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DO NOT ATTEMPT TO COMMUNICATE WITH THE INMATES THROUGH THE FENCE
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About This Event
Zhandarka Kurti and Jarrod Shanahan (States of Incarceration, Skyscraper Jails) host the filmmaker of WE’RE TOO HOT and Breaking the Fourth Wall, chronicling revolts that have occurred inside and outside of the St. Louis jails over the course of 10 years.
WE’RE TOO HOT follows a rowdy demonstration in 2017 at the city’s former holdover facility: the Workhouse. It was sparked by a heatwave that sent temperatures inside the A/C-less jail into the 110s. In 2021, the Workhouse was closed after a long campaign against it, but this has left the equally notorious second jail, the Justice Center, to pick up the slack. 6 mins
Breaking the Fourth Wall (or A Justice Center Recruitment Video) is a riotous chronicle of resistance to the deadly reality of the city’s Justice Center, a facility that has killed 21 prisoners since 2020. Within that time prisoners have bravely fought against the jail; engaging in a series of riots, escape attempts, parties, hostage takings and full-on uprisings. Approx. 26 minutes Screenings will be followed by a discussion.
About the Venue
Pilsen Community Books
Pilsen Community Books is a worker owned and operated independent bookstore that specializes in new and used literary fiction, radical history and politics, and literature in translation. The staff's goal is to unite their bookselling experience with their belief that labor is entitled to all it produces.
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Living in a D.A.I.S.Y. Age: The Music, Culture, and World De La Soul Made
Join us on Friday, October 23 at 7pm for a conversation with Austin McCoy and Charles Hughes as they talk about his book, Living in a D.A.I.S.Y. Age: The Music, Culture, and World De La Soul Made. Austin McCoy is an assistant professor of history at West Virginia University. He specializes in African American History, labor history, social movements, and hip hop culture. He is the author of Living in a D.A.I.S.Y. Age: The Music, Culture, and World De La Soul Made. His writings about politics and culture have appeared in The Washington Post , CNN, and The Baffler.
Signature Event: Running Tour of Brown in the Windy City
Run or bike with author Dr. Lilia Fernández inspired her book, Brown in the Windy City: Mexicans and Puerto Ricans in Postwar Chicago. About the event: Join Read & Run Chicago, the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant & Refugee Rights (ICIRR), and Dr. Lilia Fernández at Pilsen Community Books ((1531 W 18th) on Sunday, October 25 at 10:00 AM for a 4-mile running tour or biking tour (s/o BFF Bikes!) of Brown in the Windy City: Mexicans and Puerto Ricans in Postwar Chicago as part of our Fall 2026 Signature Events Season, “Chicago Between the Lines.” After the route, enjoy snacks, social time, and book sales at Pilsen Community Books. A portion of tickets sales will be donated to ICIRR.