The breakfast club
by Joel CunninghamThe Heartland Café, located at 7000 N. Glenwood Ave. in Rogers Park, certainly isn't the kind of place you'd expect to be an outlet for enacting social change. After all, it is just a restaurant, right?
However, that appearance changes every Saturday morning from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., when the restaurant plays host to Live at the Heartland Café, a multifaceted community radio program broadcast of WLUW 88.7 FM, the station run by Loyola University Chicago.
Live from the Heartland is a free format program that features everything from musical performances to community activism. Each week, the café welcomes a guest, usually a community leader or activist.
Radio equipment crowds one corner of the performance area, and a small crowd gathers, adding some hustle and bustle to early morning at the cafe.
Meg Arbeiter, co-host of the show since May 1997 and a former Loyola student, has a very clear idea of what the goals of the production are.
"We definitely try to focus on issues pertaining to social change," said Arbeiter. "The trick is not just to conduct an informative interview or presentation, but to challenge guests to engage the audience is a vision for change."
The format varies from week to week, but recent guests include Studs Turkel and Congresswoman Janice D. Schakowsky.
Arbeiter, as a social activist since her youth, was drawn to the idea of a show that sought to cater beyond the usual breed of community activists.
"We wanted to do more than preach to the choir, the usual young, white, well-educated progressives," said Arbeiter. "It is said that there are two kinds of activists: born activists and burnt out activists. We want to appeal to a new breed."
A daunting task, to be sure, but it seems that the program has found its fans. Craig Kois, station manager at WLUW, is very proud of what has been accomplished by the Heartland show. "It really is the flagship program for WLUW," said Kois.
Audience member Matt Altmier, 23, a graduate student from Rogers Park, described the experience in more personal terms.
"I haven't attended a whole lot but it is always a great time," said Altmier. "I love the atmosphere, and I really feel like the [producers and hosts] are doing some great work for the community."
The atmosphere of the café is an important part of the show for co-host Arbeiter. "First of all, Rogers Park is one of the most diverse communities in Chicago," said Arbeiter. "Holding the show there seems very appropriate."
"Also, there is just something in the urgency of a live show that seems analogous to the social change movement," said Altmier.
When it isn't holding court for a glut of community leaders, the Heartland Café is open for dining. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are served daily, and the Buffalo Bar features a selection as diverse as the audience for Live from the Heartland.
PHOTOS:
A view from the outside of the Heartland Cafe.
Host Michael James and guest Shawn Campbell doing a show at the Heartland Cafe.
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