Running Tour of Japanese-American History on Chicago's Near North Side
RSVP “Yes” on Pie first for a $5 discount code to use below.
Join Read & Run Chicago guide Chelsey Stone for a 4-mile, easy-paced (11:00 min/mile) guided running tour showcasing on the real-life Japanese-American history in Chicago that appears in Naomi Hirahara's young adult mystery novel, Clark and Division. In the novel, twenty-year-old protagonist Aki Ito and her family are resettled in Chicago in 1944 after being forcibly detained at Manzanar, much like thousands of other Japanese-Americans. After a terrible tragedy strikes their family, Aki desperately searches for answers around Chicago's Near North neighborhood.
Just like the novel, the bustling streets surrounding the real-life intersection of Clark and Divison in 1944 were lined with Japanese-American-owned businesses like barber shops, grocery stores, and restaurants. Today, there is almost no visible trace of this pivotal part of life for Japanese-American Chicagoans. Along this route built by stories, we'll honor the Near North's neighborhoods like Gold Coast, Old Town, and River North) Japanese-American roots as you stop at various points of interest related to both the novel and real-life history.
A real-life Japanese-American barber shop. Courtesy of Newberry Library.
After the route, enjoy social time with snacks and drinks while you hear a panel discussion with Japanese-American Chicagoans like Mary Doi of the Chicago Japanese American Historical Society.
No prior reading required. Copies of Naomi Hirahara's Clark and Division will be on sale at Slant of Light Books during the event or online anytime on Read & Run Tours's bookshop.org affiliate page.
Full event details and information listed here. All registered runners will receive reminder emails two days and four hours prior to the event.