Editor’s note: Since filming, Joe Biden has appeared on “The Breakfast Club” radio show.

This studio, like many other nonprofits, receives major support from the National Endowment for the Arts and is facing an uncertain time due to the global coronavirus pandemic. Instead of opening their doors for local artists to use their resources, they are having to shift to a safer option, such as hosting live digital concerts where artists can still share their work and continue to earn a living through donations. 

“We are in a moment right now with the COVID-19 crisis where we’re realizing what the arts do for us, that we have maybe taken for granted at other points,” said Katherine Young, an electroacoustics musician who was a part of the 2019 Outer Ear Residency program, in which all of the studio’s resources and platforms were made available to her. “The luxury to be able to go to a concert and not think about that, and what attending live music does for our spirits and our intellectual development individually and as a culture. It’s hard to put a price tag on that value. If we are to be a society as compassionate, thoughtful, creative, innovative and that takes care of each other, then we need the arts to help us explore ways to do that. We also need it to help us feel okay and to not feel isolated.” 

She said she has lost count of the number of times she has gone into the live recording studio to make a complete album, samples or project materials throughout her residency and time at ESS. Throughout the residency, Young, Petra Bachmaier and Sean Gallero were able to work with an outside composer as well as experts in glaciology and climate change to create a composition based on the seismic data from melting icebergs, which was all made possible by NEA funding. 

In the annual 2021 budget proposal, released on Feb. 10, the Trump Administration threatened to eliminate the National Endowment for the Arts for the fourth year in a row. This action would negatively affect nonprofits all over the country, including organizations in the Chicago area such as Experimental Sound Studio who receives major support from the NEA. 

“The budget proposals are the first step in a lengthy process and ultimately Congress sets the appropriations for the agency,” Allison Hill, an NEA public affairs specialist said in an email. “Congress’s confidence in the value of the Arts Endowment’s work and trust in its capacities to fulfill its mission on behalf of the American people is reflected by the agency’s inclusion in the recently passed CARES Act legislation.” 

There are 60,277 nonprofit organizations in Illinois alone, which employ 577,876 people, or over 11% of the state’s workforce. Although nonprofits benefit financially from other sources such as corporate donations, memberships, merchandise and in-kind contributions, major support often comes from what the NEA is able to offer year after year. 

The NEA annually awards an average of 2,300 grants and cooperative agreements exceeding $117 million, funding the arts in all 50 states and six U.S. jurisdictions, including rural and urban areas, and reaching civilian and military populations. 

The Arts Endowment values the growth of arts activity in areas of the nation that were previously underserved or not served at all, especially in rural and inner-city communities. Because of this, 65% of Arts Endowment grants go to small and medium-sized organizations, which tend to support projects that benefit audiences that otherwise might not have access to arts programming. In addition, 42% of Arts Endowment grants take place in high-poverty neighborhoods and 35% of Arts Endowment grants reach low-income audiences or underserved populations such as people with disabilities, people in institutions and veterans. 

Trump’s $4.8 trillion “Budget for America’s Future” proposes to increase defense spending in 2021, while slashing funding to culture and the arts, social welfare and student aid.

The budget defines core federal government functions as investments in national security, cybersecurity, violent crime and targeted violence reduction, immigration, drug enforcement and the opioid epidemic. On the other hand, the budget proposal labels the NEA under the category of wasteful and unnecessary funding. 

“I think that the loss of the NEA is much more dire than just the loss of funding,” Olivia Junell, development and outreach director of ESS said in an email. “At a fundamental level, the idea that our national government would pull funding from arts and culture speaks volumes about the values of our leadership and our nation. The NEA is not just a source of funding, it is a symbol of what our country deems worthwhile and valuable.”

This mental model creates a disconnect between the judicial task and the person carrying it out, and when you’re cramming an hour before you’re going to vote as to who and what’s on your ballot, and there are 17 empty judicial seats on the dock (true story!), independently finding any clear information on these judges forces us to lean heavily on our assumptions—meaning, if you think judicial tasks are informed solely by impartial legal code, does it matter who performs those tasks? 

The answer, of course, is yes. 

And that’s because judicial tasks are done by judges, who are first and foremost humans—a species notorious for not being particularly judicious. Much has been written on our inability to be truly objective, usually within the framework of: “You’re lying to yourself if you think you’re not bringing bias into your decisions.” 

Which is why this year’s Illinois primaries offered pleasant surprises when it comes to judicial races: According to the non-partisan journalism organization  Injustice Watch, “significant numbers of women, people of color and LGBTQ candidates…are virtually assured of winning seats formerly held by judges who were mostly white and male.” This is a powerful statement filled with possibility, given the fact that most communities are infinitely more diverse than those who preside on the bench to serve them. 

The question isn’t why this matters, but in just how many ways it does. Chicago’s 2020 primary results reflects an important shift towards a truer reflection and understanding of the communities served. And that means the potential for more nuanced approaches in expressing and interpreting our laws. 

This is about diversity: this is about race and color and income, but it’s also about gender identity and sexual orientation (SOGI). When any demographic lacks representation in the larger system, that whole systems lacks true understanding. When people aren’t reflected in positions of power, those people are locked into someone else’s narrative. And that narrative changes how we interact. 

This isn’t about concepts and theories—this is about real life. In January,  ABC News  reported on a 5th  Circuit Court of Appeals Judge who refused to acknowledge a transgender defendant’s chosen pronouns. The judge was a white male who referred to the defendant as “gender-dysphoric,” a purposely humiliating use of language meant to delegitimize the defendant. This judge was noted as having overseen past hearings related to gender identity and sexual orientation in similar fashion, suggesting that “respecting a transgender person’s gender in the same way…as a cisgender person’s gender “may unintentionally convey its tacit approval.” As if respect based on gender was somehow questionable. 

You might imagine how this scenario, one of many, could have played out differently if someone with a different background was presiding over the hearing—someone like Jill Rose Quinn—who recently won the Democratic primary for Cook County Circuit Court and will be Illinois’ first openly transgender judge. 

Given Illinois’ strong LGBTQ+ history (e.g., Chicago’s Boystown was the first officially designated gay neighborhood in the United States), it makes sense to bring judiciary diversity in this manner, and to this location. In addition to Quinn, three other LGBTQ+ judges will take the bench based on the March primaries. 

As Quinn told the  Chicago Tribune, “…this is a victory for everyone who feels marginalized.” Rarely are we privileged to see openly transgender people in positions of power—because society (by the way, that’s all of us) have systematically made it impossible to do. That’s what  marginalized  means. This is despite the fact that, as of a 2017  Harris Poll, upwards of almost 3% of the population, across various age groups, identifies as transgender. That’s potentially 6.5 million people—a number deserving representation by and from others who understand the systemic imbalances and disaffordances put upon them. 

Quinn will join  a growing list  of transgender judges and lawmakers taking their due seat at the table who understand firsthand that ‘equal’ under the eyes of the law does not inform equitable opportunities or treatment either in or out of it. In a recent  Columbia Chronicle  article, she defines her work of adjudicating as the “first line of defense against oppression.”  How many judges do you know who would describe their job like that? Is there any better way to express how a different perspective and experience can change your relationship with power and the legal system? 

This is why diversity matters. Diversity in experience—not the kind listed on your resumé, but the kind that informs how you know the world and why you understand it as you do. We need these varied understandings of the world represented in positions of power so that experiences can be acknowledged and heard, rather than criminalized and overlooked. And we need voters to know they have the power to make this happen, just by taking the time to read up on judicial candidates. 

But when it does creep into my life, I’m reminded that most of my political influence comes from my parents. And having parents on the opposite sides of the fence causes some second guessing about voting.

As I was having a conversation with my dad while he loaded the washing machine with towels, I began asking him questions of why he became a registered voter. My dad told me he registered to vote at the age of 18 and voted for Michael Dukakis in 1988, when he was a candidate in the presidential election and lost to George H.W. Bush. Frankly, my dad votes mainly because he says his voice matters and our founding fathers died fighting for our right to vote.

“It’s your civil right duty as an American,” he says. My dad believes having the right to vote is part of being an American and gives you a choice to make a decision to say what matters to you.

My dad works for United Parcel Service (UPS) and has been there for more than 25 years. He’s always instilled in my older brother and I to make better decisions so we don’t have to work as hard as he does. My grandmother educated my father on the importance of voting and my dad passed along the same tradition to us.

As we sat in the living room on opposite couches from each other while he folded the towels, he said: “It’s better to make a decision than to not make a decision. Even if it’s the wrong decision. It’s a decision that can be corrected.”

My dad’s beliefs of indecisions are results of a lot of “What ifs.” He said this is why the United States is the way it is. Too many what ifs and not enough decisions being made no matter if it’s the wrong decision. “Ignorance can be corrected with adequate information about the subject matter at hand. But stupidity goes on and on until it is corrected,” he said.

So, that’s why he votes even if he realizes he may have to make a correction later.

On the other hand, you have my mother, the soft-spoken nonvoter. She has worked for Greyhound Bus Station for almost a year now and is not a registered voter and doesn’t plan on becoming one. Sitting at the kitchen table watching her as she seasons the chicken wings, she took out the freezer earlier in the day, I asked my mom why she was not a registered voter, she said, “I’ve never been into politics.” She feels that her voice/opinion doesn’t really matter.

She points out when it’s time to elect a president, the electoral college vote determines the president, not the popular vote. My mother believes societies and people with more power will and can put whomever they want in political positions.

As she fried the seasoned chicken wings in the sizzling grease on the stove, she said, “I’m going to get what everyone else gets.” In my mother’s hazel eyes, no matter if she votes or not, she feels and knows the decision has been made for her and the rest of the world.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave a speech called ‘Give Us the Ballot’ at the Lincoln Memorial on May 17, 1957 advocating voting rights for African Americans in the United States. In his speech, Dr. King said: “Give us the ballot, and we will no longer have to worry the federal government about our basic rights.” The importance of voting is as relevant as it was almost 63 years ago and the country is witnessing that now.

My parents, like many others, have been distracted by the coronavirus. Like many predominantly black communities, my parents are aware of the growing numbers of deaths from this virus. So far, 1,673 deaths have been confirmed in the Cook County area. This worries me about my parents’ health because both are essential workers, which puts them at higher risk even with them taking the precautions of wearing face masks, washing their hands, wearing gloves and using hand sanitizer.

It’s easy to say the coronavirus has been the primary distraction from this year’s political elections. And yet, politicians are the people who decide on how much economic and medical support to distribute among the communities most in need.

So, it is especially important to focus on politics during emergency pandemics like the one we’re in now. Whom we choose to lead us and make the country better is more important than ever.

What are some of your main responsibilities as a leader of Youth 4 Black Lives? 

I’m the secretary, so I personally like to be accountable of myself and others. I have to send emails and reach out to people, but a lot of it is shared responsibility. So, when we’re all talking in a meeting, I’m writing our notes of what we’re getting done. I’m kind of the facilitator. 

What problems does Youth 4 Black Lives address? 

Right now, we’re focusing on harassment. We want to have an event where we can teach self-defense and also an event teaching black youth how to have safe sex. We try to have an influence on mayor candidates, so spreading information about that was important to us, too. 

What kind of events or activities does Youth 4 Black Lives do? 

We do an event called Block Party to help people in the area get ready for the school year where we give away school supplies. Before I joined, the older members spoke out at the Women’s March and did a lot of stuff with gun control. One of the main focuses of the organization was gun control, so they had a table talk with policemen. The last table talk we did was about mental health and combining that with photography.  

What are your goals for this organization in the future? 

Be able to have events without having to worry about money, and just being able to do stuff with ease. We’ll be wanting to host an event and then we’ll be like, “Wait, we can’t just have this event without getting an area to host it. Like, okay, that’s money, so let’s see who we know who can help us get this space,” and stuff like that. 

What do you enjoy most about helping the community? 

This summer, after we did Block Party, I felt really happy that I could help. That was a big part of something that actually helped others, and I never had experience doing that. I really enjoyed that feeling, being a part of a community and getting into activism. It helped me want to become more aware about things around me just to see how I can spread information to others. 

Tell me about someone whose life was changed by your organization’s work? 

Probably the kids we help. They have a good time at our events, and so do I. I know I’ve seen a lot of people have a good time. By being a part of this group, I feel like my life has been changed positively by this, too. 

This story has been edited for clarity.  

Lopez talks about the struggles of LGBTQ+ youth in Chicago and what El Rescate doing to help: 

When did you start working with El Rescate? 

I’ve been at El Rescate since we opened it in 2012 with the Puerto Rican Cultural Center, the umbrella organization. I’ve been involved in it all my life because my brothers are the co-founders of the PRCC, and it’s been around for almost 50 years. I love what I do. As a lesbian woman, growing up, I could never be who I was. It was dangerous to be gay. I lived a life of sadness and tears.  

Now, I see these children and they are so secure and so accepting of their sexuality. They say, ”I don’t care if you kick me out. I’m gay and that’s what I’m going to be.” I just applaud that because I never had that opportunity. That was one of the reasons I wanted to embrace these individuals with a safe place, meet their basic needs and to make sure that they would not be marginalized anymore. 

Why is El Rescate specifically dedicated to LGBTQ+ youth? 

The PRCC has been addressing all kinds of issues like high rates of asthma, diabetes and breast cancer.  We looked at another issue affecting our communities—homelessness. The park is right up the street and we had a lot of kids that were sleeping there who happened to be LGBTQ+, whose parents were not accepting of their sexuality.   

Several members of the PRCC are LGBTQ+ and we saw the need. But, we weren’t going to tackle just homelessness.  We wanted to work with the most marginalized group, which is LGBTQ+ and HIV-positive youth. That’s what our focus was. We opened the place with no money, but we had space, and eight years later we created a very strong, wonderful organization. 

What is the process for getting into El Rescate? 

Because we’re not a shelter—we’re a transitional living program—everybody that comes through the doors has to be screened. We have an interview and they have to fill out an application. That’s how we did determine possible residency. I have 17 to 18 kids here; not every youth who’s homeless is a candidate for El Rescate. They have to be ready to change the trajectory of their life. We have to have a certain amount of beds available for HIV-positive youth because most of them don’t have any linkage to care. They get a probationary period of 30 days, and they have to have a job. If I see that they’ve been trying, then we extend it. Some kids want to go to school, and they can, but they have to get a part-time job. We create an action plan for them and they’re assigned a case manager. 

What case has stood out to you the most? 

One of my dearest and most memorable situations with the resident was this young man who came here from Lebanon, where homosexuality is very frowned upon. His family moved to Michigan, and he was afraid about his sexuality, so he left his family and came to live in Chicago with a friend of his. Then after a week, his friend told him ”I can’t keep you, you’ve got to go.” He had nothing and nowhere to go, and then he showed up at our door. I interviewed him—a very sweet, kind young man.  So, we gave him a room, then he got a job at the Middle Eastern restaurant and registered for school.  

He graduated college and he had a bachelor’s degree from Kendall College and had $8,700 saved up. I helped him find an apartment and we provided him with the first month’s rent for free and the deposit. He just kept working and doing everything until he graduated. We created such a wonderful relationship.   

He said to me, and this is the most beautiful thing: “You know I’m graduating, and nothing will make me happier than for you to come to my graduation. I don’t care if my parents are there or not, but you are the most important person in my life and I need you to be there.” He gave me a ticket and I went.  

This story has been edited for clarity. 

FeBland talks about how the organization benefits the city and what inspires her every day:  

Why were you interested in working at 826CHI? 

This job is the perfect marriage of my beliefs in arts education. I’m a product of public arts education, and I wouldn’t have become a writer if I hadn’t had incredible teaching artists investing in me. I love to support equitable access to arts education on a daily basis, to help amplify the voices of Chicago youth and to get our students’ work out of our musty basement and into the world.  

What is your favorite part of your job? 

I love any time students get to see their work in print for the first time, and feeling the weight of that work. Any release event is an incredible day and is super rewarding. Also, all of our students’ publications end up on the shelves of Chicago Public Libraries as well. So, when we tell students they can go to their library and see their book, it’s always deeply rewarding. 

What does this program offer kids for the future?  

A lot of the kids we have in our program have kind of broken up with the school system at one point, or haven’t had a positive authority figure in their life. When we bring kids into our space every morning on field trips, we’re providing them a third space where they’re invited to share their voice. We invite them to engage in conversations that are more personal or difficult than they’re able to have in the school day. We are a safe place and a creative outlet for thousands of students who are entering our space through any of our programs.  

It’s not just creative writing; there are also social and emotional gains that come from our program, especially with the students who are with us for a longer period of time. All of these students are learning how to talk to adults and ask for help. I think confidence in their writing results in academic self-confidence. We hear a lot from students that this program has helped them participate in class more and help them voice their concerns to adults more.  

What does a day look like for a student in your programs?  

We have several different types of field trips for kids ranging from memoir writing, to STEM field trips that involve superhero writing, to more investigative writing about Chicago. Our field trips run the gamut, but all of the students are encouraged to write, have hours to do so and are given individualized attention from volunteers and staff. All of the students who go through our program leave a published author in some way. 

Are there any field trips or programs 826CHI offers that promote journalism? 

Yes, specifically with music journalism. We have a Pitchfork writing camp for high schoolers. Kids in that camp get a press pass to Pitchfork music festival and they get to interview artists and write profiles that get published. We also have journalists come in for a writer’s workshop series called “Fresh Ink.” We’ve had Rick Julius before to teach about how to pitch and just give an overview of the media in Chicago. 

We’re also doing something new with our teen writers series with more professional development. Students now get to opt in to one of three tracks—editing, teaching artist or communications. I oversee the communications track, and I have been bringing in journalists every month to talk about what they do with these kids who have expressed interest in journalism and communications so they can have that professional development opportunity.  

Is there a student who has impacted you? 

The cool thing about being at 826CHI for three years now is you get to see students grow up in the program. There’s one student, Michaela, who I’m very close with. I remember when she was younger she was so shy about sharing her work. She would kind of whisper into the microphone at chapter book release events for the after school writing and tutoring program. 

Now, Michaela has emceed multiple events for us and is one of the most self-assured students in our program. She’s in the teen writers studio communications track and she co-wrote one of the spring appeals that we do for a major development campaign. She has also interned in the communications department with me. She’s such an outspoken advocate for our work and for arts education access now. I just know she’s going to burn things down.  

How can people get involved with 826CHI?  

We are always looking for volunteers. Volunteers are the lifeblood of our organization and it’s very easy to get involved as a volunteer. You can go to our website where you can fill out the new volunteer form. From there, you’d come to our location for the new volunteer orientation, we hold two of those orientations every month. Volunteering with us is super flexible, and you can participate as much or as little as you want. If you want to be involved, I assure you there is a way.  

This story has been edited for clarity. 

Melodrama, overpowering tracks and boredom: these things stole the show away from anything positive AViVA did. Especially for the last show of her first American tour, the set was empty and lacked excitement.

While AViVA herself (and the musicians behind her) brought energy to the stage, it did not transfer to the crowd. Most of the audience did not seem to know why they were there, except for a handful of preteen girls dancing in the first few rows. Although at first glance it seemed the lack of stage decoration or technical issues could have caused the connection gap, those things ultimately did not affect the entire show. Truthfully, AViVA’s songs were filled with cliché symbolism, too much synth and childlike execution. 

AViVA sounds like a mashup between Melanie Martinez, Halsey and Billie Eilish—all very successful women who offer more of an aesthetic than actually “good” music, and can be referred to more as industry plants than artists.

What all these artists have in common is that they are products of the music industry, which will overturn the same sounds and aesthetics until completely worn out. This shared style of edgy pop is on life support, and its family members reluctant to pull the plug. This is not to say that AViVA’s self-expression through her art is not valid, but it is simply not enjoyable to a wide array of people. 

However, as previously mentioned, AViVA performs live astronomically better than on her recorded music. Yes, the tracks were unexpectedly overpowering (most artists as established as her should have someone play or mix tracks live), but she certainly knows her way around performing.

Her vocals were amazing and did not seem auto-tuned or drowned out by vocal tracks. She truly put on a character while on stage, which is always entertaining to watch—although with all the tracks behind her, it was questionable how much of it was actually live. 

Ultimately, AViVA fell flat. Although she did not crash as hard as expected, there is nothing new about her music—nothing exciting. The clichés and melodramatic themes mixed with the simple, electronic music were dull and tiresome. It was a waste of time, and when she ended the set about 15 minutes early, it seemed as if she knew that, too. 

James talks about the program, the impact it has on city youth and how she is heading the initiative:

How would you describe CSIC? 

It’s a free, K-8 invention education curriculum that serves schools both during and after school, libraries and youth centers across the city and in other counties. Students in the program build prototypes of inventions to solve problems that they care about.  It’s a great vehicle for them to engage in STEM even if they don’t consider themselves as STEM learners. Our program has a convention where they can compete and attend a national competition as well. 

Why is this program important? 

It fills a need. Programs that are geared towards STEM education and supporting STEM initiatives are usually for high schoolers. K-8 is a forgotten space. I think it’s really important to fill opportunity gaps. Not only the age group is forgotten, but also girls, students of different levels of socioeconomic status and kids on free or reduced lunch. They aren’t always able to access all of the resources that other students are. 

What are the main responsibilities of your job? 

I have a lot of different hats. My responsibility is program development, and my responsibilities on a day-to-day level inovlve program implementation. Like any academic program, it goes through phases. Depending on what phase we’re in, implementation can look like recruitment and onboarding, training, professional development or ongoing support. I work on growth and creative dreaming of what else the program could offer. We also do assessments that collect data on who we’re impacting and how, as well as how we can do that in a way that’s tuned more to students’ needs. 

What is the goal for CSIC’s future? 

I would like to increase the value that we bring to teachers and students, which is a goal that I’ve taken on since day one, really. I’d also like to do more work in formal research and communication. 

How did you get involved with CSIC? 

I’m a trained teacher, but I didn’t want to go into the classroom at the end. That was really surprising to me. I had invested all that time and money. But, sometimes you do things and you find out about other parts of yourself that you weren’t expecting. In the course of doing something you thought was a linear path, you find a branching path. So, that’s why I applied, and that’s why I love it—because it combines a lot of the things I love.  It pushes me to learn new things, and it makes an impact on people’s futures. 

Assenmacher talks about her involvement with the nonprofit and goals for the future:

How did you get involved with Share Our Spare?

I heard about it when my family and I came back to Chicago from Los Angeles, and it felt like serendipity when I kept running into a number of people all over Chicago who happened to be connected with Share Our Spare.

My undergraduate degree is actually in finance, and I spent the first 10 years of my career in what I call my “capitalist” years.  In 2010, I got a fellowship at DePaul University for a fully funded master’s program in Women’s and Gender Studies. I completely pivoted from my undergraduate to an issue that I really cared about. My early intentions were to get involved in policy work and related issues that supported working mothers, specifically those lower on the economic spectrum.

What’s the biggest frustration you’ve run into?

We are doing critical work through the community, and we are always hustling to ask for money. We have to raise all of our own money to pay for warehousing, rent, utilities, staff and insurance. That’s the hardest part of the job, that you are always worrying about money and always asking for money to do something that should otherwise be provided.

G0reatest reward?

It’s so simple: It’s just being able to provide for myself and my family through something I care about. It has entirely opened my eyes to different ways people struggle to survive— the struggle to provide for their children, to buy clothing and food and to go to the doctor. It helps grow a compassionate heart in the sense of my own privilege.

What are some goals for the future of Share Our Spare?

When I joined the organization, I did site visits to all of our agency partners and what we learned was shocking to us. In almost all cases, we were the only organization that provided these supplies for free. This inspired us to grow and scale up our operation knowing that there are so many families that have children need our help. If we are not here, there is no one else.

We have a three-year plan to grow into Chicago’s lead diaper bank. Our goal is to donate a million diapers a year in the next three years, and that would double our growth. It still won’t be enough, but it will be closer to where we need to be

How do you usually obtain funding for your work?

We hold a gala each year and we raise most of our budget—I would say historically about 75% of our budget is raised from individual donors and corporations who attend.

Is there anything else you would like to share about your work?

Most people don’t realize that one in three children in Chicago lives below the settled poverty line. There are a lot of organizations that are trying to help, but no one does what we do. It’s urgent, and it’s critical because we know that when children experience trauma when they are young, it can have long-lasting implications.

When children are hungry with not enough food, or when they are left in a dirty diaper for a long time, mothers are affected from the stress and the strain of not being able to care for their children. It’s more than just giving away free stuff.  The idea is that we want to be there to make sure that every child has what they need to survive.

This piece has been edited for clarity.