SEASON 4 | EPISODE 1

Donna Penn Towns- Soul of Evanston: The Soul of Community Hospital

“Echoes of Evanston: The Soul of Community Hospital” continues our multi-part creative collaboration exploring the often overlooked history of the Evanston Sanitarium, later known as Community Hospital which served the Black community on Chicago's North Shore from 1914 to 1980.

Dr. Donna Penn Towns talks about her father, Dr. Rudolph Penn, whose home became the heartbeat of health in Black Evanston, Community Hospital. She talks about life growing up in a home that was also a place for healing and the her father’s dedication to the people he served. An outspoken advocate for civil rights, Dr. Towns recounts how her dissatisfaction with race relations in America created a career pioneering new opportunities for people marginalized and overlooked by the educational system in this country.

Listen to understand.

 Podcast Editor: Karl T. Wright