This year, we saw a reboot of the 1992 classic horror film Candyman, the story about a spirit of vengeance with a hook for a hand who appeared whenever his name was uttered five times in a mirror. Candyman was a first, born of racial violence, and he stalked Chicago’s Cabrini-Green Homes, leaving blood, fear, and questions about public housing, gentrification, and urban decay in his wake. The 2021 Candyman picks up where the original film left off, exploring these issues but from a more holistic perspective and a decidedly Black lens.

Join us as Dr. Stanford W. Carpenter moderates a series of panel discussions with scholars, artists, and housing experts. Topics include: the history of public housing in Chicago; contemporary advocacy for public housing residents; artistic and public education responses to the film’s content and the mythology of Candyman; and the reclamation of the Candyman narrative and the Black horror genre.

This event is free of charge; we would greatly appreciate a donation to the Museum in any amount.

Zoom link will be provided after registration; each session lasts about an hour.

12:00–1:00 p.m. – Public Housing Chicago: Activating Histories and Memory

Opening performance by PHENOM, former Cabrini-Green resident, poet, and emcee

⁃ Stacey Robinson, assistant professor of graphic design, School of Art & Design, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

⁃ Willie J.R. Fleming, executive director of the Chicago Anti-Eviction Campaign and board president of the Chicago Owner’s Land Trust

⁃ Shaq McDonald, Cabrini-Green resident

⁃ Julius L. Jones, CHM assistant curator