Memory, Narrative, Solidarity: 1919 Chicago Race Riots
DISARM. Everyday Violence, Every Day.
Place Made
United States, IL, Chicago
Physical DescriptionInstallation consisting of five kiln-cast, fused, enameled, and sandblasted glass bricks, a glass panel engraved with the poem "I am Eugene" composed by Project FIRE youth, and three large framed photographs. (a) Colorless glass brick with black city skyline set in front of year "1919", set in front of undulating railroad tracks on a brownish-orange mottled background. "Casmere Lazzeroni / 1854-1919" engraved on front of brick. (b) Colorless glass brick with light blue background on which a black outline of a figure laying on their side behind the name "Eugene" in orange. "William J. Otterson / 1885-1919" engraved on front of brick in front of slightly-offset fused black text. (c) Colorless glass brick with blue, yellow, and brownish-orange background on which a black and white outline of a house and curving road or driveway is set. A faint representation of a male figure wearing a hat is situated in the middle right of the road/driveway. "Robert Williams / 1897-1919" engraved on front of brick in front of slightly-offset fused black text. (d) Colorless glass brick with black and white background upon which a black (with hints of yellow) figure wearing a hat and pulling a large-wheeled cart is situated. "John Walter Humphrey / 1898-1919" engraved on front of brick in front of slightly-offset fused faint black text. (e) Colorless glass brick with mottled black, white and orange background upon which four black figures are situated within black outlines of waves of a body of water. "Stefan Horvath / 1891-1919" engraved on front of brick in front. "Robert Williams / 1897-1919" is fused on interior of brick in black but is only visible from the back side. (f) Fused black glass panel with engraved poem written by Project FIRE youth entitled "I am Eugene": "I am Eugene / Born in Georgia / Raised in Chicago / Swimming on a hot summer day / On Lake Michigan / I am the color of my skin / I am my ancestors / I am independent / I am mother / I'm a walking testimony / I am an entrepreneur / I am happy / I am a genuine person / I am a friend and an artist / I am alone with my thoughts / I was birthed from water / I am a blessed and intelligent young man / I am a golden child / I am a brother / I am understanding and I am who I am / I am a son / I am a brother / I am an artist / I am full of wonder / I am who I surround myself with / I am searching / I am Eugene Williams". (g) Photograph of six individuals swimming in a large body of grayish-blue water. In the foreground, a brown-skinned figure wearing a light orangish-brown and white flowered short-sleeved bathing suit cover and red bathing cap is holding a young brown-skinned child wearing a pink bathing suit with sheer ruffled sleeves. In the background is a tan-skinned figure with dark hair tied back in a ponytail; the figure is wearing a blue T-shirt and is holding a small tan-skinned child with dark hair partially tied up at the top of their head. To the left of the figures in blue is a tan-skinned figure with long black hair holding a young tan-skinned child with short hair. Photograph set in white frame with glass glazing. (h) Photograph of two brown-skinned figures standing on green mowed grass in front of a body of water. A long gray cement dock is positioned behind them with vertical white posts and a red light set atop a metal platform. The figure on the left is wearing a blue hooded shirt, light blue jeans with paint stains, and a red baseball hat. The figure on the right is wearing a black baseball hat and durag, blue jeans with frayed holes at the knees and thighs, and a white T-shirt with the text, “FOCUSED / ON MY / PAPER” and “GET TO / THE MONEY” set in front of and around an image of several US $100 bills. The figure on the right has visible tattoos on their neck and hands. Photograph set in white frame with glass glazing. (i) Photograph of two brown-skinned figures swimming in grayish-green water. Central figure is wearing a black bathing suit and is submerged up to their underarms; they are shaking their head creating splashes that surround their face. The second figure is set behind and to the left of the central figure. They are wearing a blue bathing suit, black sunglasses, and a pink swimming cap. in the far left background is the end of a cement dock with a red light set atop a metal platform. Photograph set in white frame with glass glazing.
