Smithsonian Kicks Off Its Next National Conversation on Race in Chicago

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By Center for Native Futures

September 23, 2024

The Smithsonian’s “Our Shared Future: Reckoning with Our Racial Past” initiative will launch the next National Conversation on Race in Chicago with a series of programs Sept. 20–28. The program series will be hosted by, and in collaboration with, Chicago’s Center for Native Futures, National Museum of Mexican Art, National Public Housing Museum and South Side Community Art Center (SSCAC).

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 U.S. while building pathways to a more equitable future.

“By holding these real conversations led by our trusted collaborators, we hope to grow engaged, intergenerational communities of learners and doers,” said Deborah Mack, director of Our Shared Future: Reckoning with Our Racial Past.

With its rich tapestry of neighborhoods and vibrant and sometimes dark history with race, Chicago plays a crucial role in the broader conversations on race and racism in the U.S. This National Conversation on Race will showcase a city that continuously reckons with its past to imagine and create a new future. All events are free and open to the public. Neighborhood tours require registration.

Friday, Sept. 20, 6–9 p.m.; SSCAC and Bronzeville

Attendees can become a part of SSCAC’s Living Archive, a dynamic, participatory archive capturing the memories of the community, by taking photos in a photo booth at the center. The photo strips will be scanned and preserved within the broader narrative of the Bronzeville neighborhood’s cultural legacy. The Bronzeville’s Art District Trolley Tour will also stop at SSCAC, inviting riders to hop on and hop off at various art galleries throughout the night.

Friday, Sept. 20, and Saturday, Sept. 21, 10 a.m.–3 p.m.; various neighborhoods

All four Chicago collaborators will a host two-day, citywide, experiential immersion program with guided and self-guided tours including the Loop: Indigenous Chicago, as well as tours in the neighborhoods of Bronzeville, Englewood, Humboldt Park, Lincoln Park, Pilsen and Riverdale, that encourage Chicagoans to explore unfamiliar communities, foster understanding and disrupt segregation. Participants can request a spot on each neighborhood tour through the links above.

Saturday, Sept. 21, 6–8 p.m.; National Museum of Mexican Art

After the immersion program concludes, the Chicago collaborators will hold an evening reception, including roundtable discussions, spins by DJ Rae Chardonnay and performances by Harold Green, poet, and Frank Waln, Sicangu-Lakota hip-hop artist, storyteller and music producer. Registration is encouraged.

Sunday, Sept. 22, 1–3 p.m.; Center for Native Futures

The Center for Native Futures will hold a panel discussion featuring sibling artists Monica Rickert-Bolter (Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation) and Joel Rickert (Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation) spoke about their graphic novel about Kitihawa and Jean Baptiste DuSable, considered the founders of Chicago, and their upcoming exhibition at the National Public Housing Museum.

Sunday, Sept. 22, 3–5:30 p.m.; Taylor Street Farms

“Remembering Taylor Street” is 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 with urban designer Paola Aguirre and Borderless Studios. Registration is encouraged.

Thursday, Sept. 26, 1–3 p.m.; National Museum of Mexican Art

The National Museum of Mexican Art, in collaboration with the Mather senior living facility, presents “Viva la Vida,” a monthly workshop series tailored for creative agers. Adults ages 55 and older are invited Sept. 26 to join a writing circle with poet and librarian C.T. Salazar, who will use Delilah Montoya’s exhibition, “Contemporary Casta Portraiture: Nuestra ‘Calidad,’” as inspiration to map life geographies. Registration is required.

Thursday, Sept. 26,  5–8:30 p.m.; Center for Native Futures

To accompany “The Upsetters,” a gallery exhibition showcasing fine-art painters from across Indian Country, the Center for Native Futures will host a screening of Imagining the Indian: The Fight Against Native American Mascoting. A conversation will follow with the director Ben West; April Holder, featured artist and descendent of Chief Blackhawk; and Angela Walden, clinical and community psychologist.

Friday, Sept. 27, 6–8 p.m.; The National Museum of Mexican Art

Artist Delilah Montoya and professors Julie Dowling and Emmanuel Ortega will engage in an enlightening discussion related to Montoya’s ethnographic photography project “Contemporary Casta Portraiture: Nuestra ‘Calidad’” on race and human classifications inherited from 17th-century Colonial Mexico. The project shows that through the lens of science and reason, it is evident that race, like culture, is a social construct stemming from the Age of Enlightenment.

Saturday, Sept. 28, 1–3 p.m.; SSCAC

A panel discussion will feature Naked Acts (1996) director Bridgett M. Davis, film scholar Maya Cade and curator Jada Amina H. for “Holding Our Own: On Intergenerational Care in the Arts.” They will host a dialogue exploring the challenges of preserving and promoting Black women’s artistic expressions. The panel will be held at South Side Community Art Center. At 6 p.m., Naked Acts will be screened at the Gene Siskel Film Center.

Saturday, Sept. 28, 6–9 p.m.; Richard T. Crane Medical Prep High School

The National Public Housing Museum will host 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, ShaDawn “Boobie” Battle and the Place, Space, Werkz crew will highlight Chicago’s complex history of housing injustice and contribute to the ongoing resistance movement.

About “Our Shared Future: Reckoning with Our Racial Past”

Launched in 2021, Our Shared Future: Reckoning with Our Racial Past is the Smithsonian’s race initiative. The initiative uses the Smithsonian’s vast resources to explore how people of all backgrounds understand, experience and confront racism. The initiative strives to help the public understand the past and build a better future and is built on six pillars: Race and Wellness; Race and Wealth; Race and Place; Race, Policy and Ethics; Race Beyond the U.S.; and Race, Arts, and Aesthetics. The initiative hosts programs across the country and creates digital content, storytelling and learning resources. Bank of America is the founding partner of Our Shared Future: Reckoning with Our Racial Past. Additional support for the initiative has been provided by Target Corporation, Verizon and Google Arts & Culture.

Media contacts for the Smithsonian’s Chicago collaborators:

Center for Native Futures: Casey Brown, 608-347-4206; [email protected]

National Museum of Mexican Art: Diane Laux, 630-921-2150; [email protected]

National Public Housing Museum: Tom Elliott, 469-446-6892; [email protected] and Morgan Harris, 312-282-4407; [email protected]

South Side Community Art Center: Jada-Amina Harvey, 773-941-2219; [email protected]