08/22/2026
One of the highlights of our work at Shorefront is getting to take groups on tours of Black Evanston.
When Dino Robinson founded Shorefront, he created a tour that carried people through the places, people, homes, businesses and memories that have shaped Black life in Evanston. Some of those places remain. Some are gone. And new spaces and stories continue to become part of the history.
These are not simply buildings or locations on a map. They are places where people lived, gathered, created, worshipped, worked, played and built community and culture, often without the recognition they deserved. Part of our work is making sure these places, and the stories held within them, are recognized, remembered and understood as part of Evanston’s history.
Earlier this summer, I had the pleasure of sharing that tour with some of the young people from Curt's Cafe. Curt’s does extraordinary work with young adults, providing workforce and life-skills training, mentoring and support as they build their futures.
After traveling through the city, the group came back to Shorefront, where Stacy Moss Paul and Andy Holter had thoughtfully pulled together materials from the archive for them to explore. They were able to encounter some of what we had been talking about through photographs, letters, buttons and other pieces of the historical record. There is something powerful about moving through the places where history happened and then coming into the archive and holding, seeing and discovering the materials that help tell those stories.
And one of my favorite things about leading these tours is that I learn, too. I learn about the people on the bus, the neighborhoods they know, the places that matter to them and the stories they carry. Sometimes those stories even give us something new to add to the tour.
I’m grateful to Tanya Jenkins, Damita Cravens and all the folks at Curt’s Café, and especially to the young people who brought their questions, curiosity and perspectives along for the ride.
And while I have your attention, go over to Curt’s Café. Have breakfast. Have lunch. Have a meeting. And whatever you do, get the ganache brownie. OMG.
