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Join the Illinois Humanities Council for “After the Olympic Bid, What’s Next for Chicago” Panel Dec. 1

Panel at Roosevelt University to feature authors, professors, and nonprofit leaders

Join The Public Square, a program of the Illinois Humanities Council, for a panel discussion on possible futures for Chicago as a city that “works for us” in light of the civic energy that surrounded the failed 2016 Olympic bid.

This event will take place on Tuesday, Dec. 1 from 6 to 8pm at Roosevelt University’s Congress Lounge (430 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago).

The panel will feature Louder Than a Bomb founder and poet Kevin Coval; University of Chicago associate professor of American history Adam Green; Executive Director of the Grassroots Collaborative Amisha Patel; and Amy Skeen, Executive Director of Girls in the Game.

The discussion will be moderated by Natalie Moore, Chicago Public Radio South Side Community Bureau Reporter.

This event is free and open to the public. Reservations are recommended and can be made at prairie.org/publicsquare, emailing events@prairie.org or call 312-422-5580.

This event is presented by Chicago Public Radio-WBEZ 91.5FM, the Mansfield Institute for Social Justice and Transformation at Roosevelt University, and The Public Square.

MORE ABOUT THE PANELISTS

Kevin Coval is author of Everyday People (EM Press 2008) and Slingshots (A Hip-Hop Poetica) (EM Press 2006), which was nominated for a Book of the Year Award by The American Library Association.

He is also a faculty member at The School of the Art Institute in Chicago, poet-in-residence at The Jane Addams Hull House-Museum, and Minister of Hip-Hop Poetics at The University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Adam Green is associate professor of American history at the University of Chicago. His fields of study are modern U.S. history, African American history, urban history, comparative racial politics, and cultural economy.

His publications include Selling the Race: Culture and Community in Black Chicago, 1940-1955 (University of Chicago Press, 2006) and Time Longer than Rope: Studies in African American Activism, 1850-1950 (co- editor Charles Payne, New York University Press, 2003). He holds a Ph.D. from Yale University.

Amisha Patel is Executive Director of Grassroots Collaborative, a community-labor coalition working to win racial and economic justice in Chicago and statewide.

She previously worked as a union organizer and did arts-based violence against women prevention programming in communities of color in the Bay Area.

The documentary that her youth created, entitled Young Azns Rising! Breaking Down Violence Against Women, screened in film festivals across the country and won the Asian Emmy for best documentary.

Amy Skeen, MSW, LCSW, is Executive Director of Girls in the Game, a nonprofit recognized for leadership in sports, health, and leadership programming for girls citywide.

She has fifteen years of experience in nonprofit program operations, specifically working with youth and families. Amy has received numerous awards for her leadership, including One of Chicago’s Top Women Making a Difference for Girls, (Women Employed 2008).

Natalie Moore is the reporter for Chicago Public Radio’s bureau in Englewood, a neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side.

Natalie’s work has been published in Essence, Black Enterprise, the Chicago Reporter, Bitch, In These Times, the Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago Tribune.

She is co-author of the book Deconstructing Tyrone: A New Look at Black Masculinity in the Hip-Hop Generation.

She is a 2009 fellow at Columbia College’s Ellen Stone Belic Institute for the Study of Women and Gender in the Arts and Media. She’s also on the board of directors of the Neighborhood Writing Alliance.

About the Public Square

The Public Square, a program of the Illinois Humanities Council, fosters debate, dialogue, and exchange of ideas about cultural, social, and political issues with an emphasis on social justice.

Programs promote participatory democracy by creating space for public conversations.

More information about The Public Square is available at prairie.org/publicsquare.

About the Illinois Humanities Council

The Illinois Humanities Council (IHC) is a nonprofit educational organization [501 (c) 3] dedicated to fostering a culture in which the humanities are a vital part of the lives of individuals and communities.

Organized in 1973 as the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), the IHC creates programs and funds organizations that promote greater understanding of, appreciation for, and involvement in the humanities by all Illinoisans, regardless of their economic resources, cultural background, or geographic location.

The IHC is supported by state, federal, and private funds.