Good Wednesday morning, Evanston.
Community members plan to gather at 7:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. every weekday through June 8 at Haven Middle School to support Black students and Black teachers after the recent discovery of three nooses hanging outside the school.
Charetta Williams, a Special Education Teacher at Evanston/Skokie School District 65, organized these efforts, and also encouraged community members to attend the Monday, May 23, school board meeting, at which a crowd of students, parents and educators denounced the incident and discussed racism in Evanston.
Several current and former Haven students spoke up during the public comment session of the board meeting, demanding more information about the nooses, which were found May 13, the same day Haven students led a peaceful protest against involuntary teacher transfers. The discovery of the nooses has sparked outrage and reporting in the media, bringing various groups to Haven to protest or speak out.
At This Time: Tuesday at 3:03 p.m. Police Officer Otha Brooks joins about 50 other Evanston officers and staff at a “celebration of service” ceremony in front of the Police Department on Elmwood Avenue near Lake Street. Brooks has been an officer for 18 years. “Evanston has changed a lot,” he said, “but mostly for the good.” What does this event mean to him? “It means I’m appreciated and that makes we want to do my job to the best of my ability.” (Photo by Richard Cahan)
Why the Evanston community is stepping up
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COVID-19 by the numbers: 45 new cases were reported Monday, May 23, the last day the city updated totals. The seven-day average is 48 cases per day.
Elsewhere on the RoundTable website
Peggy Tarr: Memories. “I am old, and the older I get, the more I appreciate the brain’s filing system,” writes columnist Peggy Tarr. “I am often amazed at how experiences and people from my early years come forth so vividly.”
Les Jacobson: Second chance. Writes columnist Les Jacobson: “There is a phrase I recently heard that describes a plant about to die: going over. While I couldn’t confirm the accuracy of the term, nevertheless I have adopted it into my euphemistic lexicon. Is it dying? No, just going over.”
City beaches to open for the season May 28. The City of Evanston’s Parks and Recreation Department has announced that Evanston beaches will open for the season on Saturday, May 28, and will remain open through Labor Day.
Patricia Ann Harbrecht Buck, 1927-2022. Patricia (Patty) Ann Buck, 95, died Wednesday, April 27, at NorthShore University HealthSystem’s Evanston Hospital. Passionate about education, she remained dedicated to teaching while raising her children. She was also an artist and sculptor with her own unique style.
Thursday Night Markets return to Fountain Square this summer. Downtown Evanston is excited to host the second summer of Thursday Night Markets, an outdoor market featuring local shops, artists and makers. The markets take place from 4 to 8 p.m. on the first Thursday of each month.
Picturing Evanston. Dreaming big in the alley across from the Union Squared Beer Garden between Chicago and Hinman avenues north of Dempster Street. (Photo by Joerg Metzner)
ETHS girls track: School record run earns state relay title for Wildkits. Senior Dystonae Clark helped the Wildkits to a first place finish and a school record in the 1600-meter relay race on a soggy Saturday at the Class 3A Illinois High School Association state championship meet at Eastern Illinois University.
ETHS girls soccer: Kite flies high, saves sectional win. Her coach probably wouldn’t have recommended the fundamentals Evanston goalkeeper Ariel Kite showed off Tuesday at the Class 3A New Trier Sectional tournament. But because Kite flew high, Evanston advanced past rival New Trier with a 2-1 victory.
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Around the web
Moran Center and Evanston Public Library partner to provide eviction expungement. About 10 residents attended a walk-in legal clinic Tuesday to remove prior evictions from their records before a temporary Illinois law expires at the end of July.
African American Studies faculty vote to rename department Black Studies, pending university approval. Northwestern’s African American Studies faculty members voted unanimously on April 6 to change the department’s name to Black Studies, department chair Mary Pattillo told The Daily Monday.
Body found by boater in Lake Michigan near Wilmette. An unidentified body was pulled out of Lake Michigan Sunday after a boater spotted it floating about a mile off the Wilmette shoreline, authorities said.
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