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 3 - THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2020, 7-8:30 PM CST
"The Now And The Future: Reimagining Health Equity & Heat Emergency Planning"
As heat and COVID-19 collide this summer with the public health crisis of police brutality — physical distancing still encouraged — how does the city plan to keep people safe? With issues of environment, public space and equity of infrastructure involved, we look at the role of anchor community groups in South Side and West Side neighborhoods as first-responders on health equity and human heat emergency plans.
Panelists: Eric Klinenberg, Author, "Heat Wave: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago" Ayesha Jaco, Executive Director, West Side United; Dennis Deer, Cook County Commissioner 2nd District, Laura Rodriguez-Presa, Reporter, Chicago Tribune; Morgan Elise Johnson, Co-Founder/Creative Director, The Triibe; Esther Yoon-Ji Kang, Reporter, WBEZ-Radio. Moderator: Maudlyne Ihejirika, Columnist, Chicago Sun-Times.