Honoring the rich history of rural western Illinois, and examining the problems we currently face
As mentioned in our podcast interview, Dr. James Loewen didn’t just write a book about sundown towns, he wrote THE book. He did a lot of research in small towns--especially in Illinois--which has enabled us to learn a lot about our own communities. (By the way, if you haven't already, Loewen has a massive database …
Continue reading "S2 – Blog 02: Sundown Towns: Why Studying Sundown Towns Matters"
When Dr. James Loewen decided he was going to research sundown towns, he figured he might find about 50 or so of these communities spread across the country. To his surprise, he claimed to uncover more than 500, and that was just in his home state of Illinois! He estimates that at its peak in 1970 there were approximately 10,000 sundown towns throughout the country. So what exactly are sundown towns?
On the first episode of our second season, we were extremely fortunate to interview Dr. James Loewen about his book "Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism." We asked the essential question: What are Sundown Towns? Dr. Loewen is a talented author, historian, and sociologist. He is best known for his 1995 book, …
Continue reading "S2, E1 – What Are Sundown Towns, with author James Loewen"
On Sunday April 30 from 2-2:30 PM the Canton area YWCA led by Executive Director Brooke Denniston held a ¨Stand Against Racism¨ rally at Jones Park in Canton, IL. Please visit the links below for more information (Photo taken from YWCA logo) Listen online to the event through WBYS here: Take the pledge to ¨Stand …
Continue reading "S1 – Blog 07: YWCA Hosts ¨Stand Against Racism¨"
Listen in to part 2 of our conversation about race and rural America with Dr. Alphonso Simpson. In case you didn't hear part 1, you can check it out by clicking the link here. You can also listen to our class podcast by searching "Forgottonia Project" on iTunes or wherever you find podcasts. Also don't forget to check out some outstanding resources that Dr. Simpson shared with us which he uses in his classes at WIU. You can check them out by clicking the link here .
Enjoyed sharing our previous conversation on race and rural America with Dr. Alphonso Simpson from WIU. You can listen here by visiting this link or through our "Forgottonia Project" podcast. Wanted to take a moment to share a few resources Dr. Simpson recommended during on discussion. These are various books, articles, and media he finds very helpful in facilitating healthy conversations about race and also uses in them in various courses he teaches. We recommend you get your hands on the following:
We're excited to share this outstanding conversation about race and rural America with Dr. Alphonso Simpson. Dr. Simpson is a professor of African American Studies at Western Illinois University and also serves as chair of the department of Liberal Arts and Sciences. He’s been teaching at WIU since 2000 and is the author of 3 …
The Forgottonia Project 