Friday 6/15 – Thursday 6/21
16 SATURDAY Men who worked as Pullman porters were considered “aristocrats” in the African-American community; Thurgood Marshall, Langston Hughes, and Roy Wilkins all held that job at some point. At the same time, however, African-Americans who worked for the railroads–which used slave labor during the expansion era–had to fight racism coming from their customers, their employers, and labor unions. UIC history professor Eric Arnesen examines the relationships among unions, African-American railroad workers, and the civil rights movement in his new book, Brotherhoods of Color: Black Railroad Workers and the Struggle for Equality. He’ll discuss it today at 11 at the Newberry Library, 60 W. Walton. It’s free; call 312-255-3700. i The Emancipation Proclamation became official on January 1, 1863, but it wasn’t until June 19, 1865, that its impact was felt in Texas. That’s when Union general Gordon Granger landed in Galveston and reported that the war was over and the slaves were now free. Today’s Juneteenth Celebration at the Woodson Regional Library marks the holiday–which is actually Tuesday–with a tour of the Harsh Collection’s exhibit “Former Slaves in Freedom,” the presentation of the Sojourner Truth Literary Award, and a speech by SIU professor Shirley M. Portwood, author of last year’s Tell Us a Story: An African-American Family in the Heartland. The free event is sponsored by the International Society of Sons & Daughters of Slave Ancestry and takes place from 1 to 3:30 at the library at 9525 S. Halsted (312-745-2080). i Three of the folks behind The Bomb-Itty of Errors–the popular off-Broadway rap version of Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors–are brothers who hail from the Chicago area. These days the lads go by initials–J.A.Q. (DJ-composer Jeffrey Qaiyum), GQ (actor-rapper Gregory J. Qaiyum), and Q Brother (Anthony Qaiyum), who coproduced the show. Their energetic take on the classic–which was J.A.Q.’s final project for NYU’s experimental theater program–has four actor-rappers playing the two sets of twins separated at birth as well as everyone else in the cast (including the women), and was hailed by the New Yorker as “exuberant, witty, allusive, chaotic, fast, loose, and infectious.” Previews start tonight at 8 at the Royal George Theatre Center, 1641 N. Halsted (312-988-9000). Tickets are $25 until the official opening on June 19, when they bump up to $35. It runs through August 12.
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20 WEDNESDAY The idea for Chris Wieland and Hans Noel’s new film The Rest of Your Life was lifted from a friend of theirs, whose girlfriend called him around 1:30 one afternoon while he was watching a basketball game. She wanted to know if they were ever going to get married, and she wanted an answer–if it was no, she was prepared to dump him–by 4. They lived in the south suburbs–“a whole different world,” says Wieland–which are the setting for the Northwestern alumni’s first feature. The film, written and produced by Wieland, directed by Noel, and shot here with a local cast and crew, will be screened tonight at 8 as part of the AngelCiti Chicago 2001 Film Festival at the Biograph, 2433 N. Lincoln. Tickets are $10; the festival runs though the 27th. For more info call 323-466-9870 or see the sidebar in Section Two.
