Blues Bus-Maxwell Street Project – A project of the Maxwell Street Foundation.
- Article about the Blues Bus-Maxwell Street Project by Bob Chiarito in Blockclub Chicago, March 2, 2021
- List of members of the Project Advisory Council
Tiff Beatty, Program Director of Arts, Culture and Public Policy for the National Public Housing Museum. She was former Director of Programming for the Chicago Humanities Festival. Tiff is a spoken word artist, emcee, educator, and the founder of Art Is Bonfire, an ongoing seasonal monthly cypher for poets and culture workers at Promontory Point Park, last Sundays, June through September.
Yolanda Bermudez, journalist, singer, member of the Preservation Committee of St. Francis of Assisi Church (still in the Maxwell Street neighborhood). Her and her family were key in the miracle of saving this Church.
Toronzo Cannon, Blues Musician (with roots in Maxwell St.), Alligator Records Recording artist.
Richard Darga, Dean of the Library and Instructional Services at Chicago State University (CSU). It is in the Gwendolyn Brooks Library at CSU that one of the primary Maxwell Street Archives sits and is managed. He has had extensive experience in K-12 environments and in China, Vietnam, and Poland.
Paul Durica, Director of Exhibitions at the Newberry Library. Host of the radio show: A Pocket Guide to Hell on WLPN-FM, focusing on Chicago History in the realms of True Crime, Social Justice, Labor History, and Peanuts. He is a pioneer in the field of Public History and gives tours, talks, and creates reenactments.
Aaisha Haykal, Manager of Archival Services at the Avery Research Center at College of Charleston (South Carolina). Her research areas are in community archives, Black religious history, digital humanities/projects, and Black literature. She has had leadership roles within the Society of American Archivists and the Association for the Study of African American Life and History.
Lori “Low-reen” Lewis. Blues Musician (with roots in Maxwell St.), student of David “Honeyboy” Edwards, leader of the Maxwell St Market Blues Band, Chicago Blues Hall of Fame inductee-2015, founding member & director of Friends of Chicago Blues, founding member & director of the Windy City Blues Society, Co-founder of the Chicago Blues Camp.
Brian Mier is co-editor at Brasil Wire and editor of the book “Year of Lead: Washington, Wall Street and the New Imperialism in Brazil.” Founded in 2014, Brasil Wire provides news, analysis, culture, documentary and discourse on Brasil in English. He is also a correspondent for teleSur English. Brian has lived in Brazil for the past 25 years.
Alfonso Morales, Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor at the University of Wisconsin Dept. of Planning and Landscape Architecture (in Madison), also State Extension Specialist – Food Systems and Marketplaces. Dr. Morales wrote his Ph.D. dissertation at Northwestern University, on the topic of Maxwell St. .
Paul Petraitis, Blues Musician (with roots in Maxwell St.) and historian, resident in Pullman.
Coy Pugh, Democratic politician, minister, and businessman. He was in Illinois House of Representatives from the 10th District from 1993 to 2001. He is a minister in the Methodist denomination obtaining a Master’s in Theology degree from the University of Chicago. He operates a consulting firm: Coy Pugh & Associates.
Patrick T. Reardon, journalist and Chicago historian, author of: The Loop: The ‘L’ Tracks That Shaped and Saved Chicago.
David R. Roediger, Foundation Distinguished Professor of American Studies in the Department of History at The University of Kansas and author of the new book: The Sinking Middle Class – A Political History.
Byung In-Seo, Professor of Education at Chicago State University. She has researched and taught secondary-level pre-service teachers how to bridge the literacy learning divide across content areas: humanities, STEM, Physical Education, Music, and Visual Arts. Dr. Seo’s research focuses specifically on the combination of Humanities and STEM education.
Larry Spivack, President of the Illinois Labor History Society, former Regional Director for AFSCME Council 31 in Illinois.
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Advisers also include the Board of Directors and the Advisory Council of the Maxwell Street Foundation.
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