Schedule of Events:

3:00 pm - 4:00 pm: Juan Williams: New Prize for These Eyes
The award-winning journalist and historian on the rise of America’s second civil rights movement

More than a century of civil rights activism was a catalyst to help elect the first Black man as President of the United States. But Barack Obama’s presidency sparked a white, right-wing backlash, and a second civil rights movement began to erupt. Journalist, political analyst, and best-selling author Juan Williams shines a light on this historic movement in his highly-anticipated new release, New Prize for These Eyes, a follow-up to his 1987 PBS documentary series and companion volume Eyes on the Prize. Join us as Williams traces the arc of America’s second civil rights movement, from Obama to Charlottesville to January 6th and a Confederate flag in the Capitol. But this isn’t just a history lesson; it’s a forward-looking call to action urging us to get in touch about the progress made and hurdles yet to be overcome.

Juan Williams
Journalist, Historian

Juan Williams is a prizewinning journalist and historian. He is the author of the bestselling civil rights history Eyes on the Prize: America’s Civil Rights Years 1954–1965, which accompanied the PBS series of the same name. He also wrote the landmark biography of the first African American on the Supreme Court, Thurgood Marshall: American Revolutionary, and the New York Times bestsellers Enough and Muzzled: The Assault on Honest Debate. Williams worked for The Washington Post as a celebrated national political correspondent, White House correspondent, and editorial writer. His NPR talk show took ratings to a new high. He has written for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and Ebony. He is currently a senior political analyst for Fox News Channel and a columnist for The Hill.

Natalie Moore
Lecturer, Reporter

Natalie Y. Moore is a senior lecturer and director of audio journalism programming.

The Chicago native is known for her reporting on segregation and inequality. For 17 years, she was a reporter and editor at WBEZ. Moore has tackled race, housing, economic development, food injustice and violence. 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. She is also co-author of The Almighty Black P Stone Nation: The Rise, Fall and Resurgence of an American Gang and Deconstructing Tyrone: A New Look at Black Masculinity in the Hip-Hop Generation.

Moore writes a monthly column for the Chicago Sun-Times. Her work has been published in Essence, Ebony, the Chicago Reporter, *****, In These Times, the Chicago Tribune, the New York Times, the Washington Post and the Guardian. She is the 2017 recipient of Chicago Library Foundation’s 21st Century Award. In 2010, she received the Studs Terkel Community Media Award for reporting on Chicago’s diverse neighborhoods. In 2009, she was a fellow at Columbia College’s Ellen Stone Belic Institute for the Study of Women and Gender in the Arts and Media, which allowed her to take a reporting trip to Libya. Moore has won several journalism awards, including a Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism. Other honors are from the Radio Television Digital News Association (Edward R. Murrow), Public Radio News Directors Incorporated, National Association of Black Journalists, Illinois Associated Press and Chicago Headline Club. The Chicago Reader named her best journalist in 2017. In 2018, she received an honorary doctorate from Adler University. In These Times gave her the 2017 Voice of Progressive Journalism Award. Natalie frequently collaborates with Chicago artist Amanda Williams.

In 2018, she contributed to “Southside,” a collection of stories about the criminal justice system in Chicago in collaboration with The Marshall Project/Amazon Original Stories. The Chicago Reader named her best journalist in 2017. The Pulitzer Center named her a 2020 Richard C. Longworth Media Fellow for international reporting. In 2021, University of Chicago Center for Effective Government (CEG), based at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy, welcomed her in its first cohort of Senior Practitioner Fellows.

Moore also is a playwright. “The Billboard,” a play about abortion was produced by 16th Street Theater in 2022, which won a Jeff Award for best new work/short run. She is a resident playwright at Chicago Dramatists. For the 100th anniversary of the 1919 Chicago riots, she co-wrote a 30-minute audio drama with Make Believe Association that aired on WBEZ and was released as a podcast. 16th Street Theater adapted portions of “The South Side” in 2019. Moore collaborated again with Make Believe Association on the fictional Lake Song podcast, an audio drama. In spring 2023, she was a playwright-in-residence at Chicago State University in conjunction with Chicago Dramatists. She is a 2021 USA Fellow for writing.

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7:00 pm - 8:00 pm: You Didn’t Hear This From Me: (Mostly) True Notes on Gossip with Kelsey McKinney
The popular podcaster gives us the inside scoop

It’s no secret that society is consumed with the concept of “gossip” — is it good, bad, or somewhere in between? Kelsey McKinney, host of the massively popular Normal Gossip podcast, joins Chicago Humanities to explore our obsession with gossip, weaving together journalism, cultural criticism, and personal stories. McKinney’s newest book You Didn’t Hear This From Me considers the murkiness of everyday storytelling. Why is gossip considered a sin and how can we better recognize when gossip is being weaponized against the oppressed? Why do we think we’re entitled to every detail of a celebrity’s personal life because they are a public figure? And how do we even define “gossip,” anyway? She dishes on the art of eavesdropping and dives deep into how pop culture has changed the way that we look at hearsay. With wit and honesty, McKinney unmasks what we're actually searching for when we demand to know the truth — and how much the truth really matters in the first place.

Be sure to bring your own pieces of gossip and get ready for McKinney to spill a never-before-heard in Chicago story.

Join us early for a free pop-up experience complete with interactive components, knick-knacks, and, of course, plenty of gossip. (A bar will also be available on-site!) This will take place from 6:00pm–7:00pm in the Paradiso room, located just off the main atrium upon entry.

Kelsey McKinney
Writer

Kelsey McKinney is a reporter and writer who lives in Philadelphia. She is the host of Normal Gossip, as well as a co-owner and features writer at Defector.com. She has worked as a staff writer at Deadspin, Fusion, and Vox, and her reporting and essays have appeared in The New York Times, New York Magazine, GQ, Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Vanity Fair, and many others. Her first novel, God Spare the Girls, was published in the summer of 2021 by William Morrow.

Kate Kennedy
Podcaster, Author

Kate Kennedy is a Chicago-based millennial multi-hyphenate, bestselling author, entrepreneur, and pop culture commentator best known for her weekly podcast, Be There in Five, and her New York Times bestseller, One in a Millennial. Kate's career and commentary have been featured in Good Morning America, Forbes, People, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Marie Claire, Glamour, and more.

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