Winthrop Family Podcast

This podcast draws on oral history narratives and a series of virtual storytelling sessions to capture memories, stories, and the collective historicizing of life, love, and care, as well as the intentional practices of community-building that produced the 300+ current members of the Winthrop Family that have survived and thrived for over a century. Tracing the story of the 4600 block of Winthrop and its residents – the ‘Winthrop Family’ as they refer to themselves – over the course of the 20th century captures not only an important and untold narrative of Black Chicago and of Uptown; but more importantly, it is also a story about the value and everyday praxis of community building. The stories of the Winthrop Family flip the narrative of segregation on its head, offering a glimpse into the underbelly of racism, exploring what it means to live through these practices otherwise. In her recently published book about the afterlives of slavery, In the Wake: On Blackness and Being, Cristina Sharpe stated, “[E]ven as we experienced, recognized, and lived subjection, we did not simply or only live in subjection and as the subjected” (2016: 4). The stories of the Winthrop Avenue family echo this sentiment, revealing a different narrative of African American life on the northside of Chicago – as subjects of the sordid saga of segregation in Uptown, but not only as the subjects of such racism and hate. Instead, they offer an alternative glimpse into how to create and sustain community bonds, and not just survive, but thrive, in the midst of crises. Drawing on these rich stories, Anna Guevarra and Gayatri Reddy, with the invaluable assistance of Zachary Blair, curated a series of podcasts that capture the texture of these resilient, joyful lives. Here are the first three episodes, organized thematically. Please check back in periodically for more episodes!

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