Contributors

The African American Research Group — was an informal gathering of community members who met at Shorefront on a regular basis between 2001 and 2004. The groups goal was to research topics of interest and disseminate its findings.

Kyler Bunton — was a graduating senior at Evanston Township High School at the time he penned this article. The online article also included a companion video that was part of his Senior Studies project of which he made a public presented May 12, 2014.

Patrick Carr — is a graduate student in Library and Information Science at Dominican University. He has been interning at Shorefront since November 2012. Patrick is employed at Starcom Worldwide (advertising) in Chicago as Media Liason. He aspires to create a database software that benefits research.

Shawna Cooper-Gibson, M.Ed. — a graduate from Boston University, is Assistant Dean, School of Communication at Loyola University, Chicago. Her previous position was as Director, African American Student Affairs at Northwestern University, Evanston.

Rhonda K. Craven — is the Second Baptist Church of Evanston historian and is working on a comprehensive research project on the history of her church and founding members dating back to the 1860s. Since 2008, she has been obsessed with uncovering the many resources that document the history of blacks in the early days of Evanston.

Katherine D’Antico — is an Evanston, IL resident and recent graduate from Dominican University with a Master’s in Library and Information Science and certificate in Archiving and Cultural Heritage Resources. She has previously interned for the Frances Willard Museum and Archive, and WFMT and the Studs Terkel Archive.

Janet Alexander Davis — Retired, 14 years in non profit arena, facilitator in job readiness, life skill training, licensed Real Estate Broker Associate, Evanston native, attended Oakton and Kendall College, Wife, Mother, Grandmother, great-grandmother, friend, in love with Evanston and its people, and an activist since the 60s. Her mission is to contribute to society until the end.

Brittany Estell — is a member of the California bar and practices law as an Attorney Advisor at the United States Patent and Trademark Office outside of Washington DC. A graduate from University of Illinois College of Law in 2011 and from University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign in 2008. Brittany is a member of  the North Shore chapter of Delta Sigma Theta sorority. Born and raised in Evanston IL, she is an E.T.H.S. and Martin Luther King Jr Laboratory School alumni.

Mamie Smith-Faust — served as the director of Fleetwood-Jourdain from July 1984 to June 2008. She was a a life member of the NAACP, an executive member for the League of Women Voters, a member of the Evanston West-Side Citizens District Council, a member of Be-Hiv/AIDS Outreach Organization, a member of the Foster Reading Center, a Founder of the Fleetwood-Jourdain Art Guild, a member of the City of Evanston Arts and Affirmative Action Committee, an advocate for FAAM (Fellowship of Afro-American Men), a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., and a member of Faith Temple Church of God in Christ.

Tracy Francis — was Shorefronts 2010-11 student intern while at Oakton Community College. A local young entrepreneur, one of his interests is history and he still continues to volunteer at Shorefront.

Nicole Gibby-Munguia — has just completed her second-to-last semester in the MLIS program at Dominican University in River Forest, IL. Her interests are knowledge management and digital curation. A Midwesterner at her core, she grew up in southwest Michigan on the shore of Lake Michigan. Seeking adventure and seizing the chance to relocate to an exotic locale, she moved to Chicago – on the other side of that same lake. You can follow her on Twitter @nrgmunguia or contact her at nrgibby@gmail.com.

Pricilla Giles — Retired educator and resident of Evanston, Illinois

Cassandra Harlan — Is a native Chicagoan from the west side. She has written several journalism articles for Chi-Town Daily News; interned at Chicago Magazine; and published a short story entitled,  “Noose Nation” in Altar Magazine.  Cassandra loves browsing news articles on the web, binge watching television shows on Netflix, tuning into political news shows during election season, and reading up to five books at once. Cassandra writes for her own blog, Bluestbibliophile.com.

Petina Dixon-Jenkins — a graduate from the Medill School of journalism, Petina’s interest involves photography, writing, social advocacy and a radio personality. Her career in social advocacy requires her to travel the globe. For over 10 years, she and her sister hosts Reggae Vibrations and are known as the Ladies of Reggae on WNUR radio.

Esther M. Williams-Hays, M.S. — is an arts education program developer. Founder of The Arts4life Studio / The Art of Creative Endeavors.

Doria Johnson — is an Evanston native and a PhD Candidate in History, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her dissertation is entitled “I Am Not What You Think I Am: African American Women and Domestic Service in Suburbs: Evanston, Illinois, 1910-1945”. Specifically, she is studying the migration of African Americans from the South to Evanston, Illinois, a “domestic service suburb,” and the social and cultural communities they built from 1910 to 1945. Doria hosts her own blog, NegroScholar.

Parneshia Jones — is a recipient of the Gwendolyn Brooks Poetry Award, the Margaret Walker Short Story Award; and the Aquarius Press Legacy Award. She is published in several anthologies including She Walks in Beauty: A Woman’s Journey Through Poems, edited by Caroline Kennedy; The Ringing Ear: Black Poets Lean South, edited by Nikky Finney, as well as Poetry Speaks Who I Am, a book/CD compilation. A member of the Affrilachian Poets, and serves on the board of Cave Canem. She has performed her work all over the United States including the Nuyorican Poets Café in New York City, the Art Institute in Chicago, and Vanderbilt University. Her poetry has been commissioned by Art for Humanity, in South Africa; Shorefront Legacy Center, and featured on Chicago Public Radio. She has completed her first book of poetry Vessel and is under contract with Milkweed Editions.

Bruce Allen King — is a second generation Evanston resident and is a graduate of The Culinary School of Kendall College and of Kendall College. Have a deep interest in his local heritage, he seeks to bring back to his “village” the nurturing he experienced throughout his life growing up in the community he values.

Carrie M. (Brown) Moon — is a graduate of Northwestern University, Medill School of Journalism. Currently in Public Relations and Communications at Coca-Cola. Carrie has written several articles for Shorefront Journal and was a contributing editor 2002-2008

Krislyn Placide — is a journalism student at Northwestern University and Editorial Intern at Sierra Magazine.

Chip Ratliff — is a bassist, writer and producer of a music style he calls “HipFunk” and leads his band, Chip Ratliff & the Electric Chittlin’ Stew. Chip also tours with Blues guitarist, Fernando Jones. In addition, Chip founded Funkoustic, a family oriented mulitmedia educational program, and the New Rhythms & Arts Festival – a festival designed to showcase fresh new talent from the Chicagoland area.

Morris (Dino) Robinson, Jr. — his love for local history led him to the founding of Shorefront and the Shorefront Legacy Center, based in Evanston, Illinois. Dino is a career graphic designer working in the fields of advertising, exhibit design and now in scholarly publications. He has written three books and published over 30 issues of the original Shorefront Journal.

Kimberly Holmes Ross — is proud Evanstonian and ETHS class of 1982. After attending several colleges and universities Kim received her degrees from Loyola and Northeastern. She currently works at Orr Academy High School. Kim recently opened her own life coaching and consulting business, Life In Progress. She had 3 beloved children Brittany, Vance and Nikko.

Joi-Anissa Russell — is a graduate of Northwestern University in Broadcast Journalism. She was the former Executive Director of the Shorefront Legacy Center. Joi careers include professional fundraising and non-profit organizations. In addition to her career, she is an accomplished actress in various stage performances.

Elizabeth Sanderson — is a professor of art history at Trinity Christian College in Palos Heights, IL and a grant writer for Beti Films Inc. whose documentary Raising Bertie is currently in production with Kartemquin Films. Ms. Sanderson received her MA from UIC, and her BFA from SAIC. She is currently pursuing her MLIS from Dominican University.

Frank Santos — Retired Evanston resident

Angelique Schuler  — was born and raised in Oak Park, Illinois. She received her BA in History from DePaul University. In May 2014, She earned a Masters from Dominican University in Library and Information Science, with a focus in archives and special collections.

Carlis Sutton — Retired educator in history and Evanston resident

Deanne Byrd Thompson — Retired resident of Evanston, Illinois

Thelma A. Walker — a graduate of Roosevelt University, is a former journalist and radio DJ. She is the recipient of more than 20 PR industry awards and recognitions from an illustrious career in non-profit, corporate and agency public relations. Her expertise is media relations, crisis communications and spokesperson training, in addition to event management and social media. She is a voracious reader, enjoys writing, people watching, astronomy, working out and gardening. Walker is a published author, actor, playwright and award-winning screenwriter. She co-wrote and produced the documentary film Illinois: Discover the Pride Inside, which aired on Superstation WGN-TV. A mental health activist, she speaks about mental illness and teaches workshops for families for NAMI Cook County North Suburbs.

Keith A. Williams is the grandson of Eloise Florence. Hailing from Zion, Illinois, Keith is a Graphic Designer and owner of Williams Design Group with satellite offices in Zion and Aurora Illinois and Oakland, Califorinia.

Dustin Witsman — is the 2012 Summer Processing Intern for the Black Metropolis Research Consortium (BMRC) on the “Color Curtain Processing Project: Unveiling the Archives of Chicago’s Black Metropolis.”He has also done work at the Center for Black Music Research archives at Columbia College Chicago and Southern Illinois University’s Special Collections Research Center.Dustin holds a BA in English from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale and an MLIS from Dominican University.