Signature Event: Running Tour of Brown in the Windy City

Run or bike with author Dr. Lilia Fernández inspired her book, Brown in the Windy City: Mexicans and Puerto Ricans in Postwar Chicago. About the event: Join Read & Run Chicago, the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant & Refugee Rights (ICIRR), and Dr. Lilia Fernández at Pilsen Community Books ((1531 W 18th) on Sunday, October 25 at 10:00 AM for a 4-mile running tour or biking tour (s/o BFF Bikes!) of Brown in the Windy City: Mexicans and Puerto Ricans in Postwar Chicago as part of our Fall 2026 Signature Events Season, “Chicago Between the Lines.” After the route, enjoy snacks, social time, and book sales at Pilsen Community Books. A portion of tickets sales will be donated to ICIRR. Schedule • 9:45 AM – Gather at Pilsen Community Books (1531 W 18th) • 10:00 AM – Program begins • 10:10 AM – Running and biking tour routes begin • 12:00 PM – Snacks, book sales, and social time at Pilsen Community Books (1531 W 18th) No Pre-Reading: This is a signature event (a Read & Run Chicago event using the original Read & Run Tours format) called a Running Tour, which means there's no pre-reading required! You'll have the chance to purchase the book after the tour. Meet your hosts Read & Run Chicago is a community organization managed under Read & Run Tours. Founded in 2021, the mission is simple: to use movement and stories to explore Chicago. Programming includes free community meetups like book swaps and reading nights, plus the signature Read & Run Tours event format we’re most known for: book-themed guided runs where stories take place, all inspired by books set in Chicago, mostly written by local authors. Read & Run Chicago’s ultimate goal is to help Chicagoans better connect with themselves, each other, and the physical spaces they call home. Along the way, Read & Run Chicago champions literacy initiatives, local nonprofits, public libraries, independent bookstores, and the writers who bring Chicago’s communities to life. We’ve hosted over 120 events featuring 30+ authors and local experts and have been highlighted by CNN, Runner’s World, Midwest Living, NBC’s Chicago Today, FOX32 Good Day Chicago, WGN Radio, Block Club Chicago, and more. More information at readandrunchicago.com, Instagram, and Facebook. Lilia Fernández is a historian of Latinos in the mid-to-late 20th century United States with a focus on Chicago. Her first book, Brown in the Windy City: Mexicans and Puerto Ricans in Postwar Chicago, documented the migration and settlement of these two populations in the city’s central neighborhoods and the communities they formed. She has published various essays, articles, and book chapters that span urban history, labor and working-class dynamics, and educational activism. Currently, she is working on a book manuscript that continues examining Latino Chicago history, especially its class dynamics, industrial workers, and cross-ethnic activism and expressions of solidarity.