Past Events
Join us at Space on Saturday, August 15 for a gospel brunch featuring the The Second Baptist Mass Choir, led by Reverend Vernon Clark, Minister of Music and a brunch buffet from Chef Q. Ibraheem. Proceeds benefit Shorefront Legacy Center and C&W Market Foundation.
Join Dr. Elizabeth Stordeur Pryor in a discussion about her book “Something We Said: Richard Pryor, a notorious word and Me” on August 14th in Evanston, Illinois at Zora’s Place, local Black Feminist bookstore. Dr. Pryor will be in conversation with Natalie Y. Moore, senior lecturer at Northwestern University.
Join Dr. Elizabeth Stordeur Pryor in a discussion about her book “Something We Said: Richard Pryor, a notorious word and Me” on August 14th in Evanston, Illinois at Zora’s Place, local Black Feminist bookstore. Dr. Pryor will be in conversation with Natalie Y. Moore, senior lecturer at Northwestern University.
Elizabeth Stordeur Pryor is a professor of history at Smith College where she teaches courses on race, slavery and her father, comedic legend Richard Pryor. She is the award-winning author of the article “The Etymology of [N-Word]: Resistance, Language, and the Politics of Freedom in the Antebellum North” and a 2016 book Colored Travelers: Mobility and the Fight for Citizenship before the Civil War. Her viral TED talk on why it's hard to talk about the n-word has been viewed over two million times. Something We Said, Richard Pryor, a Notorious Word, and Me is Professor Pryor’s latest book (Simon & Schuster, 2026). A braided narrative that seamlessly integrates the history of the n-word with her own story of growing up half Black, half Jewish and all Pryor. Something We Said peels back the curtain on the life of the iconic comedian and interrogates the most perplexing word in the American lexicon, a word he helped popularize.
Natalie Y. Moore is a Chicago native and renowned journalist known for her reporting on segregation and inequality. For 17 years, she was a reporter and editor at WBEZ. Moore’s work has been broadcast on the BBC, Marketplace and NPR’s Morning Edition, All Things Considered and Weekend Edition. She is the author of The South Side: A Portrait of Chicago and American Segregation, winner of the 2016 Chicago Review of Books award for nonfiction and a Buzzfeed best nonfiction book of 2016.
Shorefront and Northwestern will host Mapping Black Evanston: A History Harvest on Saturday, April 25, from 10:30 am to 2:30 pm, at Evanston Township High School. Community members interested in preserving their photographs, mementos, and memories are invited to participate in this free event. Our staff and other preservation experts will scan & digitize materials, collect oral histories, and offer tips and resources for preserving family and community histories. Participants will be invited to listen to and share stories of Black Evanston past and present, browse a sampling of Shorefront’s historical photographs and records, enjoy food, and leave with a keepsake photo and short oral history. To advance Shorefront’s efforts to preserve and publicize the history of Black people in Evanston, participants will have the option to donate copies of their preserved materials to Shorefront’s collections. Thanks to a collaboration with Media Burn Archive, we can also support digitization of some home videos.
To guarantee your spot and expedite scanning, please make an appointment via our Calendly page.
Shorefront and Northwestern will host Mapping Black Evanston: A History Harvest on Saturday, April 25, from 10:30 am to 2:30 pm, at Evanston Township High School. Community members interested in preserving their photographs, mementos, and memories are invited to participate in this free event. Our staff and other preservation experts will scan & digitize materials, collect oral histories, and offer tips and resources for preserving family and community histories. Participants will be invited to listen to and share stories of Black Evanston past and present, browse a sampling of Shorefront’s historical photographs and records, enjoy food, and leave with a keepsake photo and short oral history.
To advance Shorefront’s efforts to preserve and publicize the history of Black people in Evanston, participants will have the option to donate copies of their preserved materials to Shorefront’s collections. Thanks to a collaboration with Media Burn Archive, we can also support digitization of some home videos. For more information, visit the event’s page.
To guarantee your spot and expedite scanning, please make an appointment via our Calendly page.
Join us on Friday, April 17 at Oakton College’s Skokie Campus for a special screening of Stolen School – a powerful documentary that deepens our understanding of Evanston’s history at a moment of renewal.
The 35-minute film explores the 1967 closure of Evanston’s all-Black Foster School, a decision made in the name of desegregation that sent Black children from the 5th Ward to schools across the city. Closing the neighborhood school removed a central community anchor, weakening cohesion, connections, and the vitality of Black-owned businesses and pathways to economic opportunity.
As a new Foster School is built, this film acknowledges decades of disinvestment and affirms the central role of schools as living institutions of learning, belonging, and community life.
On Saturday, February 28th from 12-2pm, Shorefront will close out this year’s Black History Lecture Series with our fourth and final session. This session will discuss the emergence of Creole culture in New Orleans following Haiti’s independence in 1804 which led to a mass migration of Haitians to New Orleans.
Come enjoy some Creole and Haitian cuisine made by two of the panelists Creole Chef Byron Glapion and Haitian Chef Daniel Desir. The other two panelists will be Judge Lionel Jean-Baptiste and Entrepreneur Gabrielle J. Walker-Aguilar!
When: February 28th, 2026 from 12pm-2pm
Where: Levy Center – 300 Dodge Ave, Evanston, IL 60202
__________________________________________________
On Thursday, February 26th at 7pm, Evanston SPACE will be closing out Black History Month with a performance by The Blind Boys of Alabama. We are supporting this event by offering a TICKET GIVEAWAY for two tickets. We are currently advertising this on our socials, though if any of you would like to apply for the tickets, send me an email at laurice@shorefrontlegacy.org and please spread the word to fellow music-enjoyers!
When: Thursday, February 26th – doors at 7pm
Where: Evanston SPACE – 1243 Chicago Ave, Evanston, IL 60202
__________________________________________________
On Saturday, February 21st at 7pm, join the Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre for “That Art Thing We Do”, a conversation with three Black Evanston artists which Laurice Bell will be moderating. The artists include Vocalist/Author: Dejah Gomez, Textile Artist/Writer: Melissa Blount, Designer/Letterpress Printer: Ben Blount. This conversation will allow the artists to share a bit about their artistic journeys, and offer insight into each of their unique perspectives in relation to creativity. – RSVP for “That Art Thing We Do”
When: Saturday, February 21st at 7pm
Where: Noyes Cultural Arts Center – 927 Noyes St, Evanston, IL 60201
__________________________________________________
On Saturday,February 21st, from 9:30am-2:30pm, The Evanston Reparations Committee Working Groups are bringing a range of resources to the Evanston community through its Learning Hub and Housing Expo. As written in the flyer, the Learning Hub and Housing Expo will feature information on housing, scholarships, grants, school programs, businesses, and financial literacy. Open to all Evanston residents, the expo will offer practical advice, free giveaways, and a complimentary lunch.
When: February 21st, 9:30am – 2:30pm
Where: Evanston Township High School – 1600 Dodge Ave, Evanston, IL 60201
__________________________________________________
On Thursday, February 19 at 5 PM, Shorefront Legacy Center teamed up with the Rotary Club for a special screening of “Stolen School”. This powerful documentary explores the 1967 closure of Evanston’s all-Black Foster School, a decision made in the name of desegregation that sent children from the 5th Ward to schools across the city. Closing the neighborhood school removed a central community anchor, weakening cohesion, connections, and the vitality of Black-owned businesses and pathways to economic opportunity.
As a new Foster School is built, this film acknowledges decades of disinvestment and affirms the central role of schools as living institutions of learning, belonging, and community life.
Following the 36 minute film, Shorefront’s Laurice Bell, joined by Kimberly Holmes-Ross, and Terri Shepard, and Gilo Kwesi Logan will lead a community talkback. Together, we will reflect on what this history teaches us today, and what rebuilding a neighborhood school can and should restore.
When: Thursday, February 19th at 5 PM
Where: Rotary International Auditorium | 1560 Sherman Ave., 3rd Fl. Auditorium
__________________________________________________
Woman’s Club of Evanston’s Spring Benefit 2025 - Details
