The Southeast Chicago Archive and Storytelling Project uses objects and stories donated by diverse residents of a former steel mill community in order to explore the transformation in what it means to be “working class” in the United States. This digital project includes mini-documentaries or interactive “storylines” created from these donated objects. The storylines explore such topics as experiences of immigration, historic union conflicts, the social impact of the mill closings, and environmental activism in a contemporary deindustrialized landscape. Discussion will focus on The Memorial Day Massacre storyline which explores one of the most famous events in U.S. labor history in which ten strikers were killed by Chicago police in 1937.
Panelists
- Chris Walley, Director, Southeast Chicago Archive and Storytelling Project and anthropologist
- Chris Boebel, Co-Director and filmmaker
- Jeff Soyk, Creative Designer and web artist
- Steven Walsh, Advisory Committee, Southeast Chicago resident and filmmaker
- Theresa McCulley, Vice-President, Steelworkers Organization of Active Retirees, Chapter 31