‘Beauty is Remembered’

Who are the heroes of your neighborhood?

In this episode of Out of the Archives, we honor the legacy of Ms. Beauty Turner, a mother, journalist, historian, and community activist who lived in Chicago’s Robert Taylor Homes for over a decade.

Listen to Larry Turner, the son of Ms. Beauty, and other former Robert Taylor residents discuss the community’s complex and rich history, and share why neighborhood heroes like Beauty are critical to public housing communities.

Content Notes: This episode discusses themes of death/dying, drug use, state-sanctioned displacement, and houselessness.

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Narrators: Larry Turner, Troy Gaston, Patricia Porter, Betty Thompson, Richard Morgan. Excerpts of Ms. Beauty Turner are from Dislocation (Sundhir Venkatesh, 2005) and Interrupt the Pipeline (Flavian Prince and Daniel Rudin, 2009). 

Larry and Troy’s interviews are also curated in episode 22 and episode 16 respectively. 

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Sources and additional reading/watching

Sundhir Venkatesh, Dislocation (2005): https://vimeo.com/505211639

Flavian Prince and Daniel Rudin, Interrupt the Pipeline (2009): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOJ8om06PU4

Nuri Medina II, Englewood Enterprise Gallery Dec. 6, 2017 Show, Chicago Access Network Television (2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0ksh7OHUjY

Beauty Turner, “GHETTO Bus Tour” (2007, Associated Press Archive): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKoTEH3ya2Y

Mick Dumke, “Chicago Claims Its 22-Year ‘Transformation’ Plan Revitalized 25,000 Homes. The Math Doesn’t Add Up” (2002, ProPublica); Accessed: https://www.propublica.org/article/chicago-housing-authority-hud-transformation-plan

When the Market Isn’t an Option Zine Vol. II & III: “Public Housing Disinvestment” and “Public Housing Deterioration” (2021–2022, National Public Housing Museum): https://nphm.org/listen/activating-the-archive/when-the-market-isnt-an-option-zine-series

Beauty Turner’s Blog: https://beautysghettobustours.blogspot.com/

Samantha Chatman and Maggie Green, “Chicago affordable housing wait can take years as city, CHA face severe shortage,” (May 2023, ABC 7 Chicago), accessed: https://abc7chicago.com/affordable-housing-chicago-cha-section-8-portal/13232375/

D. B. Hunt (2001). “What went wrong with public housing in chicago? A history of the Robert Taylor Homes”. Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society, 94(1), 96. Retrieved from: https://flagship.luc.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/what-went-wrong-with-public-housing-chicago/docview/232489901/se-2

Kenya Barbara,”The Plan for Transformation: How a plan with lofty goals has underperformed and forever changed public housing in Chicago,” Public Interest Law Reporter vol. 24 (2018). Accessed at: https://lawecommons.luc.edu/pilr/vol24/iss1/13

Chicago Housing Authority, Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, Fiscal Year 2023, accessed at: https://www.thecha.org/sites/default/files/2024-11/2023AnnualComprehensiveFinancialReport_12.23_BudgetandFinance.pdf

Dan Baum, “Legalize It All: How to win the war on drugs,” Harper’s Magazine (April 2016), accessed at: https://harpers.org/archive/2016/04/legalize-it-all

“City of Chicago 2024 Point-in-Time Count and Survey Report of People Experiencing Homelessness,” prepared by the Nathalie P. Voorhees Center for Neighborhood & Community Improvement, University of Illinois Chicago, oversight by the Department of Family and Support Services, accessed at: https://www.chicago.gov/content/dam/city/depts/fss/supp_info/Homeless/2024-Homeless-Point-In-Time-Count-Report/2024_PIT_Report_FINAL.pdf