John Fountain on Muck Rack

John Fountain

(He/Him)
  • Professor, Roosevelt University
  • Writer, Freelance
  • None, FountainWorks/Roosevelt University
Chicago
As seen in: Medium, The New York Times, HuffPost, The Washington Post, NPR, Chicago Tribune, MDPI, Substack, Chicago Sun-Times, Patch and
Covers:  Social Justice, Crime, Poverty, Race, Urban Affairs
Doesn't Cover: N/A
Journalist, Author, Fulbright Scholar, Former New York Times Writer. Prof. Roosevelt University. Freed Black Journalist. Publisher.

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John Fountain’s Biography

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A native son of Chicago's West Side, John W. Fountain is an award-winning columnist, journalist, professor, publisher and author of True Vine: A Young Black Man's Journey of Faith, Hope and Clarity; and Dear Dad: Reflections on Fatherhood.

A tenured full professor of journalism at Roosevelt University since 2007, he has written a weekly Sunday column for the Chicago Sun-Times for the past 13 years. As a journalist, Fountain has chronicled the story of murder for 30 years, mostly in Chicago. He…

John Fountain’s Journalist Portfolio

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Twenty Years Later, My Passion For Teaching, Journalism, Still Burn Bright

Twenty Years Later, My Passion For Teaching, Journalism, Still Burn Bright

'After all these years, I remain a believer in the old adage that the pen is still mightier than the sword, a…

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Living Life As A Shadow, But No Longer Silent

Living Life As A Shadow, But No Longer Silent

I stand here a lone shadow, on the corner of Ida B. Wells Drive and Wabash Avenue. The winter wind blows cold…

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A Presidential Postmortem: Race - The 'Elephant' On The Ballot

A Presidential Postmortem: Race - The 'Elephant' On The Ballot

In all my channel surfing for postmortem election analysis, almost no one seemed to want to talk about race a…

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Wash Over Me Slave River: Portraits of Ghana

Wash Over Me Slave River: Portraits of Ghana

At my most deeply spiritual moment, I stood in the swirling waters of Assin Manso slave river, where I was su…

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Justice For Jelani Day; 'I Said What I Said, And I'll Say It Again, Thank You'

Justice For Jelani Day; 'I Said What I Said, And I'll Say It Again, Thank You'

Mostly, I learned to withhold my tears until after writing my story. With Jelani I could not. His was the fir…

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The Unforgotten Bureau - Why We Must Tell Our Stories

The Unforgotten Bureau - Why We Must Tell Our Stories

"Until the lion writes the story, it will always glorify the hunter." We must tell our own stories. A career …

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Articles

"Envoy of Hope" — Reflections On Jesse Jackson In The Middle East: A Memoirist's Notebook

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By John Fountain
| Substack
Once memoirist to the Reverend Jesse L. Jackson, John Fountain traveled with the iconic civil rights leader—a protégé of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.—abroad on several missions as a humanitarian and goodwill ambassador. Among those missions with Jackson, from 2006 to 2007, was a trip to Middle East, including Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, the West Bank and Syria. Twenty years later, amid the current widening war of Israel and the U.S. with Iran, Fountain is reminded of Rev.
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"We Are Not Your Millstone"; A Poetic Refrain

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By John Fountain
| Substack
A group of some of those who grew up in John Fountain’s childhood neighborhood known as North Lawndale on Chicago’s West Side that was the subject of a 1985 Chicago Tribune book titled, “The American Millstone” pose for a photograph.
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"We Are Not Your Millstone"

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By John Fountain
| Substack
WE ARE NOT YOUR “Millstone.” Not your class of societal misfits. Not your jaded “ghetto” misinterpretation of life beyond the ivory tower that has been sifted through the prism of clouded surety though blinded by arrogant and racially biased misconceptions. We are not your Millstone. Never have been. Never will be. This project is our portrait of the other side.
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