Fragment #8
Hello friends:
I'm taking a break this week, because last week was exhausting. But I wanted to quickly share a few things I've been working on just for what it's worth.
I spent the first ten days of June working on collecting first-person accounts of the May 29-31 protests in Chicago, and helping compile them into a timeline of events in and around the Trump hotel and the Wacker Avenue bridge on the evening of May 30, which, based on what we were told, was a site and moment when what was a until then a relatively peaceful, albeit highly charged, protest turned violent, with the Chicago police rushing the crowd with batons and (I can say this from this non-journalistic perch) clearly lighting the match that sparked the mayhem that ensued.
The result—by me and Jason Schumer—can be found here, on the South Side Weekly website, with absolutely stunning web interactive by Bea Malsky. The whole June 10 issue of the Weekly is, frankly, <fire>, with a full suite of stories on the George Floyd protests, the conflict between Black and Latinx residents on the West Side, the history of white violence in Bridgeport, the aftermath of the looting on the South Side and lots more. I'd love it if you would check it out and, if you want, you can donate to support our work here.
Meanwhile, on a lighter note: the new edition of the Soup & Bread Cookbook is here! Many thanks to Kate Bernot for covering it in this week's Midwesterner. Also in case you missed it, I've started doing a half-hour Soup & Bread "tv show" on the Hideout's website. It airs Wednesdays at 6, right before Veggie Bingo, and it's just casual conversations with different people in the larger Soup & Bread ecosystem, talking about how they're doing, what they're doing, and how their work has evolved in a time of crisis. This coming week I'm talking with Won Kim, the chef at Kimski, in Bridgeport. Previous episodes are archived on the Hideout's YouTube channel here.
And, last, we've extended Virtual Veggie Bingo through August. It's every Wednesday from 7-8 pm and it's some really clean, ridiculous fun. Come join us!
Ok, that's it. I'm out! Take care everyone. More soon.
xo
M
PS: I've been visiting the ducklings in the park and they seem to be having a blast in their new McMansion of a habitat, paddling around and generally enchanting children and adults alike. I miss them but I'm glad they are now Ducks of the People.