If you live, work, worship or attend school in Chicago’s Austin and West Side communities, you’re invited to a special, free Food & Film Showcase this Friday evening, Oct. 7, at By The Hand Club for Kids, 415 N. Laramie, in Chicago. A fascinating panel discussion will feature community activists including Fred Hampton Jr., son of Black Panthers Chairman Fred Hampton. And even if you’re not local, good food fans everywhere are welcome to watch the films and live discussion virtually.
The American Indian Center in Chicago was established in 1953 as the first urban Indian Center in the country to help Native families cope with the transition from reservation to urban life. In partnership the Forest Preserves of Cook County, the AIC will celebrate Native American culture with its 69th annual Powwow.
The Powwow includes native food, dance competitions, art vendors, and more. It will take place rain or shine in Schiller Woods-East, W. Irving Park Rd, west of N. Cumberland Ave, Chicago (view web map) during these hours: Friday, Oct. 7, 5-8:30 p.m.; Saturday, Oct. 8, 10 a.m.-8:30 p.m.; and Sunday, Oct. 9, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. All are welcome!
Bike riding is a summer pleasure—good for the body and soul. . . as well as the planet. If you live in Chicagoland, you must try The Magic of Music Ride Series, accompanied by a DJ spinning a custom music list of tunes. I tried it for the first time on July 22nd and had a ball! All kinds of people came out—daters, families, young and old.
In July and August, the Austin Grown youth sustainability leadership cohort spent 6 weeks planting fruits & veggies and caring for them and for 9 chickens! We also learned about the environment and all of its intersections—most especially racial and social justice—through speakers, chefs and field trips. In lieu of live planting at BUILD Chicago’s Iris Farm (which was under construction), we planted at Michelle Clark Academy High School’s gardens. We discussed the health of our Earth and our bodies and our communities. We cooked and ate healthy plant-based food. We also created a recipe book, which is a collection of recipes our visiting chefs cooked with us; we can continue cooking these delicious meals and teach them to others.
In spring of 2022, an inspired group of climbers became the first all-Black team to summit Everest, the highest mountain on earth. And as stated on the project’s website, Team Full Circle hopes that their historic trek will “inspire the next generation of outdoor enthusiasts, educators, leaders, and mountaineers of color to continue chasing their personal summits.” More than 6,000 have summited Mount Everest. Fewer than 10 of those climbers have been Black.
Q: The Sacrifice Zone. That’s a powerful title. It’s raw. Talk about it.
A: The concept is that we have chosen to sacrifice certain people for the benefit of others. They’re collateral damage. There’s an intentionality to it. Collectively, we’ve decided that it’s okay to put all this toxic industry in certain neighborhoods. And somehow we have the idea that the people who live there don’t care, because if they didn’t like it, they’d move.
