Category Archives: Chicago Writing
Ida B. Wells Boycotts the World’s Fair – Part 1
One of the most important documents of Black writing in American history is Ida B. Well’s pamphlet The Reason Why the Colored American Is Not in the World’s Columbian Exposition, sections of which I included in my book Black Writing from … Continue reading
Tara Betts: Amalgamation Improvisation Within Black
In my book Black Writing from Chicago, I included two Tara Betts poems, “Two Brothers” and “A Mixed Message,” the first featured in the marvelous Steppenwolf Theatre production Words on Fire (2000), a celebration of Chicago poetry. No wonder: it … Continue reading
Era Bell Thompson: Affirming American Meritocracy
Nearly without fail, the excerpt from Era Bell Thompson’s American Daughter, which I included in my book Black Writing from Chicago, is my students’ favorite. Leaving her native North Dakota in 1931, Era Bell Thompson came to settle in Chicago … Continue reading