Public Programs: December

A Newberry Library and Chicago Historical Society Exhibit: October 1, 2004, to January 15, 2005

Public Programs: December
October | November | January

The Days of the Martyrs and the Saints:
The Enduring Memory of the Haymarket Tragedy and Other Labor Massacres
Saturday, December 4, 10:00 am

Speakers: James Green, University of Massachusetts, Boston, and Peter Alter, The Chicago Historical Society

Labor historian James Green will present his research on labor landmarks in Chicago and his current work on the meaning and memory of the Haymarket tragedy. He will discuss the perceived causes and consequences of labor massacres from 1886 to 1937, a period bracketed by the deaths of Chicago workers shot by the police on the night of May 4, 1886, and the killing of ten others on Memorial Day in May 1937. He will explore the meaning of these events as they were represented in reportage, memorials, holidays and rituals, and in poems and songs, paintings and drawings, oral histories and documentary films.

Following the lecture, the Illinois Labor History Society will show a 12-minute film of the Memorial Day Massacre in May 1937. Exhibition co-curator, Peter Alter of the Chicago Historical Society, will lead a tour of Outspoken, in which he will focus on labor and working-class history.

Admission is free. No reservations are required

Free Speech and the �Kids of Fairytown�
Saturday, December 11, 11:00 am

Speaker: David K. Johnson, University of South Florida

In the 1930s, so many gathering spots for gays and lesbians flourished openly on Chicago's Near North Side that some dubbed the area "Fairytown." Tourists came to gawk, sociologists to investigate, and novelists to find inspiration. Historian David Johnson examines how the bohemian atmosphere of places such as Bughouse Square and the Dill Pickle Club also provided a space for a gay male subculture to emerge. Whether looking at Chicago's first gay organization (in the 1920s) or its first gay pride parade (in 1970), the roots of today's community can be traced back to Bughouse Square and its atmosphere of tolerance.

Admission is free. No reservations are required

This exhibit has been organized by the Newberry Library's Dr. William M. Scholl Center for Family and Community History and the Chicago Historical Society. It has been made possible with major funding provided in part by The Institute of Museum and Library Services, a federal agency that fosters innovation, leadership and a lifetime of learning. Generous support also provided by The Chicago Reader and Dr. and Mrs. Tapas K. Das Gupta.