Continuing Legacy

Thank you to the National Museum of Mexican Art for the opportunity to donate art in our collection related to Mark’s time working with David Alfaro Siquieros on the March of Humanity mural. Also included in this donation were Mark’s photographs and sketches of workers on the March of Humanity Mural, as well as other related Mexican art in our collection.

The Mark Rogovin Collection of Black history posters, papers and ephemera was donated to the Vivian Harsh Research Collection at the Carter G. Woodson Regional Chicago Public Library. Items include Black Panther posters, Free Angela posters, Chicago political candidate posters (including Harold Washington), an extensive collection of Margaret Burroughs prints and lithographs, and more. I donated the painting from noted folk artist Blanche Wille as well, which was also part of our collection. The donation also included Mark’s extensive collection of political and Black history buttons.

Special thanks to Alexis Ellers who organized everything and helped deliver everything with me. Mark worked for years with the librarians at the Vivian Harsh Research Collection and it made sense to bring this particular material to this Chicago Public Library. The librarians remember working with Mark, and it is wonderful that his good work will be distributed around the Chicago area to institutions and libraries that will value it and residents who live nearby who can access it. It will also be digitized for national access.

Sounds of Solidarity was funded in part through an Awesome Foundation Grant in Mark's name.

Sounds of Solidarity is a musical and arts showcase to designed to bring together Black and Brown artists from across the city of Chicago to participate in a free performance for the larger Chicago community.

This event has a goal of increasing dialogue amongst these communities to foster unity and to confront anti blackness in our city. This idea grew from the Decolonial Open Mic ChiResists has been hosting for 5 years which is a peace circle that encourages participants to perform, write and grow their communities.

Artists will gather for a day of activities, performances, workshops and a socially distanced community picnic in Pilsen.

Our Faces Our Voices was funded in part through an Awesome Foundation Grant in Mark's name.

My project is a series of k-8, in school murals depicting my art students' faces entirely through text. Post-pandemic, our school walls were sanitized and repainted, blank, bleak, and institutional. In an effort to empower the students and grant ownership over their environments, we are taking back the walls of our hallowed hallways and the outside walls seen by the entire community. Portrait murals will be a chance for students to photograph themselves, trace their portraits, scale them to fit our walls, and build images out of text. Students have shown great interests in font design such as bubble, block, and wild style lettering. Their own words will be the motivational messages seen in their daily walks to and from their classes.. They will see their words, their faces, and know their worth. Their artwork will be a daily reminder to parents, staff, and students. We are here to secure the futures that we all deserve. Their words and faces will stand 8-10 ft tall reminding us all of their great potential.

Proviso Mathematics & Science Academy student, Ivoryana Neal won the 209 scholarship funded in memory of Mark Rogovin. She is enrolled at Spelman College in Atlanta as a political science major, where she wants to become a public defender and ultimately a judge.

Neal said she hopes to leverage the scholarship in her quest to thrive at Spelman, where she’s considering reprising Justice Troopers, the social justice organization she founded while a PMSA student.  

“I’m in the process of rebranding Justice Troopers and starting something here in Atlanta,” Neal said, adding that she may focus her efforts on addressing Atlanta’s homelessness and mental health problem

On the last Saturday in August, the Awesome Foundation, in honor of Mark funded the Annual Youth Art Fest in Peace Park. There was Teen Art Contest painting black hero portraits, kids watercolors table, face painting, drummers circle, open mic stage, fashion show, vegan refreshments, decorations, information table, and more.

On July 10, a coalition of Little Village partners hosted a community fair for families to learn about gardening and summer resources for children as school was letting out, and offered a birdhouse painting and decorating session (self-care, family fun, and public art). 50 birdhouses were distributed in memory of Mark, funded by the Awesome Foundation.

Three mural dances (performances in front of noted Chicago Murals in the south, west and north sides) were performed in July, August, and September 2021 for free, by Synapse Arts, funded by the Awesome Foundation, in memory of Mark.

Sat, Jul 17, 2021 from 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Mural Dances at Barrett
Barrett (Charles) Park

Sat, Aug 21, 2021 from 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Mural Dances at Houston
Houston (Jessie "Ma") Park

Sat, Sep 18, 2021 from 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Mural Dances at Loyola
Loyola Park

Mark Rogovin was the Haymarket Martyrs’ Monument’s biggest fan. He wrote The Day Will Come, the booklet telling the story of those buried on Radical Row, and he worked on multiple projects to restore the monument for all visitors to enjoy.

The Historical Society of Forest Park is honoring individuals who continue to further the work of labor history with the Mark Rogovin Working Class Heroes Award. The first to receive this honor is the always-dedicated Amy Binns-Calvey.

Mark started our 1st-Saturday-of-the-month tours, delighting groups with his vast knowledge. In 2016 he passed the torch to Amy, who has enthusiastically met visitors from all over the world to share with them the story of the Haymarket Affair, the Haymarket Martyrs’ Monument, and the radicals buried near it. In 2020 she led a virtual tour of the Martyrs’ Monument and Radical Row as well as Forest Home Cemetery. Congratulations Amy!

In March 2021, after a competitive research application process, Dr. Margaret Flanagan received the Mark Rogovin Neuroscience Research Award for $25,000 to study frontotemporal research in her laboratory at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University. She currently researches a protein that is present in Lewy Body Disease and Alzheimer's Disease, and she feels that it plays an important role in the development of frontotemporal dementia as well. This pilot award will help her answer important questions and allow her to gather data that will allow her to pursue larger sources of funding. 

This grant was made possible by donations received in and after Mark’s memorial service, starting in 2019, which made such a difference and was very much appreciated.  There was tremendous interest by researchers for early-stage funding, and Michelle has started a second fund for a new grant. 

To contribute, checks should be made out to
Northwestern University.
Mail to:
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine 420 E. Superior, 9th Floor, Chicago, IL. 60611

Please indicate that you are donating to the
Mark Rogovin NUCATS Neuroscience Pilot Fund
without this information, your donation cannot be allocated.

Mark’s collection of mural slides was catalogued in winter 2021 and delivered to the SSCAC in February 2021 with great fanfare to be part of their extensive research collection of public art resources. Executive Director Monique Brinkman-Hill and Board Member Rebecca Zorach were familiar with the collection, which included the mural work of the Public Art Workshop, Mark’s murals before and after the PAW and Mark’s documentation of other muralists working on the South and West sides, including the Wall of Respect. The SSCAC received a grant to scan Mark’s slides to preserve and protect the images and make them publicly accessible to researchers and will have students start to work with them in spring 2021.

Recent projects awarded include to the Gage Park Mural project, led by Mario Mena. He will work with youth from 15 – 24, this summer to produce murals, and provide them with a stipend to work with him to learn techniques and reclaim public spaces with images that reflect the Gage Park community. 

Another funded project in Mark’s memory was to support a public architecture project in Austin, also community-engaged, which includes public art and a garden, to give the Austin community a place to enjoy art and nature. 

The most recent grant was for a radio project that pays BIPOC artists to stream their performing art (music, poetry) to the community on Twitch to generate audiences in new ways. 

Please go to the Awesome Foundation Chicago page for more information about these great projects.

When the Historical Society needed to pivot during the early days of the pandemic, their biggest event presented a huge challenge – what to do for May Day? Michelle supported the first online virtual tour of the cemetery, featuring Radical Row and the Haymarket Monument, in Mark’s memory. It premiered on May Day 2020 and is still available on the Historical Society’s home page. They ask for a small donation to continue to fund operations. Other video tours are also available!

Mark gave tours of Forest Home Cemetery and cared for the Haymarket Monument (on the National Register of Historic Monument) his entire life in Chicago. He was an avid, animated member of the Historical Society of Forest Park, and spent decades researching, educating, and speaking about the history of the Haymarket events, and the lives of people buried near the monument. As he is buried near the monument now, he is on the tour for future generations, who will learn who he was, and how he preserved labor history for them. 

In 2019 and 2020, Michelle funded a two year scholarship in memory of Mark at our local high school district through the nonprofit group 209 Together. Proviso Township High School District 209 encompasses 13 Westside communities, and Mark was involved, with Michelle’s support, in helping to elect a new school board to improve local educational opportunities for high school kids.

District 209 students are a vibrant and energetic force– yet more than half are eligible for a free or reduced price lunch. Almost all are Hispanic or Black, and a portion of students need assistance with stable housing in order to attend school regularly or to succeed with learning.  

Mark invested in the Westside community throughout his life in Chicago and sought many opportunities to bring young people into his work, whether in art, organizing, history, carpentry or gardening. This scholarship, which will be awarded annually in his name, continues that tradition. The recipients of the 209 Together scholarship programs receive funding to advance their education after high school, in a trade or college.

Established at Mark's memorial service as one of the two charities in Mark’s memory, The Awesome Foundation Chicago Chapter is awarding 10 grants for $1,000 each (until the funds are exhausted) in memory of Mark in addition to the foundation’s regular monthly grantmaking. The Awesome Foundation Chicago funds a breadth of social justice, arts, technology, and creatively interesting work in Chicago and the surrounding community. Please visit the Awesome Foundation website to find out more and apply for funding. There are Awesome chapters all over the world as well! It is a privilege to have this organization host the fund in Mark’s memory.
 

Two of ten grants have been funded to date:

Austin Gallery Public Art Project 

Demand Justice

During the pandemic, there were several events during the summer and fall to raise money, garner food donations and raise the spirits of our community in memory of Mark. On Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, Michelle organized Porch photos in exchange for donations of shelf-stable food items for the Forest Park Food Pantry, which was very successful. In August, neighbors from near and far, gave whatever donation they could afford in exchange for the numerous garden tools that Mark had collected over the years, and the chance to dig up plants in Michelle and Mark’s backyard (you may know that Mark especially enjoyed trading plants with any gardener!). This event raised $750 for the Forest Park Food Pantry, and in December, a similar event that offered posters from Mark’s very large collection raised $1500 for the Food Pantry.