OOTA Ep. 11—Silent Voices Among Us: Stories from Chicago's Henry Horner Homes

08/26/21 • 29 min

National Public Housing Museum (NPHM) Podcasts

In this episode of Out of the Archives, "Silent Voices Among Us: Stories from Chicago's Henry Horner Homes," which named after our online exhibition of the same name, we share stories from residents of the Henry Horner Homes, known to many of its residents as the Hornets. The stories range from different experiences from the early years of the Henry Horner Homes to moving out during their demolition.
A special thanks to the storytellers from this episode, including Crystal Palmer, Marina Pullom, Patricia Smith, John Pettiford, Sharon Leggitt, and Maria Moon. We'd also like to thank the members of the Museum's Oral History Corps and other oral historians who recorded these stories including Francesco De Salvatore, Raymond McDonald, and Maria Moon.
The Henry Horner Homes were constructed between 1957 and 1959 and contained 920 units. Thousands of residents lived in the Henry Horner Homes between 1957 and 1995 when demolition began. The demolition ran in phases beginning in 1995 until 2008, which made way for the Westhaven mixed-income community, which was established in 1997. The stories in this episode span from 1962 to 2013.

Read the transcript here.

Read the transcript here.

Previous Episode

OOTA Ep. 10—Black is Beautiful Two: Reflections on Family, Activism, and Perseverance

In this episode of Out of the Archives, "Black is Beautiful Two: Reflections on Family, Activism, and Perseverance" we celebrate Black History Month by continuing the narrative from our June 2020 episode by the same name, which highlights stories from the Black community. You’ll hear about one storyteller’s development as a community organizer, finding strength in family in the face of difficulties, and more.
A special thanks to the storytellers from this episode, including JR Flemming of the Cabrini-Green Homes and the Henry Horner Homes, Michael Miles of Stateway Gardens, H Demetrius Bonner of Stateway Gardens, Colette Payne of the Ida B. Wells Homes, Dolores Van Pelt of the Cabrini-Green Homes, DaVida Rowley Blackman who lived in a New York City tenement building.
The stories span from 1958 to 2006.

Read the transcript here.

Next Episode

OOTA Ep. 12—Full of Life: Learning and Personal Growth

In this episode of Out of the Archives, "Full of Life: Learning and Personal Growth," we feature stories about finding yourself through the arts and recreation, reclaiming and growing after trauma, and more.
A special thanks to the storytellers from this episode, including Ben Baker of the Ida B Wells Extension Homes, Marquita Gandy of ABLA Homes, Nekia Herron of the Robert Taylor Homes, Olga Molina of the Lathrop Homes from 1969 to 1995, Sokeo Ros lives in affordable Housing in Providence, RI, and Henry Warfield, who lived in Altgeld Gardens and the Cabrini-Green Homes. We'd also like to thank the members of the Museum's Oral History Corps and other oral historians who helped to gather these stories, including Francesco De Salvatore and Shakira Johnson.
The stories span from 1969 to the present day.

Read the transcript here.