Photo: ( left to right) Rich Township Supervisor Calvin Jordan, State Senator Michael Hastings, Matteson Village Trustee Adam Shorter, Matteson Mayor Sheila Chalmers-Currin, Matteson Village Clerk Yumeka Brown, Olympia Fields Park Commissioner Lori Jordan, Representative Debbie Meyers-Martin, Red Star Restaurant Co-Owner Cliff Taylor, and Taylor Media CEO Michael Taylor
Calvin Jordan-Rich Township Committeeman and Democratic Committeeman-were joined by Matteson Mayor Sheila Chalmers-Currin, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, State Representative Debbie Meyers-Martin, Senator Michael Hastings, Rich Township Board of Trustees, and South Suburban Mayors as they honored hundreds of “Senior Mothers” for their contributions and sacrifices in bringing forth diversity in Southern Cook County.
Rich Township Committeeman and Supervisor Calvin Jordan felt compelled to assemble these women who broke ground and lifted racial barriers in southern Cook County that have now blossomed into opportunities, housing, enhanced education, and business development for thousands of people of color.
“Southern Cook County is now considered the mecca for opportunities for people of color. But it was the women who are now over 70 years of age who sacrificed so much to foster a more diverse culture where people of color could feel more comfortable in raising their families,” says Committeeman Jordan.
With the evolution of diversity came the election of women to powerful offices throughout the southland. In 2018, the residents of the Village of Matteson elected its first woman as Mayor of the nearly thirty thousand resident town.
“As elected women of color, we must always pay tribute to the women before us who paved our way. This luncheon would not have taken place 40 years ago. We have come so far. This is such a historic event.” says Illinois State Representative Debbie Meyers-Martin.
“I am so blessed to have benefited from the strong women who came before me. While in many cases they lacked the foundation to run for elected office, they remained strong and determined to continue their fight for equality. It was on their backs that I was elected as Mayor. I will always be humbled and grateful for their undying efforts and experiences. says Matteson Mayor Sheila Chalmers-Currin.
Matteson Village Clerk and current candidate for the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Yumeka Brown adds, ” As a younger elected official I am totally grateful, honored, and blessed to be in the same room with these champions of racial diversity. I am proud to be counted among the hundreds of women here in attendance. I’m just as energized as ever to serve the people of Cook County.”
The afternoon was filled with food, fun, laughter, and reflection. The government of Rich Township honored countless women who have had much to do with the upward mobility of people of color throughout the southland. The popular Red Star restaurant of Matteson offered an array of dishes to the pleasure of hundreds of groundbreaking seniors in attendance.
Adam Shorter and Cliff Taylor are the owners of the Red Star Restaurant. We must now pave the same path for the next generation of young women as these pioneers have done for us. I truly believe that there are future female U.S presidents somewhere in a grade school or high school class right now in Rich Township. I am a firm believer that what’s to come, will be even much better than what’s been. says Rich Township Trustee Jackie Small.
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