April 27, 2016

2 SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY

¬ APRIL 27, 2016

IN CHICAGO

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.

Editor-in-Chief Jake Bittle Managing Editors Maha Ahmed, Christian Belanger Deputy Editor Olivia Stovicek Senior Editor Emeline Posner Education Editor Music Editor Stage & Screen Editor Visual Arts Editor

Hafsa Razi Austin Brown Julia Aizuss Corinne Butta

Contributing Editors Joe Andrews, Eleonora Edreva, Andrew Koski,

Lewis Page, Sammie Spector, Carrie Smith Editors-at-Large Mari Cohen, Ellie Mejia Video Editor Lucia Ahrensdorf Radio Producer Maira Khwaja Social Media Editors Emily Lipstein, Sam Stecklow Visuals Editor Ellen Hao Layout Editors Baci Weiler, Sofia Wyetzner Senior Writer: Stephen Urchick Staff Writers: Olivia Adams, Maddie Anderson, Sara Cohen, Christopher Good, Anne Li, Emiliano Burr di Mauro, Kristin Lin, Zoe Makoul, Sonia Schlesinger, Darren Wan Staff Photographers: Juliet Eldred, Finn Jubak, Alexander Pizzirani, Julie Wu Staff Illustrators: Javier Suarez, Addie Barron, Jean Cochrane, Lexi Drexelius, Wei Yi Ow, Amber Sollenberger, Teddy Watler, Julie Wu, Zelda Galewsky, Seonhyung Kim Editorial Interns

Gozie Nwachukwu, Kezie Nwachukwu, Bilal Othman

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

Higher Ed Funding Passes After a ten-month standoff between Republican Governor Bruce Rauner and the Democratic state legislature, an agreement has been reached regarding the funding of public universities and community colleges in Illinois: state lawmakers passed a $600 million plan on Friday that would help fund higher education. Perhaps surprisingly, Rauner praised the plan and signed it into law on Monday. Illinois’s higher education system has been under tremendous pressure since last July due to the recent state budget impasse and continuing fiscal restraints. For lack of funds, Chicago State University (CSU)—a predominantly black public university on Chicago’s South Side—hastened the close of its school year and decided to stop paying employees after April. As part of the new funding plan, CSU will receive $20.1 million, and $169.7 million will go to low-income students through Illinois’s Monetary Award Program. The bipartisan agreement is more than most expected, but it falls short of the original $1.7 billion proposed by Democrats. The state Senate also approved $441 million in funding for social services on Friday, though Rauner says he does not support that plan.

Save the Chicago Reader The Chicago Reader—Chicago’s second-most-beloved free weekly—is in trouble, according to a petition circulated by the Chicago Newspaper Guild on social media last Thursday and tweets using #savethechicagoreader. The petition cited repeated cutbacks “that diminish editorial coverage and quality” by the Reader’s owners Wrapports LLC, who also own the SunTimes and bought the Reader for $3 million in 2012. Despite skepticism from readers and writers alike, Wrapports promised that they wouldn’t mess up the Reader’s trademark style. But the petition says that the size of the print edition has been slashed by nearly forty percent, staff reductions have decreased the print edition’s distribution, and popular columns have been cut. The Reader was the original free alt weekly when it began “kicking ass”

Webmaster Alex Mueller, Sofia Wyetzner Publisher Harry Backlund

South Side Weekly 6100 S. Blackstone Ave. Chicago, IL 60637 For advertising inquiries, contact: (773) 234-5388 or advertising@southsideweekly

Cover photo by Andrew Koski Cover design by Ellen Hao

The Fall of Troy?

Last Wednesday night, parents of students enrolled at Blaine Elementary School in Lakeview were notified by email from CPS that Troy LaRaviere, principal of the school, was being removed from the position, effective immediately. LaRaviere (who is also a columnist for the Weekly) had been the principal at Blaine for four years, earning the mayor’s principal merit award—a $10,000 bonus—for three of them. Parents of Blaine students, especially those on Blaine’s Local School Council, feel “blindsided” by the sudden change, even though LaRaviere has previously been warned against speaking out against the district. Supporters of LaRaviere are organizing and attending rallies in his name, sporting shirts saying #StandWithTroy, a reference to the related Twitter campaign. “I STILL HAVE NOT BEEN INFORMED OF THE CHARGES AGAINST ME,” he wrote on his blog last Friday. LaRaviere has spoken out against corporatism and corruption in CPS and has been a vocal opponent of standardized testing.

Even Bernie Sanders is upset about the situation, pitting the blame on the mayor’s “unhealthy obsession with taking revenge.” (LaRaviere appeared in a campaign ad for the Democratic presidential candidate last month.) But the mayor maintains that the ousting could not be a petty political move: the city’s Shakman Decrees have prohibited politically motivated hiring and firing.

IN THIS ISSUE

The paper is produced by an all-volunteer editorial staff and seeks contributions from across the city. We distribute each Wednesday in the fall, winter, and spring, with breaks during April and December. Over the summer we publish monthly.

Send submissions, story ideas, comments, or questions to editor@southsideweekly.com or mail to:

in 1971, and its style of creative nonfiction and its free circulation model have been emulated by other free weeklies from Seattle to the South Side of Chicago. The petition concludes, “Ownership must invest in marketing, advertising, and digital operations and enrich editorial content, or the Reader will die.” If that happens, Chicagoans would surely miss out on their weekly dose of knowledge from The Straight Dope, love advice from Savage Love, and the only comprehensive list of upcoming concerts in Chicago—the Reader’s Early Warnings.

“whose

city colleges?”

A voice to the community. adia robinson...4

the surprising power of poetics

the totem poles of bridgeport

“I don't know...what would you guys like to hear tonight?” andrea giugni...8

They, like the Club itself, exist to protect the children. alex weiss...12

unique finds

a guide to cultural appropriation vs.

building blocks

South and West Sides see a block club revival. andrew koski...6

Other than the gun clip, Michael said that the most unusual item he’s ever come across is a fur coat made from ferrets. troy ordoñez...10

S

appreciation

Remember that time Rihanna went to Dubai and posed in front of a mosque? hoda katebi...13

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South Side Weekly Radio soundcloud.com/south-side-weekly-radio APRIL 27, 2016 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 3

“Whose City Colleges?”

Through a push for an elected school board and equal access to programs, the Alliance of City College Unions fights to “keep the community in community colleges”

BY ADIA ROBINSON

COURTESY OF COOK COUNTY COLLEGE TEACHERS UNION

O

n March 28, nearly two hundred people convened at Grace Church in the South Loop for a town hall sponsored by the Alliance of City College Unions. At the City Colleges Community Town Hall, union representatives, teachers, faculty, and students spoke out against City Colleges of Chicago’s Reinvention Initiative. They had two goals for this town hall: an elected board for City Colleges of Chicago, and city council hearings on City Colleges’ program relocation policy. But their overarching goal, as their slogan states, is to “keep the community in community colleges.”

The Alliance of City College Unions (ACCU) is a collaboration between multiple community college labor groups in the Chicago area: the Cook County College Teachers’ Union (CCCTU) Local 1600, representing full-time faculty, professionals, and security staff working at community 4 SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY

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colleges in Chicago and its suburbs; CCCTU Local 1708, the union for clerical and technical personnel; the City Colleges Contingent Labor Organizing Committee (CCCLOC), representing adjunct faculty and librarians; and Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 73, representing custodial staff.

Tony Johnston, president of CCCTU Local 1600, called the town hall a success. One of ACCU’s goals for the town hall was to have elected officials attend and hear the concerns of City Colleges teachers, students, and union representatives.

“Testimony was very heartfelt and, I think, very encouraging, as far as the need for elected officials to get involved,” Johnston said over the phone after the event. Aldermen Scott Waguespack, John Arena, and Nicholas Sposato, and State Representatives Robert Martwick, Cynthia Soto, and Will Guzzardi all attended the town hall. Representative

Martwick introduced House Bill 4312, legislation that would create an elected board for City Colleges of Chicago, to the Illinois House of Representatives, and Representatives Soto and Guzzardi are co-sponsors on the bill.

House Bill 4312 passed the Illinois House Committee on Higher Education on April 20, thirteen to one, with bipartisan support.

The bill has had a second reading, but several notes on the bill have prevented it from having the third reading required before the bill can be debated and voted on. Representative Martwick believes that these notes were created to “slow down the process.” Calling an elected board “a right that is supposed to be guaranteed under our system of democracy” in an emailed statement, he said he believes that the measure will be voted on and passed in the Illinois House by May. House Bill 4312 is analogous to House Bill 577, the bill to create an elected school

board for Chicago Public Schools. Much like Chicago Public Schools is the only school district in Illinois without an elected school board, City Colleges of Chicago is the only community college system in the state without an elected board. Instead of the current sevenmember board, the board would be composed of twenty members, each representing a unique district, and a board president elected at-large. It would have the same powers and responsibilities as the current appointed board of trustees.

Johnston described the need for an elected City Colleges board in terms of accountability.

“Accountability...is a term that's being used quite a bit towards us from administration. We think also that they should be held accountable for their decisions,” he said. “And essentially [now], they are accountable to no one but the mayor, because the mayor appoints them.”

He went on to point out that almost none

EDUCATION

“We are merely asking for democracy in education: let communities vote for who makes decisions at these public community schools”—CCCTU Local 1600 representative Michael Held of the members of the current board have a background in higher education. Looking at bios for the current City Colleges board of trustees, aside from the chair of the board, most board members have backgrounds in business or politics.

“We are merely asking for democracy in education: let communities vote for who makes decisions at these public community schools (that's what a ‘community’ college should be),” said Michael Held, CCCTU Local 1600 representative for Daley College, in an emailed statement.

The ACCU’s push for an elected school board started last October. According to Held, “The town hall was only one piece to a larger strategy to stand up for our communities and students.”

Other actions by the ACCU include many tabling sessions, which Held describes as “informational picketing,” where union representatives inform people on the issues facing City Colleges and encourage people to support their petition demanding policy change.

The ACCU’s March 28 town hall also highlighted three policies that the unions believe harm students and faculty: program relocation, a part of City Colleges’ College to Career program; changes to the tuition schedule; and a new model of advising. These

policies are all a part of the Reinvention Initiative, started in 2010 by Chancellor Cheryl L. Hyman. The initiative is supposed to “drive greater degree attainment, job placement, and career advancement” according to the City Colleges website.

During the town hall, Johnston stated that Reinvention has harmed communities.

“Ever since 2010...that connection with our neighborhoods, with our communities, has been weakened,” he said, according to a video recording of the event. “The city college administration has instituted policies that limit access to college,” he continued.

Students, educators, and union representatives have said that the proposed program relocation under Colleges to Careers has limited access to college. The program assigns a career designation to each college in the network. Before, each college had classes in every field. Once the College to Career program is fully implemented, students looking to study information technology will have to attend Wright College, and students looking to study auto-tech will have to take classes at Olive-Harvey. Manufacturing will be moved to Daley; hospitality to KennedyKing; healthcare to Malcolm X; business to Harold Washington; and education, human and natural sciences to Truman.

According to Johnston, many students

can’t make the cross-city trip to take classes at the college that they have been designated to. The movement of education and childdevelopment programs to Truman College in Uptown will hurt many students on the South and West Sides, where all of these programs will be closed. “Many of them just simply cannot make that trip up to Truman,” he said.

Held added that the location of some College to Careers programs perpetuates racial and class segregation in Chicago. “It appears the programs for blue-collar and service jobs are offered on the South and West Sides (transportation at [Olive-Harvey]; manufacturing at Daley; hospitality at [Kennedy-King]), while the higher-incomepotential programs are north (business at [Harold Washington]; computer tech at Wright; education at Truman).”

City Colleges of Chicago did not respond to requests for comment.

Speaking at the town hall, T'Juana Seay, a Daley College student majoring in early childhood education and a mom with a fulltime job, put a human face to that problem.

She stated that because of her obligations as an employee and a mom, the commute to Truman would make continuing her education almost impossible. She also questioned Daley College’s designation as the center for Advanced Manufacturing, saying “We

should only have manufacturing jobs in our community? That's not right for us.”

A second Reinvention program, which changed the tuition schedule, also disadvantages some City Colleges students in a way that Johnston claims ignores the reality of City Colleges’ student population. The new tuition schedule gives students a discount for full-time enrollment, making part-time attendance more expensive. However, as Johnston stated, “The vast majority of our students are part-time. They have other commitments: family, they have jobs.”

Additional concerns of the ACCU include an unresponsive administration and the fact that adjunct faculty are going on their fourth year without a collective bargaining agreement.

Johnston blames the “intransigence of the administration” for the lack of negotiations and said, “The administration has chosen not to hear our concerns....They are not listening to the concerns not only of us but of the community and of the students.”

Representatives of the ACCU and Representative Martwick hope that an elected City Colleges board of trustees will help address these concerns. “I'm not gonna go out and say that all of our problems are gonna go away with an elected school board,” said Johnston. “But at least it gives a voice to the community in Chicago.”

APRIL 27, 2016 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 5

Building Blocks

Organizers seek to transform neighborhoods by uniting block clubs

BY ANDREW KOSKI

I

n a 2014 column, Mary Schmich of the Tribune called block club signs an “underappreciated art form in Chicago.”

These signs, which can be found on residential streets all over the South and West Sides, tend to follow a pattern: a word of welcome, the location of the block club, and a list of rules that prohibit loitering, drugs, loud music, littering, gambling, etc.

Block clubs originally flourished in Chicago to combat the rising drug trade in the 1980s and 1990s, but activists and block club leaders say that the number of block clubs in the city has been increasing again in recent years. Now, instead of focusing solely on surveillance as the painted eyes on some signs suggest, block club platforms are expanding to include initiatives in housing, education, public health, green infrastructure and more.

And in some neighborhoods, the fundamental structure of block clubs is transforming: isolated groups of concerned neighbors are now becoming cohesive networks of block club “alliances” and “federations.”

“Our motto is ‘Connect the Blocks,’ ” says Val Free, the Lead Coordinator of the Southeast Side Block Club Alliance (SEBCA).

During a recent SEBCA information session, she outlined the basic tenet of their strategy: the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Free believes an organization composed of block clubs can realize the full potential of the skills and resources that individuals in its neighborhood have to offer by connecting people within neighborhoods. In South Shore and the Southeast Side in general, says Free, “we have a lot of human capital that’s doing great things everywhere else but in their own neighborhoods. So how do we begin to engage those folks to feel like they’re a part of the neighborhood?”

One of SEBCA’s main goals is to reach out to residents that live and sleep in a neighborhood but don’t actually have a vested interest in it, or “bedroom neighbors,” in Free’s words. “They work someplace else but they never really live here,” she says.

Although she has lived in South Shore for years, Free was not always a block club and community organizer. She worked in corporate America for over twenty years, 6 SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY

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“We were one of the original five black families on the block,” says Handy, who still lives in the family home. In those days, Handy says, “block clubs only did parties,” because “the neighborhood had young families with kids.” Today, most of the residents are older, and most of the children have grown and moved away.

“One of the challenges when [the Ridgeland Block Club Association] started was finding a reason to exist,” Handy says, “we are trying to be more relevant in our focus for our residents.” and says she used to be a bedroom neighbor herself.

“I was one of those bedroom neighbors—I came home, I went to sleep, I went to work, I went to sleep, and I did everything outside of my neighborhood,” she says. “I never wanted to move away from my neighborhood, but I did everything outside of [it]…My son didn’t go to the schools in the neighborhood, we weren’t a part of the neighborhood—we just lived here.”

But when she began organizing the people in her building to remove a negligent building manager, she “woke up and realized” what was happening to her neighborhood.

She formed a tenants’ association for her building and they succeeded in removing the building manager. Although she hadn’t worked as a community organizer before, she found that her work in the Strong Communities department of the YMCA helped in community outreach. “Those skills kind of transferred to me and I didn’t realize that’s what was happening,” she says.

After forming her building’s tenants’ association, she also formed a block club

across the street. Then, while she was in transition from her job at the YMCA corporate office, she was drawn into block clubs and community organizing efforts by organizations that heard about her building’s success. From that point, her outreach efforts blossomed into three distinct organizations: The Planning Coalition, the Southeast Side Block Club Alliance, and South Shore Works.

She first formed the South Shore Neighborhood Network, which spawned an initiative that brought the leaders of eighty block clubs together at an assembly.

Although she had initially intended to focus on South Shore, there was so much interest from block clubs in other Southeast Side neighborhoods that they expanded the group’s name to encompass the Southeast Side as a whole. The Planning Coalition now directs SEBCA, which organizes block clubs, tenants’ associations, and homeowners associations across the Southeast Side. It also created South Shore Works as an independent organization in order to specifically focus on development in South Shore.

SEBCA focuses specifically on

organizing the neighborhoods of South Shore, Calumet Heights, Greater Grand Crossing, South Deering, and South Chicago. They want to give residents the tools to start their own block clubs—they’re currently making a block club handbook with resources for block club leaders. They also plan to bring the groups together once a year for an assembly where they can share information, discuss organizing models that they have found effective, and talk about the challenges that individual block clubs are facing.

Although SEBCA’s official launch was on February 27th of this year, they had worked with new and existent block clubs before then.

Last summer, they “started five block clubs in a matter of two months,” Free said.

One of the most established block clubs they are working with currently is Ben Handy’s Ridgeland Block Club Association in Calumet Heights.

“I’m excited about [SEBCA],” Handy says, because “we need initiatives with more communication and sharing.” The Ridgeland Block Club Association was originally founded six years ago, when Handy started a newsletter for his neighbors called The Ridgelander, which spread information about neighborhood news and events and is now published online on their website, ridgelandblockclub.com.

The Ridgelander created such a buzz among Handy’s neighbors that they eventually formed a block club for their stretch of the neighborhood, extending along Ridgeland Avenue from 87th Street to 90th Street.

The Ridgeland Block Club Association was officially founded two years ago, and this month it became a 501(c)(3) organization.

As a lifelong resident of Calumet Heights, Handy has seen firsthand the demographic changes that the neighborhood has experienced over the past decades. “We were one of the original five black families on the block,” says Handy, who still lives in the family home. In those days, Handy says, “block clubs only did parties,” because “the neighborhood had young families with kids.”

Today, most of the residents are older, and most of the children have grown and moved away. “One of the challenges when [the Ridgeland Block Club Association] started was finding a reason to exist,” Handy says,

POLITICS

“we are trying to be more relevant in our focus for our residents.”

Although their focus is primarily directed toward other initiatives, the Ridgeland Block Club Association did have their first block party last year: the Ridgeland Homecoming, which Handy says was a “successful rebranding strategy” because it invited people who grew up there to return for a neighborhood reunion. This year, he says, the homecoming will include two other block clubs, and might include even more clubs next year.

Free made it clear during a SEBCA information session that the Alliance isn’t trying to change individual block clubs’ cultures or structures. Rather, SEBCA

wants to partner with block clubs to initiate communication between clubs, become more effective in uniting block clubs, and “create block clubs that run their neighborhoods.”

She also said that the block clubs should bring CAPS—Chicago Alternative Police Strategy—to them, not vice versa. CAPS works with block clubs to ensure public safety by holding workshops for block clubs, and block club members have long been active at CAPS beat meetings.

According to the recent Police Accountability Task Force report, when CAPS was originally conceived in the early 1990s, it was “designed to promote positive police interactions and engagement with the community as a key to long-term crime

reduction.”

The report continues, “CAPS was based on five key features:” a problemsolving model, a neighborhood-specific focus, communication between police and residents through beat meetings, mobilizing city services to solve quality of life problems, and new tools like crime maps to identify chronic problems. “Over its first five to ten years, CAPS had successes and failures”— overall community involvement increased, public perception of the CPD improved and problems like “physical decay” decreased.

However, CAPS had less success in creating lasting relationships with its communities: “while beat meetings were well attended,” the report reads, “CAPS did not succeed in

ANDREW KOSKI

FINN JUBAK

consistently developing deep, genuine and lasting partnerships with local stakeholders.”

Funding for CAPS was cut significantly by the late 2000s, and beat meeting attendance “dropped off significantly after 2000.” Although Mayor Emanuel tried to revive the CAPS program in early 2013, “the overall budget for CAPS did not change” and “public confidence in CAPS remains low,” according to the report.

Despite the decline in the city’s support for CAPS over the past two decades, it remains the sole link between neighborhood organizations like block clubs and the police.

CAPS therefore still plays a vital role for block clubs in their efforts toward public safety.

Rather than rely on CAPS—a chronically

ANDREW KOSKI

ANDREW KOSKI

APRIL 27, 2016 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 7

underfunded city resource—to organize block clubs, residents have to organize independently and use CAPS as a resource for public safety.

Free says that while CAPS is a good resource for workshops and crime prevention, its scope is limited, and public safety is only one facet of SEBCA’s overall platform.

“There’s only so much we can do with CAPS with the vision that we have for where we’re going,” she says. To that end, SEBCA has been working with multiple organizations to provide diverse resources for block clubs, including the Black United Fund, local small businesses, nonprofits, and churches.

One of SEBCA’s first successful partnerships was with the University of Chicago Medicine, which operates an Outpatient Senior Health Center in South Shore. The two organizations recently co-hosted a “Jazz Breakfast” to tell block club members about UofC Medicine’s Comprehensive Care Program Study, which is currently working with Medicare patients to study the benefits of receiving healthcare from the same doctor in the hospital and at the outpatient clinic, for primary care.

The doctors leading the study explained that UofC Medicine is partnering with SEBCA because SEBCA provides a great way to reach out to local seniors who might want to participate in the study. For Free, the partnership is an example of the impact SEBCA can have by connecting block clubs— one of them being the Ridgeland Block Club Association—to useful resources provided by external organizations.

SEBCA is not the only organization on the South Side creating networks of block clubs, though. Across the Dan Ryan, the Southwest Federation Block Clubs of Greater Englewood has been organizing an association of block clubs since 2008. They describe themselves as “a collective body of multiple block clubs,” including one block, several blocks or vertical block clubs, “in partnership with residents, organizations and businesses.” They recently held a workshop for interested residents to help them form new block clubs or update existing block clubs.

About a third of the workshop attendees were already block club members; another third were interested in forming new ones.

“We have lost the nosey Rosie neighbor who sees all and knows all,” says Debra Thompson, the Federation’s president. “A block club is an extended family that should reach out to isolated seniors.”

Miss Ruby Miller, “the oldest block club president in Englewood,” was a guest speaker at the workshop. She described how her block club has impacted her block, from helping neighbors with childrearing to using a petition to stop a sex offender house from being placed on her block.

“Just because you live in the hood, 8 SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY

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doesn’t mean you can’t accomplish what you want to,” she said. She also described how her block club rallied together to remove a group of tenants across the street who were bringing in drugs and prostitution, and she said they have three police officers who are dedicated to her block and who are always only a phone call away.

The workshop also included a presentation on how to structure and charter a block club. Twentieth Ward Alderman Willie B. Cochran gave a presentation about the resources for block clubs, specifically regarding building code violations, because “so many neighborhood problems are caused by one building.” He explained how block clubs can work with the alderman’s office to resolve issues through a Troubled Building Initiative.

Later at that meeting, 911 and 311 dispatchers gave a presentation with tips on how to use those services effectively and fielded questions from attendees about response times and service requests. One dispatcher said they attend workshops with “block clubs all the time to disseminate information.” This portion of the workshop generated enthusiasm from the attendees, who made it clear that although many block clubs are starting to focus on a broader range of issues, public safety remains one of the primary concerns of every block club.

There were also presentations from the Englewood Whole Foods community liaison, who said that Whole Foods is looking to partner with block clubs to cater block parties, the Working Families Health Center, and Englewood Blue, a South Side business accelerator. With the wide variety of programming, it was clear that the Southwest Block Club Federation has a broad focus in its community engagement programs.

Many of the attendees had questions about how to make signs for their block clubs.

One of the presenters responded, “It’s really up to your block club,” but another suggested that the clubs should “take out all the ‘no’s, make it friendlier, and welcome people to the neighborhood.”

This advice seems symbolic of the new direction block clubs are taking in both the Southeast Side and the Greater Englewood area: by organizing together, individual clubs are becoming more than just neighborhood watches registered with CAPS. As collectives, block clubs are able to interact actively and dynamically with the police force, local organizations, and the city government.

Block club signs, the “underappreciated art form,” are not going away any time soon, but as block clubs themselves transform, the signs may start to look a little different too.

The Surprising Power of Poetics

Saul Williams performs at The Revival

BY ANDREA GIUGNI

“T

he name of my next poem is…‘I Actually Don’t Mind That They Keep Casting White Actors in Old Testament Flicks.’ ” Saul Williams’s irreverent laughter at his own joke plants itself in his gut and radiates throughout his body, as his thin white tunic and jade necklaces jump. He flashes a toothy grin and we are all inclined to laugh, soothed by the percussive experimental hip-hop we heard entering the space.

Williams pursues this bit for a while, flipping through his 2015 paperback US (a.) at the microphone. “The more attention you give me, the less I want to perform,” he spits out at one point amidst more fake poem names, and is met with more laughter from an enraptured audience.

Two weeks ago, Saul Williams performed several sold-out shows at the Stony Island

Saul Williams is a name many may know from his lead roles in the Tupac-inspired Broadway musical, Holler If Ya Hear Me and the 1998 film Slam, but he’s also a jack-of-alltrades actor, rapper, musician, poet, and writer.

At these performances, he dons every one of those hats. Williams’s performances are meant to stimulate conversation about how social movements are organized across mediums in the modern world—a perfect fit for him, considering his talent for the articulation of the complex emotions that accompany experiences of oppression and the trials of social action.

His show at The Revival kicks off with music. A woman with a guitar and a suave upright bass player in a funky scarf materialize, quieting the bustling crowd. The guitarist’s name is Koku Gonza, a Tanzanian-Kihaya

Still swaying from his whirlwind jolt up to the stage, he births words from his open mouth and tugs at the air with clear sound. No one dares look away. His words tumble on a long and continuous loop, traveling across continents, racial divides, languages, and eras.

Arts Bank and Hyde Park comedy club The Revival as part of RIOTcon 2016, a conference sponsored by the Chicago Theological Seminary. The conference, aimed at addressing social change head-on, invited artists, activists, and community members to bring complicated issues of identity, interaction, and oppression into a greater discussion about the future.

name that means lovely, which she cements in our memories through one of her signature mashed-up R&B, folk, and hip-hop tunes.

This night’s event, as two hosts from the Chicago Theological Seminary inform us, serves as a dialogue between audience and performer, in attempts to achieve an aura of healing amidst the tumult of social

LIT

movements. In this way, poetry and the power of the spoken word become a bridge between the said and the unsayable. The hosts ask the large mass of bobbing heads in the audience to close their eyes for a second and engage in some collective inhaling and exhaling, to set the tone for a night of open-minded thinking and connectivity. After a few breaths, most of the leftover electricity settled, leaving behind a palate cleansed for what would occur throughout the rest of the evening.

As Williams is introduced, a man in the back shouts “Yeaaaaaahhh, Saul!” amidst eager applause. “That guy’s always in the audience,” says Saul to laughter and a collective inchingforward. What he is about to say is of the utmost importance—or at least that’s the sense one gets as he stands there, glowing under the club’s bright spotlights, book in hand.

He reads a poem from his new collection, MartyrLoserKing, called “Coltan as Cotton,” which is part tirade, part manifesto, part prayer, and which ruminates on themes of interpersonal isolation, exploitation, and accessibility, rooted in a discussion of the abuse in Burundi’s mining industry. Still swaying from his whirlwind jolt up to the stage, he births words from his mouth and tugs at the air with clear sound. No one dares look away.

His words tumble on a long and continuous loop, traveling across continents, racial divides, languages, and eras.

Yet even after he’s read a few of his poems, Williams stands in front of the audience, appearing unsure of how to proceed, seemingly hesitant to put on a show. While a performer with the same notoriety and skill set as Williams would normally come at a soldout event like this with a carefully thought-out set list or at least a vague idea of the thematic expectations, Williams seemed surprisingly loose. “I don’t know...what would you guys like to hear tonight?” he offers.

Though a commanding presence in a pitch-dark theater full of resident poetry geeks and savvy social activists, Williams is reluctant to perform any sort of grand gesture, perhaps out of a noble rejection of fame attained conventionally, or out of genuine insecurity.

For a second, the audience is confused. In a split-second desire to break the expectant silence, he asks a man in the front row for a sip of his beer and remarks on the apparent lack of people drinking in the audience. The pressure is now on, but after a few gulps from a cold one and a re-adjusting of the microphone, Williams starts to unwind.

His mind works in thematic tangents as

he closes his eyes and says, “let’s go...here,” before reciting a poem about technological connectivity. We are along for the ride, here at the heels of his feet and ready to jet as he jumps through time and space, letting words unfold. We are front-loaded with emotion and ideology, color and distance, and an undeniable knack for the sonic. The room is a new sort of buzzing.

At the end, Williams takes questions.

He dodges inquiries about his future projects with, “The play has been turned into a movie, and everything else remains as is.” There is a nonchalance to his brilliance, which somehow feels humble, not ungrateful. Another audience member asks, “Why is silence indigo?” in reference to his earlier piece about Burundi.

Williams answers, “The name of my next poem is...‘Why is Silence Indigo?’”

ANDREA GIUGNI

APRIL 27, 2016 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 9

Unique Finds A thrift store chain provides interesting treasures for reasonable prices

BY TROY ORDOÑEZ

I

f you’re looking for a bit of “thriftspiration,” the thrift store chain Unique, owned by the Savers thrift store brand, offers high-quality, lightly-used wares (or “treasures,” as Unique employees call them) for low prices. Among the racks and shelves of donated items is a chance to find something truly distinctive. A mug made to look like a rat, a wonderful nightgown you didn’t even know you wanted, or a hat that says “You’re Grape” are just a few examples of the great finds that can make a trip to Unique so special. There are three locations on Chicago’s South Side, in Gage Park, Bridgeport, and McKinley Park, two of which are a short walk from the Orange Line.

Upon entering a Unique, you’ll see similarities to many other chain thrift stores— fluorescent lighting, long racks of clothing, a small selection of toys to choose from, and a corner dedicated to home furnishings and appliances. Yet each Unique offers different stories, different items of interest, and a different personality that together make each visit into its own personal experience.

Gage Park:

Address: 5040 S. Kedzie Ave. Phone: (773) 434-4886 Upon entering the Gage Park location, I noticed about two dozen people casually walking and perusing the wares as slow 90s R&B played overhead. On the left side of the store, near the door and just behind the jewelry section, was a minion doll that appeared to be trying its hardest to stare into the center of your soul. A quick walk away was the figurine section, home to some of the cuter, more unusual items on display. A piggy bank that shows the large difference between money saved for retirement and money saved to pay off student loans was a notable example. The shoe section had a fair selection, though the more interesting choices were amongst the slippers and flip-flops; I found both M&M flip-flops and slippers made to resemble alligators.

I asked the staff of this Unique about their time working here and some of the more interesting items and people they’ve dealt with, and this Unique was particularly used to dealing with strange clientele: Nitza, one of the store’s employees, explained to me that they constantly see men who come in alone and buy large amounts of panties in different sizes.

Axel, one of the employees who handles the donations, explained that donors have given a lot of dildoes, sex toys, raunchy magazines, and—his personal favorite—a teddy bear covered in bondage gear. These items are, of course, not for sale at this particular time and will probably never be.

Of the items Nitza has seen, the one she found the most unusual was a scarf made entirely of squirrels. Amber, another employee, said the most unusual donation was a full urn, which initially caused the staff some distress but eventually came to be known among them as Henry the Ghost.

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TROY ORDOÑEZ

MISCELLANEOUS

MARGARET MARY GLAZIER

Bridgeport:

Address: 3000 S. Halsted St. Phone: (312) 842-0942 The Bridgeport location was smaller, located in a strip mall that was fairly easy to miss. But while the size of the store was smaller, the number of people inside was about the same as in the Gage Park location. At first glance, this particular Unique appears to resemble any other thrift store.

I was informed by the cashier, Daniel, that what makes this place special is the abundance of “hipster shoppers” who give the clothing selection some of its more interesting and colorful qualities. One of these shoppers is a regular named Steven, described by Daniel as “an aging hipster who comes to read a book a day and then leave by the time the store is set to close.” There is a chair set aside for him in the back of the store, where I met him later that afternoon. I asked how he felt about this particular Unique and his is response was simply “a quiet place to find a good used book.”

Some items of interest found here include a fairly horrifying series of clown figurines, a cookbook with the straightforward title “Casseroles,” some of the most glamorous and intensely pink heels I’ve ever seen, a bag whose handle was made to look like opened lips (my personal favorite), and a series of mannequin heads for all your wig-holding needs. The employees had a very calm vibe, which can be traced back to their manager Michael, whose motto on life and work is “Be chill and then everything else around you will be too. Seriously, think of a time in the future where you’ll be chilling and I swear it’ll feel like you’re chilling now, too.”

Michael described finding a gun clip with only one bullet missing from it in the donation box as “a real chill vibe killer,” but says his overall

experience with the store has been very positive. Other than the gun clip, Michael said that the most unusual item he’s ever come across is a fur coat made out of ferrets.

McKinley Park:

Address: 3542 S. Archer Ave. Phone: (773) 247-2599 The McKinley Park location has a quiet, slightly dim atmosphere with pop music of an unrecognizable decade playing through the speakers. The wizard, dragon, and eagle figurines near the door were a highlight, being one of the first things that caught my eye upon entering the store. There was an overall smaller selection here compared to the other two Unique locations, but the ‘Men’s Shirts’ section was filled with an unusually large number of Hawaiian shirts and the women’s selection also included a distinctive amount of color and charm that could be a refreshing addition to anyone’s wardrobe.

A scarf featuring small cartoon cats was, perhaps, the cutest item I had seen out of all the stores—I would recommend going there just for the possibility of being able to buy it. In the toy aisle (near the beloved cat scarf ) was a collection of action figures, claw grabbers, and an odd pink cat with a pencil-thin body, featuring two pockets and whose purpose is unknown. Unfortunately, the employees here were less willing to share their experiences, though Sandra, an employee handling donations, said that someone once tried to donate an entire car. Unfortunately, it was “a real clunker, so it wasn’t worth trying to take home.”

APRIL 27, 2016 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 11

MISCELLANEOUS

The Totem Poles of Bridgeport Why are there totem poles at Bridgeport Louis L. Valentine's Boys & Girls Club?

BY ALEX WEISS

T

ALEX WEISS

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he doors to the Bridgeport branch of the Boys & Girls Club are flanked by a pair of totem poles. Made of red cedar and weighing five tons each, they have piqued the interest of passing Chicagoans often enough to appear in a book on Bridgeport and several articles in local papers. The exact height of the poles—forty-five feet or fifty feet, depending on whom you ask—is far from the only controversy surrounding them.

Just inside the Club stands a model of the building’s entrance in a glass case. Complete with a small human figure for scale, the model includes intricately carved replicas of the totem poles, painted brown to match the wood of the originals, and the same shades of red, turquoise, and black as those outside. Next to the model, a number of old photographs and a framed letter are all that remain of a long history. “All we know about the poles is in this letter,” a secretary at the Club told me. Beside the letter, a set of photographs depicts a very different set of totem poles. Years ago, a charity group repainted them in bright primary colors.

The new multicolored decoration made the carefully carved animals hard to discern and detracted from the poles’ overall power.

In 2006, the Valentine Boys & Girls Club received a grant from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity earmarked for capital improvements, including the restoration of the poles. A restoration crew worked from scaffolding, even in freezing temperatures and harsh weather conditions, laboring to scrape off every flake of colorful paint until the poles returned to their original design. When the job was finished, the model poles inside were repainted to match again.

Though commissioned by the Club’s founder, furniture manufacturer Louis L. Valentine, the poles were only installed after his death. Valentine, who funded the Bridgeport Club location to provide a safe haven for children who would otherwise have nowhere to go but the streets, believed the totem poles would symbolically provide the same service, protecting and welcoming the children. Unfortunately, after funding the Club and the construction of the totem poles, Valentine could not afford to ship the poles

to Chicago. After Valentine's death, the poles were eventually shipped courtesy of the Great Northern Railroad. The totem poles have been at their current home at 3400 S. Emerald Avenue since 1941, a part of the Boys & Girls Club for decades longer than girls have been— up until 1990, the organization was called the Boys Clubs of America.

Valentine hand-selected the trees that a group of commissioned Seattle woodcarvers crafted into mighty entrance décor. A 1941 Milwaukee Journal blurb, “Mighty Totem Poles Shipped 2,500 Miles,” says that the poles’ carver, Ernest Gebert, considered them to be “one of his artistic triumphs. They are fourty-three feet tall and took fourteen months to complete." However, according to the framed letter kept on display by the Boys & Girls Club, the poles were carved by Fritz Hahn and Carl Gephart of the Architectural Decorating Company in Seattle.

On one side of another point of confusion, the American Institute of Architects Guide states that Valentine’s poles are replicas of Alaskan Coastal Native American totem poles.

A 1937 Chicago Tribune article, meanwhile, perhaps using older terminology to the same effect, claimed that the totem poles are replicas of the Field Museum’s “genuine specimens,” carved by Washington’s Alaskan Indians, measuring only forty feet. While it is unclear if the Club’s poles are actually replicas of any specific totem poles that can be attributed to one indigenous people, Valentine could certainly have been inspired by the Field Museum's collections, considering his lifetime membership to the museum.

The sole factor seemingly agreed upon is the fundamental idea behind the totem poles: they, like the Club itself, exist to protect the children. Despite the death of both founders during its development, the Louis L. Valentine Boys & Girls Club continues to successfully fulfill Valentine’s goal of guarding Bridgeport's children. This message, succinctly symbolized by the guardian poles, has been central to the Club since the poles were first delivered free of charge in 1941. Today, these totem poles continue to stand guard over the children, with all their former—and current—splendor.

COLUMN

A Guide to Cultural Appropriation vs.

Appreciation Remember that time Rihanna went to Dubai and posed in front of a mosque?

Hoda Katebi Preface I: Why are we having this conversation? Despite this being a very difficult and sensitive conversation to have, I think it’s necessary. My blog is, by its nature, a part of the fashion industry— a.k.a. one of the largest players in producing inappropriate cultural appropriation—therefore, it must be identified and called out. Silence is complacence. Moreover, this topic has been requested by many of my readers for a long time, so it's obviously a conversation that’s needed in spaces like these.

Preface II: Defining and drawing lines is not something that I can do—both because I am not a spokesperson for any cultural, ethnic, or religious group (especially ones that I am not a part of, obviously) and also because I simply don't have all the answers. Or even some of them. I think cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation are very difficult concepts to grapple with, and this should be an ongoing conversation.

Alright. Let's do this.

What is Cultural Appropriation?

Cultural appropriation is, in its simplest form, the act of an individual from a particular (usually privileged or dominant) culture adopting cultural and/or religious elements of a marginalized culture, insensibly.

This is most clearly articulated when a dominant or oppressive group takes from a culture that it is oppressing (for example, when white people in the USA wear a whitewashed version of traditional Native American headdresses as sexy costumes), but more complicated and difficult to identify when one marginalized group takes from another marginalized group (for example, Beyoncé appropriating Indian culture in Coldplay's recent music video for their song “Hymn For The Weekend”).

Both are definitely forms of cultural appropriation, but for different reasons, and in different ways. According to Apihtawikosisan, a Native American blogger, many men in the Native and indigenous tribes of North America wore headdresses if they achieved a particular honor; nonNative people wearing one is an act of cultural appropriation because it totally ignores this significance. Another layer of cultural appropriation is added to this when white Americans wear Native or Indigenous cultural objects: the United States was built on the genocide of Native and Indigenous Americans, so the act of white Americans—whose ancestors are responsible for the annihilation of Native and Indigenous American peoples and cultures and now enjoy the benefits of the society they created—wearing Native and Indigenous American cultural objects is wrong and culturally appropriative.

A major key here is that cultural appropriation plays on historic themes of oppression and domination and does not respect the significance or value of the cultural/religious object in question.

Ready for another example? Remember that time Rihanna went to Dubai and posed in front of a mosque? Super rad and cool, right?

We’re going to file this one in the Cultural Appropriation folder right next to the file on Dolce & Gabbana's latest “collection for Muslims.” Why? Both of these do not constitute appreciation—they clearly don't even know enough about Islam to be able to appreciate it.

Rihanna hypersexualized a garment made for modesty and disregarded the religiosity of a particular space. Dolce & Gabbana threw around expensive, glamorous fabrics to act as headcoverings made to reject excess superficiality. Both sound a bit appropriative, culturally and religiously, if you ask me, a hijab-wearing Muslim woman. (But again, I don’t speak for all Muslims because we're not a monolithic, homogeneous entity! Ahem, Western media, USA Republican candidates and Hillary Clinton, et al.

Not to mention that another way to identify cultural appropriation is when a cultural/ religious object suddenly becomes “cool” when someone from another culture adopts it.

Many of the same people who were commenting “Oh my god! So cute!” under Rihanna's photos covering her hair and skin might also be calling Muslims terrorists and asking Muslim women if they are oppressed. (P.S. We’re not).

Miley Cyrus or Katy Perry wearing cornrows is another example of cultural appropriation: something that is supposedly “cute” or “edgy” when white people do it, but looked down upon when Black people introduced it and continue to pull it off beautifully.

This is not to say that you shouldn't be wearing anything that belongs to a culture that is not yours—people around the world are beautiful and are wearing and practicing wonderful things that everyone can partake in, but it is so important to be doing so with an acute understanding of the relationship between your culture and the one you are trying not to appropriate, the significance of the cultural/religious object or practice, and constantly challenging yourself and questioning your intentions, purposes, and goals.

Cultural Appropriation: • The act of a dominant or privileged group adopting cultural elements of another (most likely marginalized or oppressed) culture in an insensible manner.

• Plays on historic themes of oppression, domination, and privilege.

• Ignores the value, significance, or meaning of the object/practice.

• Does not give credit to the original culture/religion/ethnicity/etc.

• Looked down upon/mocked when practiced/worn by the original marginalized culture but becomes “cool,” “trendy,” or “edgy” when done by the oppressors/appropriators.

Cultural Appreciation: • Understanding the significance of a particular practice/object/tradition and not undermining or destroying its significance or value.

• Understanding histories of oppression and marginalization surrounding the particular object/practice/tradition and gauging the appropriateness of your actions in relation to this.

• Being invited by an individual of that particular culture to participate in and wear their culture's traditions/clothing for a specific event or occasion (weddings, religious rituals, etc.).

• But word of caution here: getting a “go” pass from one of your friends doesn't mean that other people from their culture won’t be offended. Just like you can’t use your token Black friend as an excuse to be racist, you can’t use the invitation of one Muslim to wear a headscarf for a day as an excuse to expect that the rest of us are all going to be jumping up and down and applaud you for your bravery.

• Ask yourself: Why am I doing this? What are my goals in doing this? Can I achieve my goal without doing this? Why is this necessary? Is this even necessary?

This column was originally published on JooJoo Azad, an activist fashion blog run by Hoda Katebi on March 30, 2016.

Hoda Katebi is a Muslim-Iranian writer, photographer, and activist based in Chicago. She is a guest columnist this month, in place of AK Agunbiade.

Joojoo Azad, Farsi for "Free Bird," is an anti-capitalist, intersectional-feminist, inclusive, bodypositive, fashion blog.

Mmm, how about not.

ILLUSTRATION BY ELLEN HAO

APRIL 27, 2016 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 13

BULLETIN Projected Identities: What we (Un)Cover Through Clothing Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington St, 1st floor Garland Room. Thursday, April 28, 5:30pm–7pm. Free; must register online. (312) 744-6630. bit.ly/1QxfVfO Join Yolanda Perdomo, an award-winning journalist featured on All Things Considered, Weekend America, and Latino USA, among other programs, in discovering the complexities and hidden meaning behind our everyday style choices, and the ways in which we shape our identities through clothes.

(Ayling Dominguez)

José Orduña: The Weight of Shadows International House, 1414 E. 59th St. Thursday, April 28, 6pm-7:30pm. Free. Persons with disabilities contact (773) 753-2274 or mdestefa@uchicago.edu. ihouse.uchicago.edu Join this immigrant rights activist to discuss his autobiography and relive his journey from Veracruz to naturalization. Orduña will explain what it’s like to assimilate to Chicago in a post-9/11 world—a process that would forever color his understanding of the American Dream. (Grace Hauck)

The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution Beverly Arts Center, 2407 W. 111th St. Thursday, April 28, 7pm–10pm. $6–$20. Buy tickets at bit.ly/1Wl6Sp3 What are the Black Panthers to us today? Are they a legend of the past, or a portent of the future? Were they heroes of change, violent radicals, or a tenuous combination of all of these? Discuss these questions and the legacy of the Black Panther Party at the screening of this documentary. (Anne Li)

Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis Union League Club, 65 W. Jackson Blvd. Friday,

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¬ APRIL 27, 2016

April 29, 8am–10am. Registration opens 7:30am. $40. Business casual attire required.

(312) 641-5570. schoolpolicyforum.org

noon–6pm. Through June 11. Free. (312) 9966114. gallery400.uic.edu

Robert Putnam’s most recent book posits that the increased separation between different classes in America means that poor children are less likely to succeed than they would have been seventy years ago. At this event Putnam will present his solutions, to be followed by a response by Bryan Samuels, a leading thinker on policy questions involving child welfare.

(Adam Thorp)

As part of their continuing effort to curb anti-black state violence, Black Lives Matter Chicago has organized an exhibit of collaborative works between Chicagobased artists and families of residents killed by police. "our duty to fight" aims to foster dialogue, learning, and healing for bereft survivors and families. ( Joe Andrews)

Does the Black Lives Matter ‘Movement’ Matter?

Social Sciences, 1126 E. 59th St., Room 122, Thursday, April 28, 7pm. (773) 702-8670. renaissancesociety.org

Seminary Co-op Bookstore, 5751 S. Woodlawn Ave. Friday, April 29, 6pm. (773) 752-4381. semcoop.com The answer is a qualified yes. In Cultural Studies and the ‘Juridical Turn,’ Jaafar Aksikas and Sean Johnson Andrews argue that the neoliberal state has recently buttressed itself behind the legitimacy of law. They see Black Lives Matter, as a movement that prefers protest in the street to action in the courtroom, as an interesting reaction to this change. (Adam Thorp)

Chicago Code Camp IIT Engineering 1 Building, 10 W. 32nd St. Saturday, April 30, 8am–5:30pm. Registration opens 7:30am. Free. (872) 228-9526. chicagocodecamp.com Interested in IT? Connect with Chicago’s tech community at this all-day code conference, and discuss the ins and outs of the hacking trade with the event’s forty-four different featured presenters, each of whom represents a diverse stage of the software development stack. (Neal Jochmann)

VISUAL ARTS our duty to fight Gallery 400, 400 S. Peoria St. Opening Wednesday, April 27, 5pm–8pm. Exhibition runs Tuesday–Friday, 10am–6pm; Saturday,

Lecture: Richard Schiff

Art historian Richard Schiff, the Effie Marie Cain Regents Chair in Art at The University of Texas at Austin and author of Doubt, drops by the Renaissance Society to deliver a lecture about the tension that emerges when discussing and critiquing art. (Bilal Othman)

Chicago Zine Fest Workshop Chicago, 935 W. Chestnut St. Ste. 530 Friday, April 29, 6:30pm–9:30pm; Plumbers Union Hall, 1340 W. Washington Blvd. Saturday, April 30, 11am–6pm. Free. chicagozinefest.org

sure to satisfy your artistic cravings. (Gozie Nwachukwu)

MUSIC Houndmouth Reggies Rock Club, 2105 S. State St. Thursday, April 28. Doors 8:30pm. 18+. (312) 949-0120. reggieslive.com Up-and-coming indie rock band Houndmouth will perform at Thursday night’s Pepsi NFL Draft Party at Reggies Rock Club. It’ll be hard to locate a more effortless blend of rootsy riffs and Led Zeppelin vibes in Chicago that night. (Troy Ordoñez)

Ronnie Hicks Buddy Guy's Legends, 700 S. Wabash St. Wednesday April 27th. 9:30pm, $10 general admission. 21+. (312) 427-1190. buddyguy.com Blues keyboardist Ronnie Hicks heads to Buddy Guy’s Legends on Wednesday for a timeless jam session in this intimate venue.

Expect a high-energy performance, and above all else, don’t forget your dancing shoes. (Troy Ordoñez)

If you enjoy making zines—self-published publications with short print runs—then you will be delighted to hear that the Chicago Zine Fest is this coming weekend. The festival kicks off Friday evening with panels and a discussion alongside fellow zinesters. CZF will continue Saturday with all day workshops and an exhibition. (Bilal Othman)

The Poetory: King Ron the Poet (with Ali of New Kings and Syd Shaw)

Madre Mujer Arte

Rising Chicago slam poet King Ron the Poet hosts fellow emcees Ali and Syd Shaw next Monday at the Promontory. Go see some local favorites at the venue’s monthly “The Poetory” series, or prepare your own rhymes— the open mic is free to all. (Austin Brown)

La Catrina Cafe, 1011 W. 18th St. Friday, May 6, 4pm–10pm; Saturday, May 7, 12pm–6pm.

Free. If you are interested in participating as a vendor, you can contact colectivomariposas@ gmail.com.

Need a gift for your mother? Interested in unique crafts? Come to this art market where you can find authentic, handmade work.

Vendors will be stationed with products ranging from jewelry to paintings, and will be

The Promontory, 5311 S. Lake Park Ave. Monday, May 2. Open mic 7pm–10pm. $5. All ages. (312) 801-2100. promontorychicago.com

Wild Nothing (with Whitney) Thalia Hall, 1807 S. Allport St. Thursday, May 3. Doors 8:30pm, show 9:30pm. $15 standing room, $20 seats. 17+. (312) 526-3851. thaliahallchicago.com

EVENTS

See dream pop wunderkind Wild Nothing at Thalia Hall next Tuesday, fresh off the release of his latest album, Life of Pause. A bonus for us locals: Chicago’s own Whitney (members formerly of Smith Westerns) will be opening, riding their considerable buzz and a pair of indelible jazz-folk singles. (Austin Brown)

STAGE & SCREEN Death by the State Co-Prosperity Sphere, 3219 S. Morgan St. Wednesday, April 27, 6:30pm. Free. (773) 8370145. southsideprojections.org South Side Projections and Co-Prosperity Sphere team up with the (In)Justice for All Film Festival to present two films—The Chair and The Last Request—that bring awareness to the complicated politics of capital punishment. A panel discussion with former death row inmate Geraldine Smith and abolition activist Charles “Chick” Hoffman will follow. ( Joe Andrews)

A Black Panther Retrospective Southshore Cultural Center, 7059 S. Shore Drive. Thursday, April 28, 5:30pm reception, 6:30pm screenings. (773) 256-0149. injusticeforallff.com The Next Movement and the Chicago Park District will hold a night of films, starting with the Black Panther Party’s own documentary Off the Pig, which details the history of the Party, its impact on the black community in the 1960s, and the ways in which it still affects community work today.

(Ayling Dominguez)

LA Rebellion Film Series: To Sleep With Anger Black Cinema House, 7200 S. Kimbark Ave. Friday, April 29, 7pm–9:30pm. Free. (312) 857-5561. rebuild-foundation.org To Sleep With Anger explores one family’s experience of the cultural distance between a prosperous future in Los Angeles and the traditions of their rural past. This screening of

Charles Burnett’s 1990 film will be followed by a discussion with Allyson Field and Jacqueline Stewart, two UofC film historians.

(Adam Thorp)

Migration eta Creative Arts Foundation, 7558 S. South Chicago Ave. Friday, April 29–June 19 on Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm; Sundays at 3pm. $35. (773) 752-3955. etacreativearts.org The history of the great migration can be overwhelming: it’s a confluence of important cultural strains, people, and institutions, all loaded with historical import. Migration tries to capture the complicated interactions that brought thousands of African-Americans to northern cities through music, dance, and dialogue. (Adam Thorp)

Muslim Comedy Showcase The Revival, 1160 E. 55th St. Sunday, May 1, 11:30am—2pm. $16. (866) 811-4111. therevival.com Promoting Muslim identity while preserving inclusivity is the goal of Sirat Chicago. The Hyde Park organization has brought three of Chicagoland’s finest rising Muslim comics, actors, and writers together for this afternoon comedy special, which guarantees both laughs and lunch. (Neal Jochmann)

LIT The BreakBeat Poets Discussion Lindblom Math and Science Academy, 6130 S. Wolcott Ave. Wednesday, April 27, 10:30am– 11:30am. $2. (312) 494-9509. tickets. chicagohumanities.org Kevin Coval, author of the expansive poetry anthology, The BreakBeat Poets, gathers with other poets involved in the collective to discuss the connections between hip-hop and poetry and how the two expand each other’s aims. This is a student matinee; group reservations are encouraged. ( Jon Poilpre)

Jimmy Santiago Baca Reading Social Sciences 1126 E. 59th St., Room 122, Wednesday, April 27, 6pm–8pm. (773) 7524381.

Acclaimed poet Jimmy Santiago Baca comes to Hyde Park this week for a lecture, Q&A, and dinner reception. As the keynote lecturer for Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán at UofC, his talk will focus on the power of narrative to affect social change.

(Sarah Claypoole)

Blackstone Public Library Spring Book Sale Blackstone Public Library, 4904 S. Lake Park Ave. Saturday, April 30, 10am–3pm. (312) 747-0511.

come to find both paperback and hardcover books. All proceeds go to the library. (Sarah Claypoole)

K.B. Jensen Book Launch 57th Street Books, 1301 E. 57th St. Saturday, May 7, 2pm. (773) 684-1300.

K.B. Jensen, founder of Indie City Writers, releases her second book, A Storm of Stories.

Framed as the stories told by two people stranded during a whiteout storm, the tales travel across the globe as the two wait out the weather in rural Wisconsin. (Sarah Claypoole)

Support your local branch of the public library by attending its annual sale. As the sale only happens once a year, make sure you

South Side Weekly Civic Journalism Workshops

The Art of the Feature A reporting & editing workshop with Chicago Magazine Culture Editor Elly FIshman

Sunday, May 8, 2016 3pm–5pm Experimental Station 6100 S. Blackstone Ave. The Chicago Civic Journalism Project is presented by the South Side Weekly, City Bureau, University of Chicago Careers in Journalism, Arts, and Media, and Chicago Studies.

APRIL 27, 2016 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 15