RETROSPECT
Recent Events MEET THE AUTHOR: BEN AUSTEN High-Risers: Cabrini-Green and the Fate of American Public Housing Cabrini-Green looms in the American imagination as a notorious example of public housing. Ben Austen’s book High-Risers complicates the narrative that many Americans have received through the news. On March 7, Austen and J.R. Fleming—an anti-eviction activist, former resident of Cabrini-Green, and one of the main figures in the book—spoke about the history of public housing in Chicago, the rise of Cabrini-Green, the contradictions between the media’s portrayal of Cabrini-Green and the actual experience of living there, and the future of housing access. Author Ben Austen (right) and anti-eviction activist J.R. Fleming
WOMEN, RELIGION, AND SOCIAL CHANGE IN CHICAGO AND THE MIDWEST Occurring as the final program in the Newberry’s project Religious Change, 1450-1700, in April, a panel of scholars explored the ways religious women in Chicago have pushed traditional boundaries of leadership and progressive politics while advocating for social conservatism and moral rectitude. Mary Beth Connolly opened the program with her discussion of the Sisters of Mercy, who established Catholic schools that served both Catholic and non-Catholic girls in primary and secondary education in the mid-nineteenth century. Rachel Bohlmann followed with a conversation about how Frances Willard and the Christian Women’s Temperance Union faced opponents who tried to discredit the harms of alcohol-related domestic violence and the importance of women’s representation in government. Next, Karla Goldman discussed Chicago Jewish women’s rich history of public advocacy and civil rights activism. Wallace Best closed the talks with an exploration of two black women preachers in Chicago who cared for their congregations’ spiritual and physical needs in ways that both embraced and eschewed traditional views of women’s roles in the church. Finally, Ann Durkin Keating moderated a discussion among the panelists and a question-and-answer session with the audience.
Listen to public programs at https://soundcloud.com/newberrylibrary A panel of scholars discuss women, religion, and social change in Chicago. Left to right: Wallace Best, Karla Goldman, Rachel Bohlmann, Mary Beth Connolly, and Ann Durkin Keating.
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Spring 2018