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- Program
- Speaker Series
- Date
- Feb 04, 2025
From Afrofuturist visions of space travel to the invention of house music, Black Chicagoans have made essential contributions to our culture, our technology, and our everyday lives. What does the changing national zeitgeist and local cityscape — from reverse migration to places like Atlanta to growing new immigrant populations — portend for the future of Chicago? How do local artists, advocates and storytellers contribute to our city’s political footprint?
Featuring social justice artist and visiting IOP Pritzker fellow Tonika Lewis Johnson; Director of Undergraduate Studies and Associate Professor in the Department of Race, Diaspora, and Indigeneity, Eve Ewing; and Chicago Urban Historian Shermann "Dilla" Thomas. Moderated by Natalie Moore, Senior Lecturer & Director of Audio Journalism Programming at Northwestern Medill School of Journalism.
Dinner will be provided and select books will be available for sale!
*Title from Krista Franklin’s poem, “History, As Written by the Victors”
If you have any questions about accessibility, please contact iopevents@uchicago.edu.
Tuesday, February 4, 2025 5:30 p.m. CST Ida Noyes Hall, Cloister Club
- Natalie Moore Senior Lecturer & Director of Audio Journalism Programming at Northwestern Medill School of Journalism Reporter, Race, Class, and Communities, WBEZ
- Eve Ewing Director of Undergraduate Studies and Associate Professor, Department of Race, Diaspora, and Indigeneity
- Shermann "Dilla" Thomas Chicago Urban Historian
- Tonika Lewis Johnson Chicago-Based Social Justice Artist, visiting IOP Pritzker Fellow Tonika Lewis Johnson, a visionary photographer and social justice artist deeply rooted in Chicago's South Side Englewood, illuminates the shadows of injustice within real estate and land use practices, advocating for transformative change, especially in historic preservation. Her ongoing opus, Folded Map, transcends visual storytelling by unraveling the stark disparities among segregated Chicago residents, compelling them to engage in meaningful conversations. Meanwhile, her poignant "Inequity For Sale" project unearths the living history of Greater Englewood homes sold under discriminatory Land Sale Contracts in the 50s and 60s, urging a critical reevaluation and the creation of positive change. Internationally acclaimed, Tonika's artistry has earned her accolades, including Chicago Magazine's Chicagoan of the Year, and has been showcased at prestigious venues like the Museum of Contemporary Art, Rootwork Gallery in Pilsen, the Chicago Cultural Center, the Harold Washington Library Center, and Loyola University's Museum of Art. Her impact extends beyond art, recognized as a 2019 Field Foundation "Leader for a New Chicago," a 2022 Landmark Illinois Influencer, and recently concluding a 2023 Ateliers Médicis Artist in Residence in Paris, France. Serving as a Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events Cultural Advisory Council member, a lead co-founder of the Englewood Arts Collective, and the Resident Association of Greater Englewood (R.A.G.E.), Tonika now spearheads the Folded Map Project™ non-profit as its Creative Executive Officer, embodying the transformative power of art in advocacy and community leadership.