An edgy confrontation with white co-workers on the way home from his job at a lumber mill in Greenville, Ala., made James “Pop” Simmons wary. A menacing night visit by […]
Author Archives: Mary Gavin
Mary Gavin is the founder of the Evanston RoundTable. After 23 years as its publisher and manager, she helped transition the RoundTable to nonprofit status in 2021. She continues to write, edit, mentor and serve on the Advisory Committee.
Posted inArt & Life
A Monarch Emerges
Sigrid Pilgrim discovered a monarch egg on May 30, a dot on a milkweed leaf. She raised the caterpillar and, on June 25, released the female monarch. “It is truly […]
Posted inArt & Life
A Look at Reparations From Three Faiths
Continuing their covenant to combat racism and confront the truth about their own past histories, two local churches will take the lead at noon on June 20 in a discussion […]
Posted inPublic Square
Reader: Increased Parking Fees Discourages Patrons and Visitors
Yesterday my husband and I decided to eat at Cross Rhodes for the first time since the March 2020 lockdown. We parked at meter 175 on Chicago Avenue. It would […]
Posted inCity News
The Five-Fifths TIF Aims to Enhance Black Businesses in the Fifth Ward
The June 3 meeting of the Joint Review Board to consider a recommendation on the Five-Fifths tax-increment financing TIF district attracted nearly twice the typical number of interested residents. They […]
Posted inArt & Life
A Musical Round of Vaccines
There is a sly contagion in “Vaccination Round,” an a cappela card of thanks to Anthony Fauci from singer-songwriter Kristin Lems and friends. The five-part round features Ms. Lems (“Astra Zeneca”), Carol […]
Posted inArt & Life
Green Day at the Post Office
A friend called a friend who called a friend, and a crew from Nature’s Perspective Landscaping showed up to do some yard work at the Davis Street Post Office. “Jay […]
Posted inArt & Life
Photos Around Town
Evanstonians have captured the beauty of late spring. At dawn in late May, Mary Mumbrue found these herons in the still waters of Lake Michigan near the lakefill. Mike […]
Posted inArt & Life
Memorial Day 2021: ‘A Sense of Normalcy’
The traditions continued – songs, prayers, speeches, reflections, wreaths, and salutes – but for many there was a new feeling, as a crowd of about 250 gathered Monday at Fountain […]
Posted inSchools
The RoundTable Congratulates the ETHS Class of 2021
You made it! It was a tough year by any measure. Nevertheless you persisted – or, to borrow from the great Chicago songwriter Curtis Mayfield, you kept on keeping on. […]