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Posts published in “Latest News”

Cook County Resumes Jury Trials, After Over A Year

By Chicago Public Media on March 22, 2021

The first jury trial in Cook County began on Monday, more than a year after the court mostly shut down in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Host: Melba Lara; Reporter; Patrick Smith

Illinois Prison Visits Still On Hold Because Of COVID-19

By Chicago Public Media on March 22, 2021

The Illinois Department of Corrections halted in-person visits last March because of the COVID-19 pandemic. But a year later, there’s still no plan to allow families to reconnect. Host: Mary Dixon; Reporter: Patrick Smith

Read an Excerpt from “Believing in South Central”

By PublicityTeam on March 18, 2021

In Believing in South Central, Pamela J. Prickett takes a close look at the Los Angeles neighborhood of South Central—an area often overshadowed by stereotypes—and illuminates the lives and history of a community of Black Muslims centered around the Masjid al-Quran (MAQ). In this excerpt, she highlights a time during the mosque’s formation, telling the story of its origins in the mid-twentieth century as the Nation of Islam (NOI) expanded beyond Detroit. She discusses how the MAQ fostered the growth of economic, racial, and communal solidarity in South Central and how figures like Malcolm X were integral to the story of the Nation of Islam and to this group of Black Muslim Angelenos. The Rise of a “Ghetto” Counterpublic The Nation of Islam grew rapidly during the late 1950s and early 1960s as a result of the appeal of Elijah Muhammad’s race empowerment ideology. In 1956, it had ten temples, concentrated in the Midwest and along the East Coast. By 1975, that number had increased to more than one hundred throughout the United States, including the one established in 1957 in South Central. As with many NOI temples, MAQ members had little choice but to set up their community in […]

The post Read an Excerpt from “Believing in South Central” appeared first on The Chicago Blog.

A Pandemic Year Of Household Routines And Repetitions

By Chicago Public Media on March 18, 2021

Evanston resident Susannah Pratt reading her essay about the monotony of her new life working from home each day during the COVID-19 pandemic. Host: Mary Dixon; Producer: Mariah Woelfel

Mayor Lightfoot Reflects One Year Into COVID-19 Pandemic

By Chicago Public Media on March 18, 2021

One year since coronavirus changed life as we know it in Chicago, WBEZ’s Claudia Morell spoke with Mayor Lori Lightfoot about her efforts to take charge during this once in a generation pandemic. Host: Melba Lara

Illinois’ Undergrad Enrollment Continues Downward Trend

By Chicago Public Media on March 17, 2021

Undergraduate student enrollment at many Illinois colleges and universities is down this year. Some students say they needed a break to reflect and realign their goals. Host: Melba Lara; Reporter: Adriana Cardona Maguigad

Cubs And Sox Fans Are Returning, Giving Businesses Hope

By Chicago Public Media on March 17, 2021

There’s some relief in the local baseball economy now that a limited number of Cubs and Sox fans can attend home games starting next month. Host: Melba Lara; Reporter: Michael Puente

How Early Hybrid Learning Looks In Chicago Public Schools

By Chicago Public Media on March 17, 2021

Chicago Public Schools is diving into hybrid learning where students get a blend of remote and in-person instruction. Even with remote learning going well, Olga Contreras wants her students back in class. Host: Mary Dixon; Reporter: Sarah Karp

“Ghosts in the Schoolyard” by Eve L. Ewing Receives the 2020 Laing Award

By Carrie Olivia Adams on March 16, 2021

The University of Chicago Press is pleased to announce that Ghosts in the Schoolyard: Racism and School Closings on Chicago’s South Side is the recipient of the 2020 Gordon J. Laing Award. The award will be presented during a reception in September at the University of Chicago Rubenstein forum. The Gordon J. Laing Award is conferred annually by vote of the Board of University Publications on the faculty author, editor, or translator whose book has brought the greatest distinction to the list of the University of Chicago Press. Books published in 2018 and 2019 were eligible for this year’s award. The award is named in honor of the scholar who, serving as general editor from 1909 until 1940, firmly established the character and reputation of the University of Chicago Press as the premier academic publisher in the United States. Published in hardcover in 2018 and reprinted in paperback in 2020, Ghosts in the Schoolyard draws on Ewing’s insider experience in the Chicago Public School system—as a student, a teacher, and a researcher— to situate the City’s wave of school closings in 2013 within a larger context. Ewing reveals that this issue is about much more than just schools. Black communities […]

The post “Ghosts in the Schoolyard” by Eve L. Ewing Receives the 2020 Laing Award appeared first on The Chicago Blog.

Coping With The Loss Of Family While In Isolation

By Chicago Public Media on March 16, 2021

WBEZ has been asking you to share essays on how this pandemic impacted your life. Jorge Valdivia, a graduate student from the Southside of Chicago, discusses the loss, and the growth, he’s experienced this past year. Host: Mary Dixon; Producer: Mariah ...

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker One Year Into Pandemic

By Chicago Public Media on March 16, 2021

Pritzker spoke with WBEZ about his optimism about vaccinations, struggles with the mask mandate and thoughts about Republican criticism of his pandemic response. Host: Mary Dixon; Reporter: Tony Arnold

Pandemic Triggered Traumas For Some Chicago Refugees

By Chicago Public Media on March 16, 2021

Bare grocery shelves and lockdowns during the pandemic triggered painful traumas for some refugees of war-torn countries now in Chicago. Host: Mary Dixon; Producer: Odette Yousef