More than 140 guests joined Beyond Belief's first event at the Newberry on April 18. Beyond Belief: Religion and Social Change in 1960s Chicago is a community-based project committed to hosting compelling and participatory public events to engage diverse audiences. Attendees reflected on Chicago's heritage of faith-based social activism through a multimedia presentation, participated in discussions with other members of the community, and shared a meal together.
“The opening event for Beyond Belief showed how deeply religious and spiritual traditions have shaped movements for social change in Chicago. Through music, storytelling, conversation, and a shared meal, participants reflected on the ways faith communities and moral imagination helped sustain struggles for justice in the 1960s, as well as how those histories continue to resonate today,” said Beyond Belief Project Director Karen Christianson.
Narrators Shermann "Dilla" Thomas and Liliana Macias introduced the various themes of social change of the period with readers Roderick Cox, Laurel Crown, and Jaime Rivera reciting selections from the orations of faith leaders agitating for social change in Chicago.
Attendees shared the stories of their lives in 1960s Chicago and thought about how the actions of the past could positively inform and improve our country today.
Attendee Jana Vander Lee commented on her experience, saying, "The pithy media montage tapped into the spirit of the 60s while the pertinent readings regarding those key issues: racial equality, women's rights, economic/political justice and educational reform then pivoted into us discussing today's challenges. The positive focus generated profound dialogue at our table, prompted by those guided questions, enabling us to delve into a deeper involvement."
Beyond Belief's next events, Faith, Connection, and Social Change in Black Chicago and Social Change, Faith, and the Making of Latino Chicago, will be featured at the 2026 American Writers Festival at the Harold Washington Library Center on June 7.
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