Smile Politely

Local Artist’s Comic Book Explores Race Relations in C-U

The public is invited to a discussion of A Place in Time, a 24-page comic book by artist Kevin Hamilton, on Wednesday, February 27, 2013 at 7:00 PM at the Champaign County Historical Archives located in the Urbana Free Library (210 West Green Street, Urbana). Hamilton will discuss the project, created with the support of an Urbana Arts Grant, which relates the history of Urbana as the setting for a singular evening in 1968, when a unique national television broadcast originated at the University of Illinois. 

There in the South Lounge, before a large live audience, local activist John Lee Johnson helped turn a “town hall” style meeting about campus political unrest to a critical examination of local race relations in Champaign and Urbana. 

The comic book combines images based on this footage with other historical materials to tell a short story hundreds of years in the making.

Free copies of this book will be available (while supplies last) at various locations in Urbana and Champaign, including the Douglass Branch of the Champaign Library, the Independent Media Center, and the Champaign County Historical Archives at the Urbana Free Library. High School students at University High School and Urbana High School may secure copies at their school libraries. 

For more information, contact Kevin Hamilton ([email protected]) or see the artist’s website (www.complexfields.org).

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