I was honored to be contacted by The Newberry Library to moderate a panel discussion in which the Library welcomed three young African-American activists to discuss civil rights activism in Chicago today.
From the introduction:
“From activists working to force the CHA [Chicago Housing Authority] to live up to its goal of providing affordable housing for Chicago residents, to us being the first city to shut down the traveling circus of hatred known as the Trump campaign, Chicago is filled with activism today. What we are trying to do with this panel is to get a sense of the lives of the people behind some of that activism–to humanize it; to find out what makes them tick. What are they doing? What successes have they had? What have the challenges been? Why are they doing it? What are their goals and guiding philosophies? And what are some ways we can all get involved in that work?”
The panelists include:
- Troy LaRaviere, Principal, Blaine Elementary School (moderator)
- Ja’Mal Green, Activist/Entertainer
- J.R. Fleming, Founder and Executive Director of the Chicago Anti-Eviction Campaign
- Aisha Truss-Miller, Community Organizer with Metropolitan Tenants Organization and Co-Founder of Ella’s Daughters
A video of the panel discussion can be found at the link below.
