The Heart of Community Hospital with Carlis Sutton

Overview of "Echoes of Evanston: The Soul of Community Hospital"

“Echoes of Evanston: The Soul of Community Hospital” is a multi-part creative collaboration that explores the often overlooked history of the Evanston Sanitarium, later known as Community Hospital. This institution served the Black community on Chicago's North Shore from 1914 to 1980.

Through this series, Evanston Rules shares the untold stories of pioneering Black physicians, healthcare teams, and patients who faced healthcare challenges during racial segregation. In-depth interviews were conducted with community members who experienced Community Hospital firsthand.

This “Echoes of Evanston” project is supported by Healing Illinois, a racial healing initiative of the Illinois Department of Human Services and the Field Foundation of Illinois. Evanston Rules partnered with Northlight Theatre to bring these conversations to life. Northlight Theatre Artistic Fellow Tor Campbell transformed material from these interviews into an evening of dramatic readings, presented at Northlight Theatre for an invited audience.

Episode Featuring Carlis Sutton

In our first episode, we feature Carlis Sutton, a living encyclopedia of Evanston's Black history. Carlis recounts the vibrant and thriving community that existed before integration. He shares his extensive knowledge about historical institutions like Community Hospital, which played a crucial role in serving the Black community when other hospitals refused them care.

Carlis not only shares his own history but also the stories of those who came before him, providing rich insights into why the Fifth Ward has become less recognizable over the years. A member of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity, Carlis is a lifelong Evanstonian who attended Foster Elementary School, Haven Middle School, and Evanston Township High School. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Arkansas AM&N College (now the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff), a master’s degree in education from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and a J.D. from Texas Southern University. He has taught in the Chicago Public Schools system and taught Sunday School at Second Baptist Church of Evanston, where he was ordained as a deacon in 1972.

His storytelling offers a profound understanding of the changes and challenges faced by the community. Discover the special history of Evanston in this episode and those that follow, as we delve deep into the unique and vibrant lives that shaped it.