Molly Sullivan

Don't you hate it when you miss your favorite linguist's birthday or when Hallmark doesn't have a "Happy 164th Birthday" card for your favorite anarchist? Well, no need to buy cards for Noam Chomsky or Peter Kropotkin this year for the celebration at Mercury Café, because a little donation towards Midwest Books to Prisoners is all they want for their birthdays.

Since this has been a relatively unnoticed year gone by for both men (including the very-much-still-living Chomsky), Mercury Café is hosting a brunch benefit and "Manufacturing Consent" viewing in honor of their work. "We want people to take notice...during this time there are a lot of holidays that, as radicals, we don't celebrate," Rachel A., the coordinator, explains about why Midwest Books to Prisoners chose this kind of fundraising event to promote its work.

While most people downstairs at the café do not take notice, those upstairs, in a room deconstructed in a prison-like way, are working towards change. "Too many people in jail are falsely accused...when they are let out there is no compensation for the lost years," Rachel elaborates about their objectives. As most prisoners request dictionaries, GED, automotive, carpentry and legal books, they just might be investing their lost years towards a promising future.

But what do Chomsky, Kropotkin and prisoners getting books really have in common? Taking on the duties of a citizen through self-rule is an idea that both men promoted, and Midwest Books to Prisoners is helping to give prisoners at least the chance to take charge of their lives again. At this point, "we use [prisoners] as cheap labor.... basically slave labor," Rachel says. So Midwest Books to Prisoners wants to give them something to hope for beyond the work that prison allows them.

The benefit ends with an almost three-hour viewing of "Manufacturing Consent," a film that purports to expose how the government and media cooperate to produce an effective propaganda machine used to manipulate the opinions of society. Especially appropriate here, since "it is more expensive to incarcerate someone for a year than to send them to Harvard for a year," according to the Midwest Books to Prisoners' Web site.

(2006-12-12)

Also by Molly Sullivan

Oopsie Daisy
It's easy to imagine all pre-teen girls who have a kitty diary with "I love (insert name of the most popular twelve-year-old boy)" doodled in purple glitter pen all over it. Luckily for us, we are all now getting a peek inside these precious tomes and other personal stories at the "Oops" reading event at Heaven Gallery in Wicker Park
(2006-12-05)

Anime Marinara
Nothing says Italian cuisine like Japanese anime and good ol' American hot dogs. At Teena Mia in the West Loop on Saturday night, this combination sets the tone for a cultural collision
(2006-11-28)

Machinehand
The Rail plays host on Saturday night to an all-out arm-wrestling competition with the WCA and D & D Sports Entertainment
(2006-11-07)

Rolling Bling
Low-rider culture takes center stage at the Columbia College photo exhibit by Meridel Rubenstein and the low-rider car/bike display by Amistad Car Club, Distinctive Lifestyles, Pisados Chicago and Young Riders. Inside the gallery a mariachi band plays to a dancing crowd of young car enthusiasts and art seekers alike, a pairing that's completely natural tonight.
(2006-10-17)

Only Connect
(2006-09-19)

Macy Day
(2006-09-12)

about Newcitychicago | about Newcity magazine | advertising | privacy policy | FAQ | employment