Enews September 2021

SEPTEMBER 23, 2021

Article 1, Section 2, of the Constitution calls upon us to count every living person in the United States and to use that information to inform representation in the Congress. The Constitution tells us to count; the humanities help us understand what the numbers mean.

The very act of “being counted” is a form of civic engagement. Many people are unaware that the Illinois 2020 count resulted from a powerful, civic infrastructure created specifically to support participation by traditionally “hard to count” populations. Thirty-one regional intermediaries organized and worked with 400+ local organizations that included nonprofits, libraries, and municipal governments to undertake Census outreach, education, and questionnaire assistance across the state, an effort documented in the “Make It Count” report from the Great Cities Institute and detailed archive of this organizing effort.

VISIONS OF JUSTICE

People who are incarcerated are, most often, “counted” for the Census in the places where they are incarcerated, a policy that can give an “outsized” impact on towns in which prisons are located, as highlighted in this story from WBEZ.

Although incarcerated people can be counted in the census, they cannot vote while serving time. To further consider questions of equity and justice we invite you to experience Visions of Justice, an eight-part video series produced by Illinois Humanities in partnership with VAM Studio, featuring interviews with artists, organizers, and system-impacted individuals throughout Illinois who critically examine the criminal legal system, explore its impacts on their communities, and propose what would need to change to create a society that is just and restorative for all.

Beginning on Friday, September 24, we will partner with local organizations to premiere the videos in a series of virtual screenings and conversations in Bloomington-Normal, Carbondale, Chicago, Decatur, East St. Louis, Galesburg, and Urbana-Champaign. Each video premiere will be followed by a panel discussion with local residents and facilitated conversation with the audience. The series will culminate with the premiere of the statewide edition, Visions of Justice: Illinois, on Nov. 18, 2021 – I hope you’ll save the date and be part of the conversation. Click here for the Visions of Justice Screening and Conversation Schedule. In the meantime, if you’d like to read more about this series and the questions driving it, check out this powerful blog post by our Envisioning Justice Fellow, Meredith Nnoka.

SMALL TOWNS: BIG CONVERSATIONS FROM MUSEUMS ON MAIN STREET

Voices and Votes: Democracy in America is a touring exhibit that examines questions stemming from the leap of faith taken by American revolutionaries who established a government that entrusted the power of the nation not in a monarchy but in its citizens. Who has the right to vote? What are the freedoms and responsibilities of citizens? Whose voices are heard? Illinois Humanities is honored to sponsor a complementary traveling exhibition, the Illinois Freedom Project, exploring questions at the heart of the struggle for freedom by and for Black people in Illinois. These exhibits were designed to travel to small towns around Illinois and each host site develops free public programs rooted in local history and events. The exhibits opened in early July, and are currently in Salem, IL, at the Bryan Bennet Library. To see the schedule for when the exhibits will be in and around Savannah, Jacksonville, Clinton and Murphysboro, and Carbondale, visit our exhibit page, here.

QUESTIONS COUNT

Illinois is the most populous state in the Midwest; we’ve got 12 million residents, 4.8 million households. We are just beginning to digest the 2020 Census data – and more information will come later this spring. One thing is clear: Illinois, like the country overall, continues to grow more diverse, multiracial, and urban. In the words of one of my favorite demographers, Rob Paral, our state “reflects the diversity and changing demographics of the nation.”

It’s important to remember that the Census “numbers” really are people: the numbers illuminate the places they live, the complex nuances of identity and change over time. It is not lost on us at Illinois Humanities that the Census has been a tool to support civil rights, as well as inequity, disenfranchisement, and segregation. Asking questions about what the data means (and what it leaves out) may be as important as knowing what is changing.

As we head into fall, Illinois Humanities will continue to offer free public programs (like Road Scholars, Envisioning Justice, Museums on Main Street), Grants, and Education that can help strengthen the civic fabric we’ll need to make sense of the Census in ways that help us create a more just and equitable state for us all. We hope you’ll join us.

Gabrielle Lyon, Executive Director