Patrons of Central Street businesses will have the opportunity tomorrow to engage in conversations about race and racism with young people who grew up in North Evanston.
From 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on June 6, appropriately masked and properly socially distanced North Evanston youth will sit at seven different tables in the Central Street/Green Bay Road shopping area.
According to information provided to the RoundTable, these young adults will have posters with “Questions to talk about race at the dinner table,” along with resources where people can donate or call to learn more. The questions are designed to illustrate the different experiences between white and black people living in Evanston and probe the meaning of diversity here.
“As neighborhoods on the south and west sides of Chicago are doing Community Clean Ups, we are turning the lens inward and doing a Community Clean Up of White Supremacy in our own business district, in predominantly white North Evanston,” the group’s information stated. “We are young people raised in North Evanston who believe that it is white people’s responsibility to take action against anti-Black racism and whiteness in our community. The generational investments in North Evanston have come at the cost of disinvestment in Black and Brown communities and it is our role to speak up.
“We aim to shine a light on the role of whiteness in upholding and maintaining racism. We also recognize this discussion takes place within the greater context of a global pandemic which disproportionately kills the black community. We must continually educate ourselves by listening to black voices, share our generational wealth and engage in difficult dialogue on anti-black racism.”