This story originally appeared in DNA Chicago

By Wendell Hutson

ENGLEWOOD — The Illinois Humanities Council and the Chicago Community Trust are sponsoring “Living in Color,” a series of storytelling events that begins Thursday atKusanya Cafe and will be moderated by community activist and Englewood resident Sonya Harper.

The free event runs from 6:30-8 p.m. at the cafe, 825 W. 69th St., and those planning to attend should RSVP online because space is limited, said Carlos Velazquez, a spokesman for the humanities council.

Harper said she hopes culture is among the topics the speakers discuss.

“I’d be interested in hearing what this means to the speakers,” Harper said. “We already know about food deserts and the importance of healthy eating, but to hear it from a different perspective would be good.”

And the purpose of the series is to “start a discussion about issues the community is interested in,” Velazquez said.

“The storytellers will talk about these issues from their own experience and seek feedback from the audience,” he said.

Thursday’s event will feature funny, poignant and adventurous tales about “the things that go into mouths and the ideas that come out.” Speakers will share stories about the food we eat and where and with whom we eat it.

The speakers are Lily Be, a Humboldt Park storyteller; Paulette McDaniels, an author and community activist; and Duo Yang, a science non-fiction writer. Speakers for the remaining three events in the series have not yet been confirmed, Velazquez said.

The dates for the remaining speaker’s series are 6-8 p.m. June 5 at Chicago Urban Art Society, 600 W. Cermak Road where the topic is migration; 6-8 p.m. Aug. 27 at the Dorchester Projects’ Arts Incubator, 301 E. Garfield Blvd., where the topic is love; and from 7-9 p.m. Sept. 25 at Rosa’s Lounge, 3420 W. Armitage Ave. where the topic is self identity.