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Vol. VII No. 28
Maywood celebrates Northica Stone, keeper of local history
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JUNE 28, 2023
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Village ceremony honors influential leader during Juneteenth celebration By ELIZABETH SHORT Contributing Reporter
On June 17, Maywood residents gathered to rename a street in memory of local leader Northica Hillery Stone, who died in 2018. The ceremony was held at the intersection of 5th and St. Charles Road, now known as Northica Hillery Stone Way, and was part of the village’s Juneteenth celebration. Stone was the executive director of Operation Uplift, Inc., a nonprofit organization in Maywood founded by Stone’s husband, George E. Stone, in 1968. Operation Uplift offers job training and counseling. The organization was also responsible for implementing some of the first affirmative action programs in the area, including those at Jewel, Nicor, and IlSee LOCAL HISTORY on page 5
TODD BANNOR
Soup and Bread event in Forest Park raises money for local food pantries. Story on page 5.
Freedom School rings with history and advocacy Broadview’s summer program has Freedom Summer roots By AMARIS E. RODRIGUEZ Staff Reporter
Lindop School District 92 has launched the “Broadview Freedom School” for the summer with the help of a state grant as
the state of Illinois creates the first statefunded Freedom Schools network. The six-week summer program began June 1 and is modeled after Freedom Schools, which date back to the 1960s in Mississippi as part of the Freedom Summer civil rights project. The goal today is to educate students about social change. In March 2022, the Illinois State Board of Education announced a $17 million grant to develop the first state-funded Freedom School network through the
Phillip Jackson Freedom Schools Grant. The goal of the Freedom School model is to provide research-based, multicultural curriculum during the summer to help improve outcomes for low-income students and students of color. Janiece Jackson, Lindop’s superintendent, said the district noticed the proposal for bringing Freedom Schools into the public sector and decided the lessons See LINDOP SCHOOL on page 4