History Speaks Lecture Series

Naper Settlement’s History Speaks Lecture Series showcases a variety of prominent historical figures and topics. 

Location & Registration

History Speaks lectures are currently being held virtually on Zoom until further notice.  Online pre-registration is required. Registrants will receive a Zoom invitation with information on how to access the virtual lecture prior to the event. Please note: only 100 spaces are available per lecture on a first-come, first-served basis. 

Not Quite: Asian Americans and the “Other” in the Era of the Pandemic and the Uprising

April 29, 2021, 7-8 PM |  Free Lecture

This FREE virtual lecture on Zoom is led by Ada Cheng, a professor-turned-storyteller, solo performer, and storytelling show producer. She was a tenured professor in sociology at DePaul University from 2001-2016, a job she left to pursue storytelling and performance full time. This presentation is supported by Illinois Humanities.

This presentation encompasses a storytelling performance and a facilitated dialogue. Cheng will tell personal stories that reflect both the historical status of Asian Americans as well as the impact of current major crises facing us, particularly the rising anti-Asian violence under the pandemic. The stories will address the following concepts:

• Having citizenship is different from having a sense of home in the United States.
• Othering immigrants of color through institutionalized practices, processes, and mechanisms.
• How we reproduce inequalities through individual practices in addition to structural inequities.
• The importance of intersectionality, such as the connection among gender, race, class, sexuality, immigration, and citizenship.
• Historical and rising anti-Asian racism under the Pandemic as well as the necessity for cross-racial solidarity and alliance-building.

Illinois Humanities is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the Illinois General Assembly [through the Illinois Arts Council Agency (IACA)], as well as by contributions from individuals, foundations, and corporations. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed by speakers, program participants, or audiences do not necessarily reflect those of the NEH, Illinois Humanities, IACA, their partnering organizations, or their funders.

This lecture is on Zoom, and registration is required. Registrants will receive a Zoom invitation with information on how to access the virtual lecture prior to the event. Only 100 spaces are available per lecture on a first-come, first-served basis.

L. Sue Baugh received her BA from the University of Iowa, her MFA from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and has edited and written history materials for several major publishers. Her talk was inspired by the recently uncovered story of her family's World War II experiences in the U.S. Navy Codebreakers Unit and in the Philippines during the Japanese occupation.

The Codebreaker and the POW: A Family Legacy of WWII

May 26, 2021, 7-8 PM |  $10 per person.
All sales are final. All events and prices are subject to change without notice.

In 1942, one of the darkest years of WWII, Lt. Charles Baugh became a Navy codebreaker in Washington, D.C. His father, Richmond Baugh, was taken prisoner on Corregidor Island in the Philippines and spent 2.5 years in a Japanese POW camp. In this gripping family saga, Ms. Baugh recounts the heroic work of military and civilian codebreakers, and the brutal struggle to liberate the Philippine Islands.

L. Sue Baugh received her BA from the University of Iowa, her MFA from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and has edited and written history materials for several major publishers. Her talk was inspired by the recently uncovered story of her family's World War II experiences in the U.S. Navy Codebreakers Unit and in the Philippines during the Japanese occupation.