Last Thursday, the Invisible Institute, a program of Experimental Station, hosted law professor and author Ralph Richard Banks for a conversation about his recent book "Is Marriage for White People?". We had about 90 people filling up the Big Room to hear Mr. Banks' ideas and discuss the issues, including Chicago Tribune reporter, Dawn Turner Trice. Her article is here. Thanks to everyone who came out and participated!

Please join The Invisible Institute at the Experimental Station this Thursday evening, October 27, at 7pm for a public conversation with Ralph Richard Banks, author of Is Marriage for White People?: How the African American Marriage Decline Affects Everyone, and Steve Edwards of Chicago Public Radio.

The Invisible Institute is a Chicago-based journalistic production company. A small core staff works with a far-flung network of collaborators who combine in different configurations as required for particular projects.

The projects of the Invisible Institute cohere around a central theme. We seek to enlarge the sphere of permissible discourse by resisting the forces that disappear certain issues, individuals, and populations.

That, then, is one meaning of our name: we work to keep visible fellow citizens and fundamental questions threatened with invisibility.

Another is that we are determined to remain lean and agile, in order to focus on the quality of our working relationships and the conditions required for robust, searching public conversation about difficult issues.

Past Stories and Events:

On October 2, 2009, Chicago lost its bid to produce and host the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. Now, one year later, the story of the battle for the bid will help frame the relevant issues unfolding in Chicago as we prepare to pick our next mayor.
Join us at Experimental Station Tuesday, October 12 at 7pm, when three of the lead organizers for No Games Chicago—Tom Tresser, Bob Quellos and Martin Macias, Jr—will tell their stories of what happened and will reflect on the lessons they learned. The audience will be invited to comment and ask questions. The intent is to engage in a conversation about what larger lessons we can take from this battle for the bid and how that might inform the activist and political landscapes.

The Experimental Station and Invisible Institute hosted "Singled Out," WBEZ's discussion of racial fairness and juvenile justice moderated by WBEZ hosts Richard Steele, Allison Cuddy, and Steve Edwards. Click here to see see a video of some of the evening's comments, as well as thoughts from attendee and Senior Editor of In These Times, Salim Muwakkil.

The Invisible Institute, a program of the Experimental Station, is honored to present Michelle Alexander in a public conversation about her book The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. Chicago Public Radio's Steve Edwards will lead a discussion of Professor Alexander's book, which will be available for purchase. The event will take place on Wednesday, February 24, at 7pm. It is free, open to the public, and wheelchair accessible.

We invite you to an event presented by the Invisible Institute, a program of the Experimental Station.

On Wednesday, June 18, at 7:00 pm, Bryon Mealer, the author of All Things Must Fight to Live: Stories of War and Deliverance in Congo, will give a reading at the Experimental Station (home of the Invisible Institute), 6100 S. Blackstone. (For a description of the book: http://www.bryanmealer.com) Refreshments will be served. I hope you will join us.

Ever wonder why some things just don't get the coverage you think they deserve in Chicago's media? Come hear award-winning media professionals talk about the challenges and efficacy of writing on human rights abuses in our city.