Black and White Together

 

Evanston passed a law offering reparations to African American residents who can prove they, or their ancestors,  have a history of living in the suburb.  This brought back memories both happy and poignant.  Memories of black and white in the 1950’s while attending Northwestern.

We lived at Orrington House.  It was called a “foreign student home.”  It really was several black girls from Chicago who had obtained music scholarships.  And, a few white girls like me who applied too late to obtain housing in a dorm.

I didn’t know what awaited me at college, but I never imagined anything like this. It was magic.  The music girls were so talented.  Every night a jam session could erupt.

When we attempted to go out together for a coffee or a meal, Evanston was unrelenting.  “Sorry, we can’t seat you.”  “We are all full.”  “What kind of a group are you anyway.”  The saddest time was when we showed up for a reservation at the Empire Room in the Palmer House.  We had pooled our money to celebrate a birthday.  Even in Chicago, we were turned away. 

The law in Evanston passed easily.  The city is being hailed as a model to be admired.

 

The Cruelty of Leadership

 

Rebecca Traister is a journalist who I have found to be particularly insightful.  I listened to her last night as a guest on The Ezra Klein Show podcast.  Klein is most recently with The New York Times.  The immediate subject was the career, and now the what appears to be the fall, of Andrew Cuomo.

I was one of those millions caught up last year in watching Cuomo's daily TV appearances as he seemed to be exhibiting great leadership handling the startling covid crisis in New York.  Bill kept warning me about him.  At the time, his warnings seemed besides the point.

What made this discussion extraordinary was when it branched out to talk about toxic white male leadership in general, including observations about Trump, Harvey Weinstein, Steve Jobs and Hillary Clinton's campaign to survive in it.

It ended with a plea: Does it have to be this way?

A New Favorite

 

My new favorite podcast (sorry, Ben) is Stay Tuned with Preet.  That’s Preet Bharara, the former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.  First asked to stay by Trump and then fired, he is now a frequent contributor on CNN.

On his podcast, he is engaging, funny, and direct.  He is an excellent interviewer. From long experience, he knows how to ask penetrating questions and shares his opinions.  Podcasts are where the people you see for a minute or two on the news get to talk in long form revealing their ideas and personalities.

You can’t stay attached to the news without suffering.  One especially heartbreaking interview was with Bryan Fogel, the Award winning director of the documentary Dissident about the murder of the journalist Jamal Kashoggi.  After outstanding press reviews the film could not find one distributor.  Even Jeff Bezos, who owns the Washington Post where Kashoggi worked, would not put it on Amazon. Everyone was too afraid or too addicted to Saudi money.  It’s just now going to be available on demand.

Do you listen to Podcasts?  If so, what are your favorites?

"Chicago Bill" Brings Home the Gold

 

When Anya Taylor-Joy won her best actor Golden Globe, she thanked "Chicago Bill."  And when The Queen's Gambit won the Globe for Best Series, William Horberg came on the screen as the spokesperson for the show.  What a moment!

Thanks to my fast-acting friend Phyllis for your photos of Bill on TV.  Thanks everyone who called and popped up in my email. 

CHECKMATE!

One of a Kind

 Chicago has lost a great leader: Karen Lewis.  She has been sidelined by illness for so long that you may not remember what a force she was when she was the head of the Chicago Teachers Union.  It was a time when the shiny object was the Charter school.  Public school teachers were denigrated.  They were dismissed as failures.  As if the politicians were successful in curing what made it easy to keep the schools as poor as the students.

She was the first to take it to Rahm.  He thought he could swat her away but she came back with a sea of red with her.  I always felt good when I honked and gave the thumbs up to the teachers walking the picket line.

The Amazon workers are voting now in Alabama.  Will they form a union?  Maybe the spirit of Karen Lewis will help them make up their minds.

Waiting

 

Have you noticed?  I haven't been writing lately.   My life is as small as a dot as I wait silently for the vaccine  I've been reading the early books by Sara Paretsky and Robert B. Parker so my imaginary friends are V.I. Warshawski and Spenser.  

I stuck the $600 in my checking account with no immediate plans.  I guess I'm not stimulated.

When I can't sleep I listen to podcasts. Last night I heard a professor elegantly describe, step by step, how fascism is emerging from democracy.  Right here.  USA!  USA!

It's going to turn around soon, isn't it?

Searching for a Film?

 

In case you missed it, Searching for Bobby Fischer is back on Netflix. It's a wonderful family story and, of course, is about chess.  It was one of the films Bill worked on when he was at Paramount.  Bill has a definite corner on the market of chess films.

I know you'll enjoy it for the first time or maybe again.