Wednesday, February 10, 2021
Wednesday, December 30, 2020
FEATURED PODCAST - "BEHIND THE STORY"
Portraits of Life: Stolen 'Like Ashes In A Violent Wind'
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SHE DANCED. ON THE rhythms and winds of life, she danced. As if it were a part of her soul, life and being, she danced. Watching her dance—drift upon the elements, of music and drumbeats, as if they were one—is among the most vivid recollections of family and friends. It is the way they remember her before she left this world untimely, suddenly and violently, disappearing, like ashes upon a menacing swirling wind.Her name is Nancie Carolyn Walker. But those closest to her all called her Carolyn. She danced most of her life, including at Frances Parker High School on Chicago’s Near North Side, where she was also the captain of the cheerleading squad. Dancing remained a lifelong passion that she once studied at Columbia College before deciding to carve out a career as an entrepreneur. She also attended Roosevelt University.
Nancie loved hushpuppies. She loved to go out to various restaurants and sample different foods. She loved to “step”—the Chicago-bred bop and cool version of ballroom dancing to smooth grooves in the key of R&B, where couples glide majestically across the dance floor. She was loved. And she loved back. And her love is not forgotten.
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“When I lost her, I could not swallow my food. I felt like I was doing her an injustice because I could still eat and Nancie couldn’t.”
Myrna Walker, Nancie's sister
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"You're Dead: So What?"; Author says Telling Their Stories Matters
By Samantha Latson
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| Dr. Cheryl L. Neely, author |
On Tuesday, Jan. 24, 1984, the lives of Neely, and her sisters Suane and Cassandra would change forever. That was the date that Michelle, 16, was murdered and raped while on her way to school.
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"In journalism, there’s a narrative of black people being perpetrators of crime not victims. When we are portrayed as victims, somehow the media intimates that we had it coming..."
-Cheryl Neely
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Portraits of Life: Say Her Name; Say All Their Names
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| Reo Renee Holyfield |
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| Reo Renee Holyfield |
“It’s fire on the inside. I’m still feeling it like they just told me the news the other day. I don't think it’s going to go away.”
A Quilt In Their Honor
On June 6, 2019, Beverly Reed Scott, a self described local community activist, created a Facebook page titled “50WomenGone” following the murder of over 50 women in the Chicago area. These victims shared a number of traits: they were women of color who were strangled in alleyways before having their bodies dumbed in trash cans or abandoned houses. Most of these killings did not make the headlines, however, with the media mostly failing to cover what had happened in much detail.
"The acknowledgement of these women has been removed, but putting their names on something soft and padded that brings warmth would show that these were real people..." -Enee Abelman, the quilt’s maker
Portraits of Life: A Protector & Sister Stolen; A Family Still Waiting For Justice
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| Gwendolyn Williams |
Gwen knew the streets. Chicago's mean streets, growing up in the sixties and seventies, had taught her that her little sisters and brothers needed a guardian angel, at least someone to keep them from the elements that consign countless children in hardscrabble urban neighborhoods to poverty and hopelessness.
"My sister didn’t deserve the way she died. ...It still hurts me to this day. You can’t have closure when your wound is still open."
-Rose Pritchett, Gwen's sister
