The Evanston History Center kicks off its popular lecture series known as “Under the Buffalo” next month. The upcoming series, which runs from February through April, is organized around the theme “landscape.”
First up is a presentation by Brian McCammack, author of the award-winning Landscapes of Hope: Nature and the Great Migration in Chicago, the first major history to frame the Great Migration as an environmental experience.
In March, Evanston History Center and the Evanston Women’s History Project will co-host a special event on International Women’s Day: photographer and artist Jeanine Michna-Bales will discuss her multifaceted meditation on a pioneer of American suffrage: Standing Together: Inez Milholland’s Final Campaign for Women’s Suffrage. Michna-Bales’ award-winning series, Through Darkness to Light: Photographs Along the Underground Railroad, was previously on display at the Evanston History Center.
The series concludes with a talk by Scott Mehaffey, Executive Director of the Edith Farnsworth House and National Historic Site in Plano, Illinois. Mehaffey will discuss the history and current status of the renowned International Style house, commissioned by Dr. Edith Farnsworth and designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.
“We began hosting our lecture series online in 2020 and we continued through 2021,” said Dr. Jenny Thompson, who organizes the talks. “Like everyone, we wish we could host in-person talks, but until it’s safe, we will continue to provide high-quality programming virtually.”
EHC Executive Director Eden Juron Pearlman noted that the virtual talks have been extremely well attended and successful. “We’re able to reach a broader audience geographically and we have actually hosted double the number of our usual audience,” she said of the virtual talks. “We are currently exploring ways to continue our online presence post-pandemic in order to continue to connect with this expanded audience.”
“We are so grateful to the people who have attended our talks,” Thompson said. “Even though we are meeting via Zoom, there is still a sense of community fostered by the events.”
Some past events included a talk by Daniel Holt, Assistant Historian for the U.S. Senate, examining the history of the filibuster, and Jill Wine-Banks, author of The Watergate Girl: My Fight for Truth and Justice Against a Criminal President. Wine-Banks, who lives in Evanston, is a legal analyst for MSNBC.
Thompson added that EHC is grateful to its community partners who contribute to making these events successful. For example, Bookends & Beginnings, a local Evanston bookstore, worked with EHC for years to host author book signings at in-person events, and now, they too have shifted online, offering signed copies of guests’ books for purchase. “Like everyone, we’re focused on making things work,” Juron Pearlman said. “And we really believe that providing interesting and educational programming is a nice way to help people take their minds off the pandemic – even if just for a while.”
Admission to each event is $10. The series is free for EHC members. You can learn more about the series and register for the events at: