Friday 2/7 – Thursday 2/13
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8 SATURDAY In 1946, Michael Reese Hospital hired its first African-American physician, gastroenterologist Leonidas Berry. One of the nation’s foremost experts on digestive disorders, he invented the Eder-Berry biopsy gastroscope, which was used to obtain tissue samples from the stomach (and is now on display at the Smithsonian), but wasn’t granted full attending physician status until 1964. Some of Berry’s papers can be seen in the exhibit “More Than a Century of Struggle: African-American Achievement in Chicago’s Medical History,” which runs through June 30 at the Carter G. Woodson Regional Library. The exhibit provides the background for today’s free town hall meeting, Chicago’s Hospitals and Health Professional Schools: From Racial Exclusion to Affirmative Action, where 24 black health organizations will discuss the status of African-Americans in the health professions. It’ll be moderated by former Cook County Hospital medical director Dr. Agnes D. Lattimer (the first black woman to head a major American hospital) and Dr. William McDade, associate dean for minority affairs and professor of anesthesiology at the University of Chicago’s Pritzker School of Medicine. It’s from 1 to 4:30 at the library, 9525 S. Halsted (312-745-2080).
9 SUNDAY Winter on South Dakota’s Cheyenne River Reservation can mean ten-foot snowdrifts and temperatures that drop to 40 below. Most of the 15 Lakota Sioux communities there don’t have plumbing, and 68 percent of the inhabitants live below the poverty line. Today’s Billy Mills Youth Center benefit is intended to raise money for the Eagle Butte-based organization, which provides food, toys, tutoring, and counseling for Lakota kids, among whom–according to the American Indian Relief Council–teen suicide is epidemic. The free event includes food, a silent auction of Lakota crafts, and a screening of the video Lakota: Land of Survivors. It starts at 3 PM at the Autonomous Zone, 2129 N. Milwaukee. For more information E-mail createchange@mail.com or call 312-226-4610.
12 WEDNESDAY Same-sex couples in wedding outfits have been traipsing around the Loop and north side for the last few weekends, talking to passersby about why they should be allowed to marry (so they have access to such benefits as family health insurance and social security, among other reasons) and inviting them to tonight’s Freedom to Marry Reception. Speakers at the free event include Saundra Heath and Alicia Toby, plaintiffs in a landmark New Jersey same-sex marriage lawsuit; attendees are invited to sign copies of Lambda Legal’s Marriage Resolution–a short and sweet declaration holding that “the State should not interfere with same-gender couples who choose to marry and share fully and equally in the rights, responsibilities, and commitment to civil marriage.” The reception takes place from 7 to 9 at High Risk Gallery, 1113 W. Belmont. Call 312-663-4413, ext. 27, for more information; for a copy of the resolution see www.lambdalegal.org.
