Harold

November 06, 2007

Harold

We're just a couple weeks a way from the twentieth anniversary of the death of Harold Washington, the first Black mayor of Chicago. He led the city from 1983 to the day a heart attack killed him in his city hall office in 1987.

"This American Life" seizes the moment to re-tell the astonishing story of this man and this city. Host Ira Glass is right to remark on Washington's "idealism and nerve" that breaks through Chicago's Daley political machine, the focus-group polish of contemporary electoral campaigns, and the intangible but fiercely present dynamics of race and power.

Today...on election day...this is a story I needed to hear.

Posted at 04:00 PM in Culture, Ecological, Health, Media, Politics, Poverty & Economic Justice, Prisons & People | Permalink

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Isak

Isak is a space to celebrate tales and truth in the curious, joyful way embodied by the writer for which it is named. The name "Isak," after all, means "laughter," as she was fond of pointing out.

By tales, I mean fiction (especially short fiction), as well as other literary and artistic narratives. By truth, I mean the world in which we live. I especially have my eye on creative social justice.

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Celebrating Tales and Truth

November 06, 2007

Harold

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