Mother Baltimore: Take care
I don’t have anything to say this week except burnout is real. Hope everyone is taking care of themselves and staying safe.
Now, here’s the latest news in southwestern Illinois:
East St. Louis festival continues to promote Black businesses, plans for expansion
The third Illinois Black Woodstock Festival was last weekend on State Street in East St. Louis. The festival, which launched last year, aims to highlight the variety of Black-owned businesses in the city and develop a support system for Black businesses in the region. Courtney Woolery, creator of the festival, talked to the Belleville News-Democrat about future plans for the event.
More on The Illinois Black Woodstock Festival:
New festival in East St. Louis aims to highlight Black-owned businesses in the area
Black Woodstock Festival in East St. Louis to showcase entrepreneurs
Marchers renew calls for reparations for the 1917 massacre of Black East St. Louisans
Last week, East St. Louis residents and activists held a second rally to bring awareness to the 1917 race massacre, when white people killed up to 200 Black residents in the area. Black East St. Louisans want reparations, given the adverse impact the massacre still has on the city today. Former BND reporter Kelsey Landis covered the march.
More on East St. Louis march for reparations:
Marchers call for reparations for 1917 race massacre in East St. Louis
Marchers call for reparations for the 1917 massacre of Black people in East St. Louis
IDOT proposes moving remains in former Black cemetery for Interstate 64 bridge work
This summer, the Illinois Department of Transportation will have a public hearing about replacing a bridge over I-64 in Washington Park and removing nearby remains from a former Black cemetery. The agency plans to move the remains to make way for construction of the bridge. BND reporter Teri Maddox covered the details of the plan.
More on Black cemeteries in the metro-east:
Local fraternity leads cleanup initiative of local cemetery in St. Clair County
Company agrees to remove billboard from historic Black cemetery
What to do
This section of Mother Baltimore highlights upcoming events in the metro-east that are relevant to Black communities. If you have tips for events, send them to dsutgrey@bnd.com
ESTL Summer Concert Series
Aug 8 and Sept 12 at 6 p.m. at East St. Louis City Park
East St. Louis recently announced a summer concert series titled Mellow Mondays. The free events will feature a variety of talent in the city. There will also be food trucks and other refreshments. For more information, call 618-482-6600 EXT. 1601.
What to watch
Usher’s Tiny Desk
In honor of Black Music Month (which is in June), NPR Tiny Desk produced a month-long series of concerts featuring iconic Black musicians. Grammy-winning R&B superstar Usher was the final installment of the series. In nearly 25 minutes, he, along with a nine-piece band, delivers a stellar showcase of an extensive catalog that’ll instantly evoke early 2000’s nostalgia. But, most importantly, Usher’s Tiny Desk Concert will remind viewers of why he is, in fact, the king of R&B.
What to read
What could have saved Oluwatoyin Salau
For Harper’s Bazaar, Clarissa Brooks reported on the kidnapping and murder of Oluwatoyin Salau, a 19-year-old activist who died shortly after protesting against George Floyd’s murder in June 2020. June 13 marked two years since her body was found. Brooks brilliantly interrogates the ways that societal systems fail Black women even when they’re demanding society to treat them and others fairly:
Toyin Salau and the Black girls and women who came together to support her were calling out for a better world, one where care would be enough to keep each other safe. But they still lived in this one, in which they knew that all they had left was their voice and hopefully another Black woman or girl looking for them in the dark.
That’s all she wrote!
Talk to y’all in two weeks!
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This story was originally published July 8, 2022 at 1:02 PM.
