Activists and scholars visit the Public Square at the Illinois Humanities Council to discuss new book Letters from Young Activists.

CHICAGO – On Tuesday, December 13th, the Public Square at the Illinois Humanities Council will host an Artists, Authors, and Activists After Hours (AAAH) celebration of the recently published Letters from Young Activists: Today’s Rebels Speak Out. Speakers will include one of the book’s contributing editors, author and activist Chesa Boudin, Northwestern Law Professor and long-time activist Bernardine Dohrn, and local activists and poets Kevin Coval and Michael Reyes.

Seating is limited. The event begins at 6 p.m. at 1420 N. Lake Shore Drive, Apt. 11B. This program is free and open to the public. Reservations are required and can be made at events@thepublicsquare.org or 312.422.5580. Please specify “Letters from Young Activists.” Refreshments will be served.

The authors of Letters from Young Activists articulate their vision for the world as they work towards racial, economic, gender, environmental, and global justice. As a celebration of the book and a tribute to its causes, this potent mix of panelists will explore such questions as: How are youth being marginalized from the activist community? What would a movement look like that was inclusive of youth? How can we cultivate and support the next generation of activists and young thinkers?

BIOS

Chesa Boudin is a 25-year-old itinerant activist, writer and student at Oxford University on a Rhodes Scholarship who has campaigned for improved prison conditions and protection of prisoner’s rights in Connecticut State prisons, and around the country.

Bernardine Dohrn is the Director and Founder of the Children and Family Justice Center at Northwestern University School of Law and a long-time activist.

Kevin Coval is a widely published and extensively traveled four-time HBO Def Poet and is a regular contributor to Chicago Public Radio.

Michael Reyes is a Chicano Mexican poet, youth organizer and co- founder of two youth spaces in Chicago, Batey Urbano (a Puerto Rican Latino space) and Zocalo Urbano (a Mexican, Chicana/o Latina/o space).

ABOUT THE PUBLIC SQUARE AT THE ILLINOIS HUMANITIES COUNCIL

The Public Square at the IHC fosters debate, dialogue, and exchange of ideas about cultural, social and political issues with an emphasis on social justice. Programs promote participatory democracy by creating space for public conversations. Knowledge is power, yet much crucial knowledge still circulates only in small, isolated communities. We build bridges between theory and practice in order to empower individuals to use ideas as tools to improve their lives.

AAAH programs are intimate, informal discussions over meals that allow for meaningful exchanges among people who share some connection to the work of a visiting artist. Since coalition building is one of the cornerstones of social change, AAAH programs are structured to give individuals a chance to meet others engaged in similar struggles and projects.

More information about The Public Square at the IHC and Café Society is available at www.thepublicsquare.org.

D A R E T O K N O W

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