From Kartemquin Films and “Cooked: Survival By Zip Code:”

Q: What do Chicago’s 1995 heat wave and the COVID-19 pandemic have in common?

A: The heat wave-death map and the COVID-19-death map are ALMOST IDENTICAL.

It takes extreme crises to push us to confront the systemic roots of racism. No doubt, journalists are on the front lines, translating data and drama into compelling reporting.

In 1995, Chicago was hit by one of the deadliest heat waves in U.S. history, disproportionately killing 739 poor and elderly, mostly people of color. Now history repeats itself. The coronavirus pandemic is exposing the same deadly inequities.

Marking the 25th anniversary of the devastating heat wave, summer 2020 is predicted to be one of the hottest on record—and against the additional public health crisis of police brutality—one of the most revolutionary.

How will journalists reframe and report on this collision of crises?

SCHEDULE

Your registration is good for one, two or all of the three days.

If you have any questions you know you'd like panelists to address, email the organizers at info.summerofextremes@gmail.com.

DAY 2 - WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24, 2020, 7-8:30 PM, CST

"Mental Health & Reporting on Trauma"

Journalists, and journalists of color, in particular, can struggle to articulate their own trauma experienced while covering crises. Bodies piling up during the heat wave 25 years ago was such a story. Bodies piling up from COVID-19 in the U.S. since January has been such a story. Covering the killing of George Floyd, the subsequent protests and fallout, is also such a story. Let's talk about it, and the impact.

Panelists: Dr. Obari Cartman, Clinical Psychologist/Immediate Past President, Chicago Association of Black Psychologists; Patrice Peck, Founder/Publisher, “Coronavirus News for Black Folks;" Jeanne Sparrow, Host, V103-Radio; Will Jones, Reporter, ABC7-TV. Moderator: Maudlyne Ihejirika, Columnist, Chicago Sun-Times.