​In celebration of Juneteenth, we invite you to participate in “Ribbons in the Sky,” an interactive public art project at Circle and Harrison. June 12th thru June 20th. Read the accountability pledge from Forest Park Against Racism, take a ribbon and sign your name, and then tie your ribbon to the fence as a sign of your commitment to anti-racism. Find anti-racism resources at fppl.org/juneteenth.
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June 19th, 1865 (Juneteenth) is when enslaved African Americans of Galveston, Texas learned they were free - the news erupted into a history-making celebration known as “Juneteenth.” The formerly enslaved African Americans rejoiced and declared that day “Freedom Day,” “Emancipation Day,” or Juneteenth (“June” plus “nineteenth”). It had been nearly 2 ½ years after the Emancipation Proclamation that enslaved Texans learned that they were in fact free. That hopeful day in June marked the end of slavery and the beginning of freedom.
Juneteenth celebrates and commemorates black culture and reinforces black history as American history. Juneteenth creates space for education, advocacy, and healing. Celebrating Juneteenth provides a unifying platform for all Americans to celebrate our common bond of freedom.
In 2008, along with a group of community residents, then Commissioner, Mayor Rory Hoskins founded the Annual Forest Park Juneteenth Pool Party. Since then, the annual event has energized other surrounding communities to host their own celebrations in honor of Juneteenth’s historical significance.


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In celebration of Juneteenth, we invite you to participate in “Ribbons in the Sky,” an interactive public art project at the top of Circle Avenue Bridge across from the CTA station exit from June 12-20. Read the accountability pledge below from Forest Park Against Racism, take a ribbon, and sign your name. Then, tie your ribbon to the bridge as a sign of your commitment to anti-racism. Check out the Library’s Anti-Racism Resource Guide for more information.


You can pick up a ribbon on the bridge beginning June 12, or stop by the Library to pick one up.


Antiracism Pledge
I understand that systems and power structures in our society are designed to favor those with more privilege over those with none.
Therefore, I pledge to work towards eliminating the injustices, inequities, and misconceptions that come from the systemic racism rooted in our society.
I personally will work towards positive and transformational change through the following:
Education: learning about racism in our nation’s history, how it is ingrained in our institutions and society at large, and how it has led to injustice.
Active listening: spending time with, connecting, and listening to directly impacted people from communities who have been marginalized and criminalized by systemic racism.
Stepping up and speaking out when encountering racist remarks.
Acknowledging that I have privilege and power that can be used towards building a more just and equitable community where we can all hold each other accountable.
In signing this pledge, I commit through my intentional actions to work towards dismantling systemic racism in my community, in justice for all.
Compromiso Antirracista
Entiendo que los sistemas y estructuras de poder en nuestra sociedad están diseñados para favorecer a quienes tienen más privilegios que a quienes no los tienen.
Por lo tanto, me comprometo a trabajar para eliminar las injusticias, las desigualdades y los conceptos erróneos que provienen del racismo sistémico arraigado en nuestra sociedad.
Personalmente trabajaré hacia un cambio positivo y transformador a través de lo siguiente:
Educación: hacer todo lo posible para aprender sobre el racismo en la historia de nuestra nación, cómo está arraigado en nuestras instituciones y la sociedad en general, y cómo este mismo conduce hacia la injusticia.
Escuchar activamente: escuchar a las personas directamente afectadas de las comunidades que han sido marginadas y criminalizadas por el racismo sistémico.
Dar un paso al frente y hablar firmemente cuando escuche comentarios racistas por parte de otros.
Reconociendo que tengo privilegios y poder que pueden usarse para construir una comunidad más justa y equitativa donde todos podemos responsabilizarnos mutuamente.
Al firmar este compromiso, me comprometo a través de mis acciones e intenciones al trabajo para desmantelar el racismo sistémico en mi comunidad, con un enfoque de justicia para todos.

Read more about Juneteenth in Forest Park at the Forest Park Review

​“Quilting a Beloved Community” began on February 21, 2021 as part of the Black History Month programming created by the Historical Society of Forest Park, Forest Park Against Racism, the Forest Park Public Library, and What is Juneteenth? This event was created by Dr. Melissa Blount, an Evanston-based psychologist, artist, and activist, and led by Rachel Wallis. Prior to the program each participant picked up a kit from the Forest Park Public Library with all the supplies they would need to create a quilt square. Toni Preckwinkle, President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, began the event by sharing the inspiration she had received from quilts given to her by different communities through the years. Rachel Wallis led the group through the history of quilts in Black communities and then provided a lesson in basic embroidery technique. 

After our virtual sewing circled logged off, each participant continued to work on their quilt block independently, creating 25 unique pieces. A community quilt is special because of all the different artist interpretations, color choices, and skill levels. Each block represents a unique person, and together they create a quilt in the same way that the individuals of Forest Park create a community. 

The blocks were returned to the Library and sewn together to create the quilt top you see here today on Juneteenth, 2021. Next the quilt will be layered with cotton batting and backed with fabric from Afrique Clothing Store. This fabric is composed of feathers of different colors and sizes, representing the diversity of our community. All three layers will be quilted together and the binding will be added to finish the quilt.

This quilt will be displayed throughout our community every Black History Month. The Historical Society of Forest Park, Forest Park Against Racism, the Forest Park Public Library, and What is Juneteenth? hope to lead the community in creating a new quilt each Juneteenth, and to display it alongside the previous years’ quilts. We hope that next year you will join us.

Thank you to everyone who came out to the Haymarket Martyrs' Monument or joined us virtually on May Day. We were so excited to be able to host a safe in-person event this year as well as virtual events. May Day has an audience extending throughout the U.S. and beyond, so virtual events give us a unique opportunity for broader participation. It was amazing to be out in the sunshine with so many people at the monument. ​

Mark Rogovin was the Haymarket Martyrs’ Monument’s biggest fan. He wrote The Day Will Come, the booklet telling the story of those buried on Radical Row, and he worked on multiple projects to restore the monument for all visitors to enjoy.

The Historical Society of Forest Park is honoring individuals who continue to further the work of labor history with the Mark Rogovin Working Class Heroes Award. The first to receive this honor is the always-dedicated Amy Binns-Calvey.

Mark started our 1st-Saturday-of-the-month tours, delighting groups with his vast knowledge. In 2016 he passed the torch to Amy, who has enthusiastically met visitors from all over the world to share with them the story of the Haymarket Affair, the Haymarket Martyrs’ Monument, and the radicals buried near it. In 2020 she led a virtual tour of the Martyrs’ Monument and Radical Row as well as Forest Home Cemetery. Congratulations Amy!

Photograph by Betty Alzamora

Forest Park Review Tuesday, November 24th, 2020  By Maria Maxham

​The word "history" often brings to mind events in the past, stories of our grandparents or great grandparents or strangers in faraway places that lived centuries ago. Dusty books. Ancient artifacts.
But the COVID pandemic, even the parts that have become mundane, the masks and hand sanitizer, toilet paper shortages and remote school, are history in the making.

For sure the things said by politicians and policymakers will go down in history. The contributions of front-line workers, tirelessly taking care of infected patients, ought to and will be remembered. But the day-to-day lives of "regular" people are important too,  and documenting their experiences is part of the Historical Society of Forest Park's "Living History: COVID-19" program, which aims to collect resident experiences through an online survey and submissions of photos and videos.

Alexis Ellers, Historical Society executive director, spoke to the Review about the project.
"It can be hard to think of things in our current life as history, even for the Historical Society," Ellers said. "But those casual photos and ads from 100 years ago that we love so much now were current to someone. Had they not been saved we wouldn't have them now."

During the 1918 flu pandemic, photography was still rare, Ellers said, so there aren't many photos that document what the experience was like for people at the time.
"A century later we are on the opposite end of the spectrum; it may feel like we have endless documentation of this experience, but it is important to be intentional with our preservation of it so it doesn't get lost as time goes on," said Ellers.

The idea for the project originated during board meetings, when members were talking about the 1918 flu, looking at stories from that time that seemed relevant today. Seeing the Chicago History Museum's collection of living histories inspired the group to do the same for the Forest Park community.

"We wanted to give people in Forest Park the opportunity to participate from their homes in a way that was easily accessible," Ellers said. "We decided to have the option for either a video interview or a questionnaire."
Collecting a variety of voices is important, so a children's questionnaire was created specifically focused on younger respondents.

"[Children's] experiences are important too and are often overlooked," Ellers said. "I hope it also helps them to understand the significance of living through this time period and gives them some time to express their honest feelings about the experience."

Newspaper accounts of what's happening are a valuable way to look back at something from the future. But they don't typically include the nitty gritty details of people living through something like a pandemic.
"These in-depth first-person accounts tell a story in an unedited, more personal way," said Ellers. "Unfortunately, difficult times happen in all of our lives; knowing that people before you have gone through hard times as well can be reassuring. As we have been looking back at the 1918 Flu Pandemic this year, people in the future may be looking at the COVID-19 pandemic to help them cope."

For now, the Historical Society isn't collecting artifacts, such as masks, but Ellers encourages people to hang on to them so when it's safe to do so, physical items will be added to the collection.
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For now, digital photos can be emailed following a link on the survey page at forestparkhistory.org/living-history-covid-19.html.

​As we modified our programming calendar for this difficult year we knew we would need to find a new creative way to honor our Forest Park Veterans and to share our continued oral history initiative, Our Neighbors, Our Heroes. We are very proud to display four banners on the fence of Veterans Field, visible from Harrison Street. It is our hope to continue to add banners every year as we collect more stories from Forest Park Veterans. If you are interested in sharing your story please email [email protected]

Thank you to Mohr Oil for their sponsorship which made these banners possible. Thank you to Nancy Cavaretta for ​interviewing, research, and writing these stories.