Friday 7/25 – Thursday 7/31
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In 1914 activist and songwriter Joe Hill–aka Joel Hagglund, a Swedish immigrant turned Industrial Workers of the World organizer–was arrested for a double murder in Utah. Labor leaders insisted he’d been framed by mine bosses, but Hill refused to provide an alibi for the night in question and was found guilty. His case became a cause celebre for everyone from Helen Keller to President Woodrow Wilson, whose call for a stay of execution was temporarily granted by Utah’s governor, but Hill was executed by a firing squad in 1915. Before he died he told his fellow Wobblies, “Don’t waste time in mourning. Organize!” Tonight’s tribute performance, Celebrate Joe Hill, starts at 6. The evening of song, storytelling, and theater kicks off this weekend’s Bughouse Square Debates. Tomorrow at 1 PM the debates committee will present former Governor George Ryan with the John Peter Altgeld Freedom of Speech Award for his work against the death penalty; pardoned death-row inmate Aaron Patterson will be on hand as well. The annual soapbox debates, including the 3 PM main event, “Are We Safer With Fewer Civil Liberties?,” run tomorrow from noon to 5 in Washington Square Park, 901 N. Clark. All events are free; call 312-255-3510.
26 SATURDAY Sam Greenlee’s best-selling 1969 satire on race relations, The Spook Who Sat by the Door, was set in Chicago and focused on the travails of one Dan Freeman, a “token Negro” hired by the CIA. He outwardly plays along with the establishment but seethes inside, and eventually drops out and uses his skills to train young African-Americans for an armed uprising. Greenlee–an activist, poet, journalist, teacher, and talk-show host–walked his first picket line at age 15 and went on to serve as a foreign service officer for the U.S. State Department, win an award for bravery during the 1958 Baghdad revolution, and pen the 1991 book Baghdad Blues: The Revolution That Brought Saddam Hussein to Power. He’ll discuss the origins of Spook today at 2 at the Bessie Coleman branch of the Chicago Public Library, 731 E. 63rd. On Saturday, August 16, at 1 he’ll attend a discussion of the book and 1972 film of the same name, for which he cowrote the screenplay. Both events are free; call 312-747-7760.
31 THURSDAY The biggest, most visible Talk Show With Johnny White took place in July 1996 at the Polish Triangle–the island at the intersection of Milwaukee, Division, and Ashland. White sat in a hot tub and presided over guests that included bassist Tatsu Aoki and filmmaker Tom Palazzolo. Later, the Chicago-based actor, artist, and filmmaker moved to LA, where he scored a role in the Russell Crowe-Peter Weir swashbuckler Master and Commander and worked in the art department on the TV show The Bachelor. He’ll discuss his experiences tonight from 7 to 9 at an event called Meet and Greet With Johnny White: Navigating the LA Scene. It’s at Chicago Filmmakers, 5423 N. Clark (773-293-1447). Admission is $7.
