At the March 22 City Council meeting, aldermen accepted the report from the Alternatives to 911 Subcommittee and directed staff to draft and issue a request for proposals for an Alternative to Emergency Response team. The City’s Human Services Committee and the Alternatives to 911 Subcommittee presented a report at that meeting on their work […]
Category: Social Justice
Posted inCity News
Peaceful Anti-Police Protest, March on April 18
An estimated 400 people gathered in Independence Park on April 18 for a protest against police violence and a rally to defund the Evanston and Northwestern police departments, organized jointly by Evanston Fight for Black Lives and Northwestern Community Not Cops. With a drumbeat provided by Michael James, volunteers walked through the crowd offering masks […]
Posted inArt & Life
“Miss Dorothy Headd Way” Street Name Sign to Honor Her Work as a Crossing Guard and Efforts Toward Environmental Justice
As a beloved crossing guard at the corner of Grant Street and Prairie Avenue, Evanston’s Dorothy Headd worked hard to ensure the safety of families as they walked to and from Kingsley Elementary School each day. But she went beyond that, too, said Kingsley parent Elizabeth Newton, speaking at the April 12 City Council meeting […]
Posted inSchools
Pope John XXIII Students Write on Equity, Identity
Pope John XXIII School added a new feature to its observance of Black History Month. Teacher Meaghan Heaton created a contest open to all middle school students (6th, 7th, and 8th grades), which was optional. She said she saw the contest as a way to further the school’s “ongoing effort toward racial equity and as […]
Posted inArt & Life
Pandemic Silver Lining: Ending Homelessness in Evanston
Jennifer Kouba says that the community can end homelessness in Evanston. The pandemic has proved it is possible. Ms. Kouba is the Associate Director for Development at Connections for the Homeless, where the mission statement is to end homelessness one person at a time. To illustrate what is possible, she pointed to 15 communities around […]
Posted inArt & Life
Vigil in Solidarity with Asian Americans at Lovelace Park Attracts 150
By Adina Keeling A vigil on April 1 attracted more than 150 to Lovelace Park and scores more via Zoom to express solidarity with Asian Americans. The Asian American Caucus sponsored the vigil, and Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Commissioner Josina Morita, State Representative Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz, and local elected officials and community organizations served as hosts. […]
Posted inArt & Life
New Fridge, Same Mission
Less than two weeks after a wayward truck demolished Evanston’s first communal refrigerator, a replacement has been installed just a few feet away, still at 1335 Dodge Ave. In March, Evanston Fight for Black Lives completed the project – a place where people can donate or obtain food as they need it. Evanston Rebuilding Warehouse […]
Posted inSchools
District 65 School Board Adopts ‘Land Acknowledgment and Acknowledgement of the Contributions of the Enslaved’
We acknowledge Evanston, and its founder Johns Evans, are tied to the massacre of the Arapaho and Cheyenne for railroads and westward expansion upon which John Evan’s developed his wealth and founded Evanston.
Posted inCity News
Landmark Reparations Proposal Approved By City Council
Evanston City Council members approved a landmark reparations resolution on March 22, setting in motion housing assistance for eligible Black residents to redress some of the injustices they suffered over a half century of discriminatory practices. In an 8-1 vote, aldermen approved the resolution in support of a restorative housing program, which is the first […]
Posted inSchools
District 65 School Board Considers ‘Land Acknowledgment,’ Reshaping Curriculum
On March 8, the District 65 School Board discussed a proposed “Resolution on Native Lands and the Contributions of Enslaved Peoples.” School Board President Anya Tanyavutti said consideration of the “land acknowledgement is an opportunity for us as a Board to have an important conversation and set an important vision for how we acknowledge the […]