaders: Adam Clayton Powell, Bayard Rustin, and Roy Wilkins feared that King had weakened the movement by expanding his vision to include anti-war and anti-poverty efforts. Plagued with depression and self-doubts, King turned to alcohol and adulterous liaisons.

How did such a reviled, controversial and at times self-destructive figure become America's patron saint of racial understanding? Smiley's answer is to show the warmth, strong faith and devotion to the down and out which kept King going in the face of unimaginable pressure. His description of King's respectful and open hearted conversation with a group of young prostitutes who had been heckling him is reminiscent of Pope Francis' bypassing photo ops with world leaders to break bread with the homeless.

Yet Smiley argues that King’s radicalism toward the end of his life has been papered over, while King himself has been reduced to “an idealistic dreamer to be remembered for a handful of fanciful speeches”. How well do most of us today know the "real" King as opposed to the tolerant, peace loving, icon trotted out every January 15th?

In his January 2015 essay "Time to Take Back Martin Luther King Day", Rick Cohen argues that "This year, more than any in recent times, the onus on all of us should be to take back Martin Luther King Day from the emphasis on top-down, one-day, feel-good volunteer fix-up projects and refocus attention on strategies and actions to address racial inequity and injustice today...In 2015, we should all be showing courage to analyze, address, and attack overt, structural, institutional, and implicit racism on the day on which we all too often miss the point of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s life and legacy by making his holiday one that doesn’t forthrightly address issues of race".

Is Cohen right? Join our discussion this Tuesday!

African American History at Chicago Humanities Festival, Court Theatre and Siskel Film Center

noreply@blogger.com (Lesley Williams) — Mon, 07 Sep 2015 20:18:00 +0000

Dear Friends,

Last week's discussion of Americanah rocked! Thanks so much to all who participated. Hope to see everyone on September 29th for Death of a King : the real story of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s final year. We've got copies at our 2nd floor desk; stop by or call 847-448-8620 to get one.

There are echoes of our AAL discussion topics everywhere this fall. a few upcoming programs to watch out for...

Chicago Humanities Festival October 24th-November 7th (tickets available September 8th for members, September 14th for nonmembers)

Americanah piqued my interest in Nigerian culture, so I was delighted to see that one of the CHF Evanston programs is "Global Igbo" a reading by English/Nigerian author Chris Abani. Abani is a Northwestern professor, and is the son of an English mother and a Nigerian father who wrote his first novel at age 16. Through his prolific and varied writings – which include novels, novellas, plays, and poems – Abani has sought to capture the specifics of his own experience while conveying the political and emotional dramas that transcend and tie together disparate cultures. Abani will be speaking Saturday October 24th at 12:30 pm on Northwestern's campus.

Also on the program that afternoon at 3:00 pm: Ta-Nehisi Coates!! He'll be discussing his new memoir, Between The World and Me, in which he shares his evocative reflections on what it’s like to inhabit a black male body in contemporary America. Expect this to sell out fast, so call early!

Two Events for Stokely fans:

From the Bullet to the Ballot: Black Panthers and Chicago's Racial Coalitions
In his recent book, From the Bullet to the Ballot: The Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party and Racial Coalition Politics in Chicago, native South Sider Jakobi Williams uses sealed secret police files and first-person interviews to explore the history and impact of the Black Panther Party and Rainbow Coalition. He'll be speaking Sunday October 25th at 3:30 in Hyde Park

The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution

will be showing at the Siskel Film Center in Chicago September 25th- October 1st. On Sunday September 27 at 5:00 pm director Stanley Nelson will be present for an audience discussion. (This is NOT part of the Chicago Humanities Festival; tickets are available from the Siskel Film Center)

Crossing the "Invisible Line"
Remember our discussion of Fatal Vision and the Invisible Line last year? You'll want to catch
Passing in White America, also part of the Humanities festival. Stanford historian Allyson Hobbs looks at the "chosen exile," a separation from one racial identity and a leap into another experienced by countless light skinned African Americans as an escape from slavery in the antebellum South and Jim Crow. But in looking back at both American history and the story of her own family, Hobbs also uncovers the terrible grief, loneliness, and isolation of passing, and the ways it continues to influence our thinking about racial identity and politics.
Sunday, October 25 | 5:30-6:30 PM in Hyde Park.

Northwestern Profs Look at Echoes of Slavery in Popular Media

If you missed last year's wonderful Slavery on Screen presentation, you have a second chance to see our old friends Miriam Petty and Nick Davis unpack the traditions of slavery and plantation films from television landmarks like Roots to independent films like Sankofa and Daughters of the Dust. They'll be speaking Saturday October 24th at 4:30 in Evanston

Gem of the Ocean at Court Theatre

Resident Artist Ron OJ Parson continues his triumphant tour through August Wilson's iconic century cycle with Gem of the Ocean, his seventh Wilson production at Court Theatre. Featuring Court favorites A.C. Smith (Fences, Jitney), Alfred Wilson (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Jitney), David Alan Anderson (The Mountaintop), and Tyla Abercrumbie (The Piano Lesson). Nominated for the Tony Award for Best Play in 2005, Gem of the Ocean is a fantastical story of freedom, justice, and redemption.

Enjoy, and keep reading!!

Race, Sex and Hair: the Cross Cultural Politics of Americanah

noreply@blogger.com (Lesley Williams) — Thu, 20 Aug 2015 21:33:00 +0000

Author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie discusses the politics of race, sex, and hair with British journalist Jon Snow

This Tuesday, we'll be discussing one of the most talked about books of the past two years. Although Americanah has won numerous awards and glowing reviews, it has also been criticized for caricaturing Nigerian life and culture, for being anti-American, anti-male, and for overall snobbery. Reactions clearly vary depending on the race, nationality or gender of the reader, (note for example Snow's bemusement in the clip above on why black hair is such a major issue, or Terry Gross's unwillingness to recognize that hair choice has specific relevance for black women).

Given the multitude of reviews, blogposts, discussion groups and videos discussing Americanah, I won't post much here. Penguin/Random House has an excellent discussion guide, and you can follow two excellent online discussions at Goodreads Writers of Color Book club discussion and Literary Fiction by Authors of Color discussion.

If you haven't had time to read the whole book, or if you really want to dive into deeper waters, I recommend Litcharts Americanah Guide. It's great for plot summaries, locating favorite quotes, and for understanding themes in the novel, and the character guide is especially helpful.

Some questions I hope we'll get to on Tuesday:

*The difference between tribal/class affiliations in Nigeria, and between African immigrants, and race/class divisions in the US.

*Importance of Barack Obama as a unifying symbol

*The meaning of "truth". Ifemelu is consistently depicted as outspoken, (often uncomfortably) and "truth" is a characteristic Obinze most associates with her. Yet is she a reliable narrator? What would other characters: Blaine, Aunty Uju, Dike, Kosi, Ginika, Raniyinudo, Kimberly, or Curt think of Ifemelu's truthfulness?

For a pointed, largely negative review from a fellow Nigerian writer, see:

Ikhide R. Ikheloa

Americanah: Through a looking glass glumly

"lfemelu’s “blog posts” in the book would have made good provocative essays. However, they are not very good, filled with generalizations and specious arguments, prescriptive at best, never examining why things are the way they are. They are at best mildly thoughtful as if the blogger was too lazy or timid to fully flesh out the thoughts. There is no vision here which is fine if it is just for entertainment but then the book strains to be taken seriously....

"Where Adichie really loses it is in her analysis of race issues in the West. The book swims in cute anecdotes about race – in black and white, but it is complicated. Adichie’s world view on race relations in America misreads the huge demographic shifts sweeping America. America is browning. It is strange, for example, that a book on exile, immigration and race is virtually silent on Hispanics (there is a little paragraph in the book somewhere that seems to do no more than acknowledge the existence of Hispanics).

"In Americanah, Adichie displays a knack for detail, nothing escapes her cynical eyes. Nigeria’s Jhumpa Lahiri, she is this fastidious house inspector groping for dirt in your bathroom. She takes superciliousness and patronizing condescension to chic heights. Americanah bears heavy echoes of Lahiri’s superciliousness. There is no joy here, just people waking up and doing what they have to do. Ifemelu will not be pleased. Nothing impresses her. Ifemelu is anal-retentive, indeed many Americans would call her an asshole. She has a huge chip on her cute shoulders. And it is ugly, bristling with impatience, a quickness to judge others using pseudo-intellectual psychobabble. And she overanalyzes everything. I mean everything. Even the peppersoup is overanalyzed. Just eat the damn thing. While Ifemelu’s preferred romantic relationships were with Western men, she hardly had any respectful conversation with anyone in the West. Everything is tinged with race. In Ifemelu’s world, America is a tired, smelly place clothed in a culture of despair. Many would disagree."

See you Tuesday, August 25th, 7:00 pm in the 1st floor Small Meeting room. To pick up a copy, stop by or call the 2nd floor desk, 847-448-8620.

Contract Buyer's League: an Exhibition

noreply@blogger.com (Lesley Williams) — Tue, 21 Jul 2015 14:35:00 +0000

We had a full house for last Wednesday night's discussion of Family Properties! Special guest Jack Macnamara, who played a pivotal role in helping organize the Contract Buyer's League told us about this fabulous exhibit currently on display at Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago, North Lawndale, 3555 W Ogden Ave in Chicago. Here are a few photos from the exhibit.

And don't forget, this Sunday July 26th in Winnetka is Justice Day 2015, Open Communities celebration of Martin Luther King's 1965 speech on the Winnetka Green. It will be a family-friendly event with tables from various community organizations, music, arts and crafts, and children’s activities. It is, "an opportunity to recapture the northern suburb residents’ desire for social justice and for every individual to get involved". We're hoping to display some panels from the CBL exhibit there too. Hope to see you!

will be a family-friendly event with tables from various community organizations, music, arts and crafts, and children’s activities. It is an opportunity to recapture the northern suburb residents’ desire for social justice and for every individual to get involved. - See more at: http://www.interfaithhousingcenter.org/caldetail.cfm?calendar_id=1116945#sthash.7DDAXTvw.dpuf

The Tragedy of Chicago Segregation

noreply@blogger.com (Lesley Williams) — Thu, 09 Jul 2015 15:04:00 +0000

This week, Mary Barr will be back in town discussing her book Friends Disappear: The Battle for Racial Equality in Evanston. Barr's memoir focuses on the lives of white and black school friends from the 70s, and how race and class affected the outcomes of their lives.

Evanston's path to racial integration has not always been smooth, yet it sounds positively idyllic when compared with Chicago. As in many northern cities, real estate boards and banks, in collusion with the Federal Housing Administration's redlining, conspired to prevent African Americans from obtaining mortgages, refused to allow them to buy property outside of the "Black Belt" and forced them to resort to outrageous "contract " agreements for inferior overpriced housing. The result was overcrowded neighborhoods, black homeowners working 2 jobs to keep up with exorbitant payments, and family and neighborhood disintegration.

This month, Open Communities (formerly Interfaith Housing) in Winnetka honors the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King's speech on the Winnetka green, in which he addressed racial segregation in the Chicago suburbs. As part of this observance, EPL will be discussing Family Properties: Race, Real Estate, and the Exploitation of Black Urban America, historian Beryl Satter's memoir of Chicago's unequal housing system, and those who fought it, including her father. Her fascinating mixture of urban history and family memoir explores the conflicts between family loyalty, communal responsibility, and racial animosity which resulted in tragedy for so many. We will also look at contemporary issues related to open and affordable housing in Chicago, the suburbs and the nation.

Please join us on Wednesday July 15th at 7 pm at Evanston Public Library. All are welcome! Call 847-448-8620 to get a copy of the book.

Civil Rights, Then and Now

noreply@blogger.com (Lesley Williams) — Sun, 14 Jun 2015 15:01:00 +0000

50 years ago this summer, Martin Luther King spoke to over 10,000 people on the Winnetka Green about the racially exclusive nature of Chicago's northern suburbs. Evanston, like other suburban communities continues to struggle with this contentious issue, especially the effect of affordable

housing on racial diversity.

As part of the 2015 Justice Project, Evanston Public Library is proud to partner with Open Communities on Becoming a Welcoming Community: Then and Now, a panel discussion of the history of fair and affordable housing in Evanston, and what is being done currently to make Evanston a fair and welcoming community for all. We'll be speaking with representatives from Open Communities, the North Shore-Barrington Association of Realtors, the City of Evanston and the Evanston/North Shore NAACP.

We're looking back on Freedom Summer with several Civil Rights themed book discussions in June and July. Tuesday of course we're discussing Stokely , Peniel Josephs' acclaimed critical biography of the civil rights and Black Power leader. On Wednesday, the History group looks at one of Thurgood Marshall's early cases in Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America, And finally, on July 15th the History and African American Literature groups come together to discuss Family Properties: Race, Real Estate, and the Exploitation of Black Urban America, a memoir of neighborhood segregation in Chicago. All 3 books are available at the 2nd floor desk of Evanston Public Library; call 847-448-8620 to get your copies.

African American Literature Discussion: Stokely

Tuesday, June 16, 7 pm, Small Meeting Room, Main Library
Preeminent civil rights scholar Peniel E. Joseph presents a groundbreaking biography of Stokely Carmichael, arguing that the young firebrand's evolution from nonviolent activist to Black Power revolutionary reflected the trajectory of a generation radicalized by the violence and unrest of the late 1960s. Fed up with the slow progress of the civil rights movement, Carmichael urged blacks to turn the rhetoric of freedom into a reality, inspiring countless African Americans to demand immediate political self-determination.

History Book Discussion Group: Devil in the Grove

Wednesday, June 17, 7 pm , Seminar Room, Third Floor, Main Library

Before Thurgood Marshall would argue Brown v. Board of Ed in front of the Supreme Court that he would go on to join, he led the legal defense of four young black men falsely accused of rape. Gilbert King's Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America, a gripping account of that case, was awarded the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction.

Becoming a Welcoming Community 50 Years Later

Thursday, June 25, 7 pm, Community Meeting Room, Main Library
50 years ago this summer, Martin Luther King spoke to over 10,000 people on the Winnetka Green about the racially exclusive nature of Chicago's northern suburbs. Evanston, like other suburban communities continues to struggle with this contentious issue, especially the effect of affordable housing on racial diversity.
Evanston Public Library is proud to partner with Open Communities on a panel discussion of the history of fair and affordable housing in Evanston, and what is being done currently to make Evanston a fair and welcoming community for all.
Speakers:
Gail Schechter - Open Communities
John Fuller - Evanston NAACP
Lin Ewing - North Shore-Barrington Association of Realtors
Sarah Flax - Evanston Housing and Grants Administrator

History /African American Literature Book Discussion Group: Family Properties

Wednesday, July 15, 7 pm , Seminar Room, Third Floor, Main Library

Chicago became the most segregated city in the north as a result of a complex system of legal discrimination and financial exploitation. In Family Properties: Race, Real Estate, and the Exploitation of Black Urban America, historian Beryl Satter tells the story of this system and those who fought it, including her father, in this fascinating mixture of urban history and family memoir.
In this special event, the African American Literature and History book discussion groups join forces for this program in recognition of the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King's visit to the North Shore and the North Shore Summer Project.