Jan 21

Jan 21 Unity Day

Chicago, Demonstrations, Performance, Public Declarations, Protest

During the last 23 months, anyone who inhabits Chicago’s downtown streets has witnessed: (i) demonstrators marching up and down Michigan Avenue carrying placards depicting graphic images of death and destruction; (ii) people standing in Jane Byrne Plaza or Millennium Park while the sounds of air-raid sirens blared or smoke oozed from flares; (iii) women in white dresses falling to the ground simulating death as imaginary bombs and missiles slam into equally imaginary apartment buildings and parks; (iv) children carrying dolls and figurines splattered with the make-believe blood of their parents and friends; (v) priests dressed in flowing garments accompanying a group carrying a large Ukrainian banner as a processional heads to Holy Name Cathedral; and an Ukrainian version of BTS performing K-pop numbers during a rally along Chicago’s Riverwalk. Those living west of downtown may have witnessed large groups of people spilling onto the street in front of Saints Volodymyr & Olha Ukrainian Catholic Church while listening to Governor J.B. Pritzker or former Mayor Lori Lightfoot speak to an enraptured assemblage.

Chicago’s Ukrainian Community has repeatedly taken to the city’s parks and streets showing support for the Ukrainian people as that embattled nation seeks to preserve its national identity from a Russian onslaught designed to eliminate Ukraine as a freestanding nation.

Today, members of Chicago’s Ukrainian Community came out once again to show their support for their compatriots on the frontlines that serve as a bulwark against tyranny. Community members gathered inside the Ukrainian Cultural Center (2247 West Chicago Avenue) to commemorate Ukrainian Unity Day, celebrating January 22, 1919, the day that western and eastern Ukraine came together as one united nation. Those holding positions of power in Moscow repeatedly have tried over the last century to substitute blood red for the vibrancy of blue and yellow.

There may have been a several vacant seats, but for the most part, all the tables in the Cultural Center’s main hall were filled with community members dressed in their Sunday finest. The celebration began at 1:00 PM, with cocktails and a bountiful table of hors d’oeuvres, followed by what looked like a spinach salad, Sicheniki—Ukrainian fried chicken breast—green beans dripping with melted butter, and red potatoes. I didn’t taste the dessert, but its deep red filling led me to believe it was a cherry turnover assembled using sheets of filo dough.

The formal program began before lunch was served, beginning with a traditional presentation of the colors. The honor guard included Ukrainian war veterans. All wore suits, except for a veteran from Ukraine, who was dressed in his battle fatigues. As is always the case, everyone joined in during the singing of the U.S. and Ukrainian National Anthems. By including the U.S. National Anthem, the community signified love of two countries.

Following the presentation of the colors, several officials and dignitaries offered remarks. While not the headliner, Congressman Mike Quigley (Il. 5th) delivered the day’s standout remarks. Quigley is always thoughtful, but he usually projects a low-key countenance, which is an endearing trait in a politician whose compatriots often prefer bombastic rhetoric and self-aggrandizement. While he was not screaming from the rafters, Quigley clearly needed to get a few things off his chest. He began with an applause line, proclaiming that “Today this war is more important to Ukraine and the United States as democracies then it was the first day.”

Quigley then spoke of America’s collective amnesia when it comes to World War II, telling the audience that Americans focus too much on the Normandy invasion and the relatively quick end to the war that followed. He then urged everyone to (re)watch Why We Fight, the legendary Frank Capra’s documentary about World War II. According to Capra, the United States fought because it could not stand by while other countries were wiped off the map. People of that era believed that the United States could never allow that to happen again. To Representative Quigley’s thinking, Capra’s documentary is just as pertinent today. The United States cannot allow Russia to annex Ukraine.

During his remarks, Quigley recounted traveling to Bucha, Ukraine, where the Russians massacred Ukrainian civilians and prisoners of war during the early days of the Russian-Ukrainian War. After recounting what he saw, Quigley repeated the Capra quote, “Never again.”

He then turned to the funding bill for Ukrainian, Israeli, and Taiwanese aid that is currently stalled in Congress. Quigley had seen Moscow’s talking point following the recent defeat of the bill. According to Quigley, President Vladimir Putin’s aim is not just the conquest of Kyiv, but also Moldova, Georgia, the Baltics—a land bridge—and then all of Eastern Europe. Quigley warned that Vladimir Putin is not the only autocrat watching whether the United States continues to standby Ukraine. “They’re watching in Tehran, they’re watching in Beijing, they’re watching in North Korea, and elsewhere wherever autocrats and tyrants reign.“ Quigley noted that the Secretary [of Defense] and leading generals believe that if the United States does not act now, there will be more bloodshed and a doubling of the U.S. defense budget.

As Quigley began to wrap up his remarks, he noted that he was not standing at a “political pulpit” in what is an election year. Nevertheless, he noted that in the weeks ahead, the Senate would send the House a bill combining aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan with legislation dealing with the U.S.’s southern border. Quigley noted that Speaker of the House Mike Johnson has stated that there can be no border legislation unless there is a Republican in the White House, a stance that Quigley believes will pose significant obstacles to funding the Ukrainian war effort. I sensed that Quigley is quite annoyed with the House Republicans and Speaker Johnson.

To his chagrin, Quigley, as a professed liberal Democrat, found himself quoting Ronald Reagan, who said that the United States would never stop helping its allies fight Russian aggression, a line which received thunderous applause. “For all the reasons we fought the second World War, for all the reasons we formed NATO, for all the reasons we formed the United Nations, is at a tipping point right now. To the extent I can be, I will be your instrument. . . . I am looking forward to the day when we meet again in Kyiv in peace.”

Quigley was followed by Representative Danny Davis (Il. 7th), who as Ukrainian Village’s representative in Congress, has championed support for the Ukrainian war effort. Davis told his constituents that when he walked into the room today—a room that he has walked into before—he sensed the gravity of the crisis facing not only the Ukrainians, but the world.

Davis is a student of world history, so he knows that “all of us are inextricably bound into a world of mutuality.” According to the congressman, what happens in the world affects what happens into Chicago.

Davis has traveled to Ukraine to see the churches and the people of Ukraine. Given those travels, he has learned that “So goes Ukraine, so goes democracy. So we owe it to ourselves, the United States. Congress has the responsibility to not hold hostage one part of our world just because there may be some disagreement with what is going on in other places. . . . We have the resources, we need to pass the bill now.”

Davis’ call to pass the bill generated loud applause, with people holding up signs that on one side read, “Arm Ukraine Now,” and on the other “Pass the Bill.” As a lover of poetry, Davis ended with a poem written by Claude McKay originally directed toward the Black Community, but that today applies equally to the Ukrainian people:

If we must die—let it not be like hogs

Hunted and penned in an inglorious spot

While round us bark the mad and hungry dogs

Making their mock at our accursed lot.

If we must die—oh, let us nobly die.

So that our precious blood may not be shed

In vain; then even the monsters we defy

Shall be constrained to honor us though dead!

Oh, Kinsmen! We must meet the common foe!

Though far outnumbered, let us show us brave,

And for their thousand blows deal one deathblow!

What thought before us lies the open grave?

Like men we’ll face the murderous, cowardly pack,

Pressed to the wall, dying, but fighting back!

Davis has been a good Congressman, but he may be an even better orator.

Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi (Il. 8th) then told an inspiring story about Tseng Sheng-guag, a Taiwanese army veteran who volunteered to join the International League of Territorial Defense of Ukraine. Tseng Sheng-guag was the first solider from East Asia killed in the Russian-Ukrainian war. According to Krishnamoorthi, “The Ukrainian cause was his own. He believed that if Russia were to succeed in Ukraine, it would invite aggression against Taiwan. He knows what we know. Their fight was his fight. Indeed, their fight is our fight. . . . He knew Xi Jinping is watching, Putin is watching, Kim Jong Un is watching, the world is watching. So the question is what we do?” Krishnamoorthi then chastised his Republican colleagues for believing that “this fight is nor ours.” He concluded by leading the room in a chant, “Congress must pass this bill. Are you with me? Congress pass the bill. . . .”

The organizers hoped that Senator Richard Durbin would make an appearance, like he has done at past events, but Durbin apparently had a conflict today. Senator Tammy Duckworth also was unable to attend, but she sent a representative who read a brief statement.

In the past, former Mayor Lori Lightfoot has spoken at Ukrainian events, but so far Mayor Brandon Johnson has been silent. In his place, Johnson sent Beatriz Ponce De Leó who serves as Deputy Mayor of Immigrant, Migrant and Refugee Rights. De Leó remarks are best described as anodyne. It was clear that she has not given a great deal of thought to the Ukrainian people’s fight. Could see even find Ukraine on a world map? To the extent she is interested in the bill pending in Congress, her focus is on Federal funding to help Chicago provide services to the migrants who Texas Governor Greg Abbott has bussed and flown to Chicago.

Andrij Dobriansky, the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America’s (“UCCA”) Director of Communications and Media, took the podium next. He is probably the most visible face of the Ukrainian American Community, racking up appearances on the Daily Show, MSNBC, PBS, Voice of America, and other news outlets.

Dobriansky is an affable spokesperson, particularly evident as he described Congressman Davis’ efforts to get his hands on Dobriansky’s borscht recipe. Unfortunately, his speech assumed that his audience possessed prior knowledge organizational knowledge that I did not possess. While those in the room enjoyed his remarks, his speech, which focused on obscure bits of history, largely went right over my head. Nevertheless, his presence was appropriate given that the Unity Day celebration this year also commemorated the 50th anniversary of the Illinois Division of UCCA.

Earlier in the day, Ukraine’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Sergiy Kyslytsya, delivered one of the day’s two scheduled keynote addresses. My photographs of him aptly reflect the tenor of his remarks. Virtually every photograph captured Ambassador Kyslytsya with both his mouth and eyes shut. With the exception of just one reference to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Kyslytsya’s speech was devoid of any juicy tidbits or backstory. Instead, he chose to provide a lengthy historical account of the UN. While the audience can’t expect a diplomat to be too revealing, Kyslystsya provided virtually no details of what it is like to be Ukraine’s ambassador to the UN at a time of war. What do others say to him as he inhabits the UN’s back rooms and walks the UN’s hallways?

Unfortunately, Brigadier General Mark Arnold, designated a Special Guest, had issues with his flight that prevented him from delivering his remarks, which would have been interesting given that he is a former U.S. Army Special Forces officer, who has now, according to the Columbus Dispatch, been to Ukraine four times since 2022. He has worked with medics in Ukraine, and he is currently trying to raise $2 million for Frontline Medical, an organization that trains and supplies Ukrainian medics.

Arnold would have undoubtedly been well received today. In October 2023, he told the Columbus Dispatch, “Right now Ukraine is defending our democracy in the United States and all of its principles. And that is worth the investment of weaponry. They can win this. There's no doubt in my mind that military victory on Ukrainian terms is the only way this war ends.” Hopefully, the organizers of today’s celebration will find another opportunity for Arnold to speak to Chicago’s Ukrainian Community.

Before a final rousing song, Dr. Mariya Dmytriv-Kapeniak and Dr. Maria Korkatsch-Groszko, UCCA—Illinois Division’s President and Treasurer, respectively, presented two community service awards. The first went to Dr. Maria R. Gritselyak for her work in medical education. She apparently has been involved in providing medical supplies to Ukraine.

The second award was given to Lesya Stasyuk for socio-religious, cultural, educational and financial education and for addressing financial issues pertaining to a church. In both cases, the speeches were short, so I snapped pictures of the award plaques, and ran the images through an online translation program that converts Ukrainian to English. Undoubtedly the translation is not perfect. I apologize for any spelling or other errors in my description.

For the record, last year’s award ceremony was much better because the speeches were longer and photographs illustrating the work by the award recipients were projected. I was fascinated by the work in one Chicago suburb that involved prepping donated ambulances for shipment to Ukraine.

In closing, I should congratulate Dr. Mariya Dmytriv-Kapeniak who recently became the first woman to lead the UCCA’s Illinois Division.

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