Friday 9/22 – Thursday 9/28
23 SATURDAY “Someone once said, ‘Find them, fuck them, feed them and leave them.’ But that don’t work. People I work and play with have a habit of moving into my life. And they don’t move out so easily,” wrote Ben Reitman, the well-known hobo, physician, reformer, author, and ladies’ man. The good doctor, who grew up in the city’s notorious First Ward and was an early advocate of the widespread use of condoms (despite fathering a number of out-of-wedlock children), wrote a lot of letters to his lovers, including Emma Goldman. Those letters provide the framework for Mecca Reitman Carpenter’s 1999 book, No Regrets: Dr. Ben Reitman and the Women Who Loved Him. Carpenter will discuss her father’s love life today at 3 in the Chicago Authors Room at the Harold Washington Library Center, 400 S. State. It’s free (312-747-4600).
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27 WEDNESDAY When Midge Wilson (who is white) and Kathy Russell (who is black) hit the road in 1993 to promote their book, The Color Complex: The Politics of Skin Color Among African Americans, they found themselves surprisingly interested in each other’s own private beauty rituals–Russell envied Wilson’s short, straight hair, while Wilson thought Russell’s head scarf was a real time-saver. Together they started exploring their attitudes regarding hair and skin care and researching the historical, cultural, and social forces that shape women’s identities, which led to their 1996 book, Divided Sisters: Bridging the Gap Between Black Women and White Women. They’ll discuss A Question of Beauty: Women’s Cross-Cultural Perspectives tonight as part of the city’s Unity Month celebration. The free event starts at 5:30 in the video theater of the Harold Washington Library Center, 400 S. State (312-747-4050).
