‘It’s hard to throw a party about race and poverty,” said Alysia Tate, editor and publisher of the Chicago Reporter. Somehow, the investigative monthly managed to do it at a benefit featuring the paintings of Sister Gertrude Morgan at Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art on Milwaukee Avenue. The “Bold Voices” benefit paired two outsiders: an African-American artist who used canvas, window shades, even Styrofoam, to convey powerful messages of inspiration, and an independent publication that strives to strike that delicate balance between conscience and crusade. “They both share a passion for justice,” said Dr. Calvin Morris, executive director of the Community Renewal Society, which publishes the Reporter. Another bold voice was that of NBC investigative reporter Renee Ferguson, who rushed over to Intuit on what she said was “a huge day in our newsroom” to remind guests of the Reporter’s importance to Chicago. “The Reporter’s style is unique, not replicated anywhere in this city,” she said. “Telling the story of the invisible is the most important thing a journalist can do. Nobody does it better, and most of the time when I open it up I’m terribly jealous and wish that I had done that story.”
