We moved to Oak Park as the pandemic lockdown began in gloom. But we spied delight in the lively Wednesday Journal. And on page 3 we found an exciting welcome to the village and its region through the articles of Michael Romain.
His ideas stimulated us from our isolation with his analyses on crucial national issues using the latest research and his wide net of regional informants. He also gave us newcomers a sense of place as he related issues locally, such as the loss of Oak Park’s Black neighborhood of the early 1900s and stories about his grandfather and his father in Oak Park, and his Black church in Maywood.
With the pandemic lifting, we had hoped to attend public speeches given by Michael Romain. We wanted to sit down over a cup of coffee and hear his view on what we should be doing to make our community better. We are bereft that he has gone unheralded.
Bill & Jane Ann Moore
Retired co-pastors, United Church of Christ, members of Pilgrim Congregational UCC, authors-editors of books on Owen Lovejoy
