2020 Chicago Public Library Foundation Awards Celebration

CHICAGO – Chicago Public Library and the Chicago Public Library Foundation brought
together more than 1,400 viewers—and counting-- for its virtual fundraising event, raising $1.25
million for the Foundation and initiatives of the Library. Celebrated journalist and nonfiction
writer Isabel Wilkerson accepted the 2020 Carl Sandburg Literary Award. Her newest book,
Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents, is a New York Times bestseller and Oprah’s Book Club
pick that the New York Times has called “an instant American classic and the keynote nonfiction
book of the American century thus far.”

In a moving and timely conversation with journalist Scott Simon, Wilkerson noted that Chicago
holds special significance for her career. “Chicago is where I worked on The Warmth of Other
Suns,” shared Wilkerson. “Carl Sandburg was a reporter in Chicago before he became a
renowned poet, and he was one of the first people to write about the great migration as it was
unfolding in Chicago. To discover Sandburg’s connection to the great migration just felt so
karmic and beautiful. I am so very grateful for this award.”

Poet, performer, and educator Nate Marshall accepted the 21st Century Award, which honors
significant recent achievements in writing by an author with ties to Chicago. Marshall is a fixture
in Chicago’s literary scene, an associate professor of English at Colorado College, and the
proud grandson of a Chicago Public Library librarian who he recalls always “put books in my
hands.” His poetry books, FINNA and Wild Hundreds, have garnered critical acclaim and a host
of literary awards. In his acceptance speech, Nate fondly recalled the central role Chicago
Public Library has played in his life. “From the Walker branch, where I’d thumb through science
fair project idea books to the Harold Washington where I would go as a kid to meet my mom, to
Woodson where I’d take the bus and learn how to fall in love with the archives in the Vivian G.
Harsh Research Center.”

Donna LaPietra, one of Chicago’s most energetic and creative leaders, received the Inaugural
Civic Award. The Civic Award celebrates the leaders whose work significantly contributes to the
strength and vitality of our great city. A longtime producer and Emmy Award winner, LaPietra
was instrumental in the creation of Millennium Park as Chairman of the Millennium Park
Foundation Board. She is active on the boards of several civic organizations, including the
Library Foundation, Navy Pier, the Joffrey Ballet, Steppenwolf Theatre, Shedd Aquarium,
Chicago Botanic Garden, and more. As executive producer of Kurtis Productions, LaPietra has
lent her creative expertise in pro bono work with a host of nonprofits. “How lucky would I be to
find my way to so many nonprofit organizations where at their soul is volunteerism and at their
heart is a vital mission to serve. They keep the lifeblood of the total social fabric pumping,”
Donna said in a heartfelt message.

Bill Kurtis served as emcee with Scott Simon leading an onstage conversation with Isabel
Wilkerson.

It is such an honor to celebrate some of the greatest creative minds of our time, and we are so
grateful to everyone who participated in the event,” said Library Foundation President Brenda
Langstraat. “In this year of complexity and change, the library connects all of us. It bridges
communities and welcomes us to enter as we are. The Library Foundation will activate the
funds raised to directly impact the lives of thousands of library patrons in every neighborhood.”
For the first time in its history, the Library Foundation Awards was reimagined for a virtual world.

This format allows the Library Foundation to fulfill a longstanding mission to align their signature event more closely with the Library’s commitment to free and open access to learning
experiences.

If you missed the broadcast or want to relive the historic evening, you can watch the program at:
cplfoundationawards.org.

About the Chicago Public Library Foundation Awards Presentation
Produced by Chicago Public Library and the Chicago Public Library Foundation, the Chicago
Public Library Foundation Awards is an annual fundraising event that generates crucial
support for responsive and lifelong learning initiatives accessible through the Library. Legendary
Chicago newscaster Bill Kurtis serves as host. The evening’s highlight is always the intimate
conversation with the Sandburg Award honoree led by best-selling author and National Public
Radio host Scott Simon.

The Carl Sandburg Literary Award recognizes the work of the world’s most heralded authors.
Prestigious past winners include Isabel Allende, Margaret Atwood, Judy Blume, Robert
Caro, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Don DeLillo, Roger Ebert, Dave Eggers, Henry Louis Gates,
Jr., Nikki Giovanni, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Walter Isaacson, Erik Larson, Michael Lewis,
David Mamet, George R. R. Martin, David McCullough, Larry McMurtry, Toni Morrison,
Joyce Carol Oates, Salman Rushdie, Stephen Sondheim, Mavis Staples, Scott Turow,
John Updike, Kurt Vonnegut, Alice Walker, and Tom Wolfe.

About the Honorees

Inaugural Civic Award honoree
Donna LaPietra
The Civic Award celebrates the leaders whose work significantly contributes to the strength and vitality of our great city. There are few Chicagoans more deserving of this inaugural award. As one of Chicago’s most energetic and creative civic leaders, Donna LaPietra is in a class of her own
when it comes to telling stories that capture the imagination. A longtime producer and Emmy Award winner, LaPietra was instrumental in the creation of Millennium Park as Chairman of the Millennium Park Foundation Board. She is active on the boards of several civic organizations, including the Library Foundation, Navy Pier, the Joffrey Ballet, Steppenwolf, Shedd Aquarium, Chicago Botanic Garden, and more. As executive producer of Kurtis Productions, LaPietra has lent her creative expertise in pro bono work with a host of nonprofits. LaPietra also is an avid gardener and land conservationist, having created both a formal garden and natural prairie in the northern suburbs of Chicago that is featured in The Garden Conservancy Directory.
Learn more about Donna LaPietra’s contributions to the Chicago area by reading this profile in
the Tribune and exploring her generous, longtime support of Chicago’s cultural and educational
organizations spotlighted here and here.

21st Century Award honoree
Nate Marshall
An admired fixture in Chicago’s literary scene, and with his star rising worldwide, Nate Marshall is an author, poet, playwright, performer, educator, and rapper. Born and raised on the South Side, he is also the proud grandson of a Chicago Public Library librarian who he recalls always “put books in my hands.” His first book, Wild Hundreds, was the Black Caucus of the American
Library Association’s Poetry Book of the Year and received The Great Lakes College Association’s New Writer Award. The Chicago Tribune calls his new book, FINNA, “full of precision andexuberance, elegance and rollicking good humor.” Among his many roles, Marshall is an assistant professor of English at Colorado College and an editor of The BreakBeat Poets: New American Poetry in the Age of Hip-Hop. He co-wrote the play No Blue Memories: The Life of Gwendolyn Brooks with Dr. Eve L. Ewing, the Library Foundation’s 21st Century Award winner in 2019. He and Ewing also co-direct Crescendo Literary, a partnership that develops community-engaged arts events and educational resources as a form of cultural organizing.

Learn more about Nate Marshall by watching this NPR Author Interview with Scott Simon,
reading this Chicago Tribune profile, or listening to a poetry reading on Poetry & Writers.

Carl Sandburg Literary Award honoree
Isabel Wilkerson
Isabel Wilkerson, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Humanities Medal, is the author of the New York Times bestsellers Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents and The Warmth of Other Suns.Her thoughtful, lyrical, and deeply researched work provides insights into America’s history and the divides that linger today—and opens new possibilities for moving forward. Her new book, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents, was published in August 2020 to critical acclaim, with Dwight Garner of The New York Times calling it, “An instant American classic” and Oprah choosing it for her monthly book club pick. Wilkerson’s work was also featured as part of the Library’s city-wide One Book, One Chicago program: her debut book, The Warmth of Other Suns, was the 2013/14 selection. It went on to win the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Heartland Prize for Nonfiction, the Anisfield-Wolf Award for Nonfiction, the Lynton History Prize from Harvard and Columbia universities, the Stephen Ambrose Oral History Prize, and was shortlisted for both the Pen-Galbraith Literary Award and the Dayton Literary Peace Prize.

Learn more about Isabel Wilkerson by watching this recent interview with Trevor Noah of the
Daily Show, reading this review of Caste in the New Yorker, or watching her 2017 TED Talk
about the great migration.

Presenting Sponsor

BMO Harris Bank is the Presenting Sponsor of the 2020 Chicago Public Library Foundation
Awards.

About Us
Since 1873, the Chicago Public Library (CPL) has offered lifelong learners free & equal access
to information, entertainment, and resources through innovative services and cutting-edge
technology. Throughout its 81 locations, the Library provides connections to rich and diverse
collections of materials—both physical and digital—in addition to high-quality, engaging
programming, such as CPL's annual Summer Learning Challenge for children and teens. For
more information on library services and locations, please call (312) 747-4300 or visit
chipublib.org.
Established in 1986, the Chicago Public Library Foundation (CPLF) is an independent
nonprofit that exists to accelerate the potential of our public library by investing in resources that
transform lives and communities. For more than 30 years, we have connected individuals and
corporations, neighborhood organizations, and City agencies committed to building a stronger
and more equitable Chicago. Together, we make pathways to learning, creativity, and civic
engagement accessible to Chicagoans of all ages through investment across three funding
priority areas: Closing the Academic Opportunity Gap; Sparking Creativity & Connection for All;
and Bridging the Digital Divide. Find us online at www.cplfoundation.org.