“Remembering Taylor Street” Draws On Museum’s Rich Oral History Archive
Chicago, Illinois (September 16, 2024) – The Smithsonian’s “Our Shared Future: Reckoning with Our Racial Past” initiative is launching the next National Conversation on Race in collaboration with the National Public Housing Museum, alongside three other Chicago institutions, it was announced today. Key to the conversation is the Museum’s extensive archive of oral histories, telling the stories of public housing residents and housed online at www.nphm.org. The collaboration will see events held across the city; each event is free and open to the public but some require advance registration.
“Our Shared Future: Reckoning with Our Racial Past” is a Smithsonian initiative that aims to explore the history and legacy of race and racism in the United States, while building pathways to a more equitable future. The Chicago series is hosted by the National Public Housing Museum, alongside the Center for Native Futures, the National Museum of Mexican Art, and the South Side Community Art Center.
“Stories and storytelling illuminate any conversation about race in America, and the stories of public housing residents are an integral part of that discussion,” said National Public Housing Museum Executive Director Lisa Lee. “Through our collaboration with The Smithsonian on this timely, crucial series, we are able to share the stories of public housing residents across the country, and across the decades, that we have collected in our Oral History Archive.”
On Friday September 20 and Saturday September 21, 2024, all four Chicago organizations will host a two-day, citywide, experiential immersion program with guided and self-guided tours in the neighborhoods of Bronzeville, Englewood, Humboldt Park, Lincoln Park, the Loop, Pilsen, and Riverdale, encouraging Chicagoans to explore unfamiliar communities, foster understanding, and disrupt segregation. Advance registration is required for each neighborhood tour; registration forms are available at this link.
National Public Housing Museum events include:
Sunday, September 22, 2024
1 - 3 p.m.
Center for Native Futures (56 W. Adams St.)
Sibling artists Monica Rickert-Bolter and Joel Rickert speak on their graphic novel, the story of Kitihawa and Jean Baptiste DuSable, considered the founders of Chicago. They will also share a glimpse of their upcoming exhibition, which opens at the National Public Housing Museum this fall.
Sunday, September 22, 2024
3 - 5:30 p.m.
Taylor Street Farms (900 S, Ada St.)
Participate in “Remembering Taylor Street,” an oral history listening session highlighting the lived experiences of public housing residents. Participants will have a chance to explore a historical memory and mapping project, co-created by urban designer Paola Aguirre and Borderless Studios. Registration encouraged via this link.
Saturday, September 28, 2024
6 - 9 p.m.
Richard T. Crane Medical Prep High School (2245 W. Jackson Blvd.)
The National Public Housing Museum hosts a performance showcasing Chicago Footwork, a dance style using specific movements and music for cultural expression and storytelling. The show will also include reenactments and other creative forms of expression as a means of historical preservation. Through dance, Dr. ShaDawn “Boobie” Battle and the Place, Space, Werkz crew highlight Chicago’s complex history of housing injustice, and contribute to the ongoing resistance movement.
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Images Available at National Public Housing Museum Media Center
ABOUT THE NATIONAL PUBLIC HOUSING MUSEUM
Over the past century, more than 10 million people across the United States have called public housing home. In the late 1990s, as thousands of public housing units across the country were being demolished, public housing residents began to dream about creating a museum to preserve their collective voices, memories, and the histories of public housing across the nation. They wanted their children and grandchildren, and the public at large, to know more about their place in the American experience and to understand the public policies that helped to shape their families. In 2007, civic leaders, preservationists, historians, cultural experts, and many others joined with residents to help incorporate the National Public Housing Museum, which has since then offered transformative programs that connect the past with contemporary issues of social justice and human rights. The Museum’s permanent home is under construction at the historic Jane Addams Homes at 919 South Ada Street in Chicago’s Near West Side, and is set to open to the public in Fall 2024. For more information: https://www.nphm.org/
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