Mariame Kaba discusses 'Lifting As They Climbed' — Hungry for Stories #14

Read/Write Library welcomes Mariame Kaba, co-author with Essence McDowell of Lifting As They Climbed: Mapping a History of Black Women on Chicago’s South Side, a self-guided tour. Join Mariame for a discussion focused specifically on Ida B. Wells’s Chicago. Come learn about how Ida and other Black women who were her contemporaries struggled for justice in a profoundly unequal city.

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Each Hungry for Stories discussion encourages participants to question the culture and expression we value as a city through not just exploring a wide range of contemporary books, but also their creators' perspectives on Chicago and the local communities that inform and support their work. With the selection of vastly different forms, genres and voices from across the city, Hungry for Stories is growing a community committed to reading outside of their comfort zones.

This discussion is free for current Hungry for Stories subscribers and their guests, $10 for the public and all attendees are welcome to actively participate regardless of subscriber status. Visit our Hungry for Stories page to learn more and subscribe for future books and discussions.

About Lifting As They Climbed: Mapping a History of Black Women on Chicago’s South Side

Lifting As They Climbed: Mapping a History of Black Women on Chicago’s South Side tells of the lives of Black women who contributed to the development of Chicago from the mid-nineteenth century to today.

This self-guided tour, by Mariame Kaba and Essence McDowell, features thirty-three locations and ten additional sites of interest that represent the lives and work of Black women activists and artists from Chicago’s South Side who organized to make the city work better for themselves, their loved ones, and their communities. These women documented the conditions of Black people and shaped the culture of Chicago and the entire country.

About Mariame Kaba

Mariame Kaba is an organizer, educator and curator who’s active in numerous social movements for prison abolition, racial justice, gender justice, and transformative justice. She is the founder and director of Project NIA, a grassroots organization with a vision to end youth incarceration, and a co-founder of numerous organizations including the Chicago Freedom School, Love and Protect, the Chicago Taskforce on Violence against Girls and Young Women and most recently Survived & Punished.

Mariame is also a co-organizer of the Just Practice Collaborative, a training and mentoring group focused on sustaining a community of practitioners who provide community-based accountability and support structures for all parties involved with incidents and patterns of sexual, domestic, relationship, and intimate community violence.

Mariame is on the advisory boards of the Chicago Torture Justice Memorials, Critical Resistance and the Chicago Community Bond Fund. Her writing has appeared in the Nation Magazine, the Guardian, The Washington Post, In These Times, The New Inquiry, Teen Vogue and more. She runs Prison Culture blog (www.usprisonculture.com/blog).

FAQs

What are my transportation/parking options for getting to and from the event?

We're located on the corner of California and Walton (just south of Augusta Blvd and north of Chicago Ave). Our entrance is on Walton up a ramp; look for the round white Read/Write Library sign. The #52 California and #66 Chicago buses are no more than a block away and parking is plentiful. Read/Write Library is wheelchair accessible.

What can I bring into the event?

This event is BYOB.

How can I contact the organizer with any questions?

Email us at info@readwritelibrary.org

Do I have to bring my printed ticket to the event?

Nope! Please register by noon on the day of the event, we will have a printed list at the event.

Can I update my registration information?

Yes, but please do so by noon on the day of the event!