Where History Lives

A panel of people building African American Heritage Trails in Champaign County, Macon County and Cairo, most of whom were meeting each other for the first time, with Robert White, Don Patton, Antonio Burton, Natalie Beck and Joseph Alschuler. White described the Champaign County trail's origins in the weeks after George Floyd's murder and its growth to 24 markers, five murals and 62 points of interest; Patton spoke for Cairo's trail and its twenty oral histories; Burton and colleagues described Macon County's markers at two elementary schools. Much of the hour was audience conversation, including an extended exchange on what students can do beyond lip service. Friday Forum + Conversation Cafe, moderated by Sam Smith.