In recognition of April as Fair Housing Month, join us for a panel exploring an impactful and often overlooked Chicago chapter in the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and the legacy he left behind in the city’s fair housing landscape.
In January of 1966, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. moved his family to the North Lawndale neighborhood on Chicago’s West Side. On the heels of the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, Dr. King had set his sights on Chicago for his first major campaign outside the south, joining the Chicago Freedom Movement’s efforts to combat discriminatory housing practices. Due in large part to his advocacy in Chicago and beyond, legal protections from housing discrimination would finally be secured with the passage of the federal Fair Housing Act on April 11, 1968, six days after his assassination.
Our panel discussion will contextualize Dr. King’s time in North Lawndale and his work with the Chicago Freedom Movement, investigating the progress and ongoing challenges in combatting housing discrimination and access in Chicago spanning six decades.
Hear from distinguished panelists including Monica Chadha, AIA, LEED AP, and founder of the architecture firm Civic Projects; Jonathan Eig, journalist and author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning biography, King: A Life; Blanche Killingsworth, president and founder of the North Lawndale Historical and Cultural Society; and Richard Townsell, executive director of the Lawndale Christian Development Corporation. The discussion will be moderated by CAC's CEO & President, Eleanor Gorski.
Keynote speaker
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Speakers:
Jonathan Eig is the bestselling author of six books, four of them New York Times best sellers. His most recent book, King: A Life, has been hailed as a "monumental” and “definitive" biography of Martin Luther King Jr. It was longlisted for the National Book Award and named one of the best books of the year by The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Time magazine.
Jonathan’s previous book, Ali: A Life, won a 2018 PEN America Literary Award. His works have been translated into more than a dozen languages.
Jonathan is a graduate of Northwestern University’s Medill School. He began his writing career at age 16, working for his hometown newspaper, The Rockland County (N.Y.) Journal News and went on to work as a reporter for The New Orleans Times-Picayune, The Dallas Morning News, Chicago Magazine, and The Wall Street Journal. He served as a producer on the PBS documentary Muhammad Ali, which was directed by Ken Burns. He lives in Chicago with his wife and children.
Blanche Killingsworth is the President and co-founder of the North Lawndale Historical Society, an organization whose mission is to research, educate and archive the history of Lawndale. She is a long time North Lawndale resident and community activist. She has worked with many organizations and community members to preserve Lawndale History. She is a Diversity Scholar of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and a member of The Central Park Restoration Committee. She has helped facilitate the Contract Buyers League and The Living and Learning from Lawndale Exhibits, Oaks Of Lawndale International project, Route 66 collaboration and many other historic projects in our community.
Richard Townsell is a Chicago (North Lawndale) native and thought leader in community development. In Richard’s 20+ year career in community development, he has developed nearly 500 units of residential and commercial properties (which have totaled over $100 MM in total development cost) and helped to design comprehensive community plans for affordable housing, education and economic development initiatives.
Richard is the Executive Director at the Lawndale Christian Development Corporation. Richard has taught community development courses at Northwestern University's Asset-Based Community Development Institute as well as with the Chicago Rehab Network’s Urban Developer’s Institute. He holds a Bachelor of Science from Northwestern University in Mathematics Education and a Master of Science from Spertus College in Nonprofit Management. Richard has received many awards for the work including the Fellow of the Year at Leadership Greater Chicago’s 20th anniversary, a Leadership for a Changing World Award from the Ford Foundation and Notable leaders in Community Development from Crain’s Chicago Business in 2023.
Richard has been married to his college sweetheart Stephanie for over 30 years. They have two adult children, Lena and Gabriel. Richard is currently enrolled and pursuing a Doctorate in Ministry at Northern Seminary
Monica Chadha, AIA, LEED AP, is a visionary architect with over 20 years of experience, known for her innovative approach to community-focused design. As the founder and principal of Civic Projects Architecture, Monica has transformed the Chicago-based firm into a leader in social impact design with a focus on high quality design and long-term strategic thinking.
Acting as the catalyst the firm’s approach is highly participatory to create spaces that resonate with their communities. Her work at Civic Projects spans diverse scales and sectors, from multi-family residential to community centers. Projects include the museum design for the Obama Presidential Center, an adaptive reuse project for Steep Theatre, and an arts center in a converted fire station for Yollocalli.
Monica's early career at the Vastu-Shilpa Foundation with Balkrishna Doshi laid the foundation for her commitment to socially engaged design.
She serves on the Board of Trustees of the Graham Foundation and has been an Adjunct Professor at the Illinois Institute of Technology. Monica has a unique understanding of practice as a female and minority architect.
Monica's dedication to community engagement, innovative design, and mentorship has established her as a leader in social impact design, continually pushing the boundaries of traditional architecture to create inclusive, functional spaces that serve and uplift communities.
Eleanor Esser Gorski is the CEO and President of the Chicago Architecture Center, the leading organization devoted to celebrating and promoting Chicago as a center of architectural innovation and education. Gorski brings to the role more than 25 years in architecture, historic preservation and urban planning; a passion for design as a way to create equity; and a wealth of deep experience and knowledge of Chicago, including appointments to key city leadership roles under three mayoral administrations.
Gorski, a licensed architect, has centered her career around equity and community, seeking to integrate design, planning and historic preservation to the greatest benefit of the neighborhoods in which she has worked. She brings that focus to the CAC, the largest organization of its kind in the world, which serves more than 700,000 patrons annually, is one of the city’s top cultural attractions and has cemented Chicago’s stature as the “City of Architecture.” The CAC is known for the nation’s no. 1 architectural boat tour aboard “First Lady.”
Through workshops, programs, competitions and mentoring, CAC works with thousands of students and families to inspire them through the power of design. Gorski brings a background in academia, program design and community engagement that will help to expand the CAC’s popular educational platforms.
Previously, Gorski served as Director of Design and Planning for the University of Illinois at Chicago. From 2017 to 2020, Gorski led the City of Chicago Department of Planning and Development (DPD) as a member of the leadership team culminating in her role as Acting Commissioner. She led work on the City’s Industrial Corridor Modernization Initiative and the Fulton Market Innovation District Plan, creating the fastest-growing commercial sector in the city. Gorski has held many other leadership roles within the City, including director of the Landmarks Commission for five years. Projects she has managed include the five-year renovation of Wrigley Field, the planning for the Obama Presidential Center, the renovation of most of the early skyscrapers in the Loop and the preservation of the Carson Pirie Scott State Street store (now Target).
Gorski’s notable projects at the City of Chicago include the creation of a community review process for the Chicago Plan Commission and numerous design guidelines for city landmark districts and neighborhoods. Her work in financial incentive legislation provided groundbreaking assistance for small businesses in communities of need through the Neighborhood Opportunity Fund and helped to preserve landmarks with the Class L tax incentive.
In Gorski’s most recent role as Executive Director of the Cook County Land Bank Authority, she helped to grow the organization’s impact in alignment with the Land Bank’s mission to power community-driven economic development in disinvested communities throughout Cook County. She made possible the redevelopment of numerous residential and multifamily buildings and helped drive forward major deals like the redevelopment of Woodlawn’s Washington Park Bank and the CTA Red Line Extension Project. Under her leadership, the organization saw the redevelopment of its 1,000th home and grew community wealth creation to $156 million. A hallmark of Gorski’s tenure was to develop and strengthen relationships with nonprofits, and in her role at CAC she will continue to build partnerships with like-minded organizations and change agents, such as the CCLBA and others.
Gorski is a fellow of the American Academy of Rome, where she studied the integration of new construction and old in Rome, Berlin and Amsterdam. During her career, Gorski has received widespread recognition, including the Rome Prize for Historic Preservation from the American Academy, AIA Chicago’s Distinguished Service Award, the ULI Chicago Breakthrough Award, and recognition from C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group and Landmarks Illinois. She graduated Summa cum Laude from Penn State University where she double majored in Art History and History. She received her Master’s in Architecture from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is also a fellow of the Civic Leadership Academy at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy. Gorski sits on the Local Advisory Board of LISC Chicago, Urban Land Institute Chicago board, the alumni board of the University of Illinois School of Architecture and the Board of the Illinois Medical District. She is a proud mom to two teenage boys and lives in Chicago.
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