CYPRUS 50TH ANNIVERSARY EXHIBIT AT THE NATIONAL HELLENIC MUSEUM, DIANE ALEXANDER WHITE 1974-2024-16
Street photography has always been a passion of mine and I got my money's worth when I photographed a protest against the Turkish invasion of Cyprus on Michigan Avenue on August 19, 1974. While a student at the University of Illinois in Chicago, it was my mission to document pivotal events in the life the Greek Community. When I arrived on the scene the demonstrators were held back by the FBI and Chicago Police Department at the Conrad Hilton when President Gerald Ford had arrived to speak at a Veterans of Foreign Wars Convention as seen in Roll 1_ #35-36. The protest march continued north on Michigan Avenue with anti-Turkish signs and anti-Kissinger signs. The marchers staged a sit-in on Michigan Avenue and Monroe while the Greek flag was waving on the balcony of the Bank of Greece Building in Roll 2_#23. . The people that I recognize include my Greek School teacher Mrs. Helen Georgopoulos-Panagakis in Roll 2_#8A with her arm outstretched to hold the crowd back. She was a force to be reckoned with from the time she taught Greek language at Koraes Greek School, a principal of St. George Greek School, and the founder of Peiraikon Hellenic School. The second person that I recognize is Petros Kogeones in Roll 2_#9A-11A who is wearing a plaid sports coat and smoking a cigar and was the owner of Dianna’s Restaurant in Chicago’s Greektown. Also seen in ROLL 2_#13A is Sam Carras with his fists in the air under a black flag, Sam is a relative of the owners of the Billy Goat Tavern, a downtown hangout for journalists from the Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Tribune newspapers, most notably Mike Royko. Both Helen and Petros can be seen in photographs from the Greek Independence Parades in an exhibit at the National Hellenic Museum called, "Gather Together: Street Photography by Diane Alexander White." The protest turned west on Randolph Street and continued onto the Richard J. Daley Center for speeches and songs of liberation. These photos can be seen in an exhibit called Cyprus: 1974 in the Συλλογή-Syllogi Collection at the National Hellenic Museum to mark the 50th anniversary of the Invasion of Cyprus. Diane Alexander White’s Story: Witness to History The images of the protests held by Greek Americans in Chicago following the invasion were taken by Chicago-based Greek American Street photographer, Diane Alexander White. When she was 19 years old and a student at the University of Illinois, Chicago, she went into the city with a mission to document key events in Chicago’s Greek American community. On August 19, 1974, she captured history by photographing a protest against the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. The protest, organized by Chicago’s large Greek American community, coincided with a visit by then US President Gerald Ford. Demonstrators marched north down Michigan Avenue, carrying signs. They were stopped at the Conrad Hotel (today the Chicago Hilton), where the President could be seen exiting the hotel for his motorcade. The protest concluded with speeches and songs of at the Daley Center. Currently in Syllogi On display in the Syllogi gallery are objects from the National Hellenic Museum collection with photography by Diane Alexander White. In 1974, Cyprus was an independent island nation in which Greek and Turkish populations lived together in increasing tension. On July 15 of that year, there was a Greek-supported coup attempt to unite Cyprus with Greece. This led Turkey to invade the island five days later on July 20. This act divided the island into a Turkish Cypriot north and a Greek Cypriot south. The conflict displaced 250,000 people from their homes and left 10,000 dead. These decisive events drew a large reaction from the Greek community around the world. This display shows images from a protest in Chicago as well as protests in Cyprus by an organization called Women Walk Home. Despite ongoing negotiations and UN peace talks, Cyprus remains divided. Efforts to reunify the island have been unsuccessful, leaving the 1974 invasion an unresolved issue. Cyprus: 1974 Cyprus remains divided. This ongoing division continues to be a source of contention, affecting Cyprus’s relations with Türkiye, Greece, and the broader international community. Efforts to reunify the island through negotiations persist, but a resolution remains elusive, keeping the legacy of the 1974 invasion a defining and unresolved issue in Cypriot history. Included in this album are photos from the University of Illinois at Chicago, Cyprus Symposium, September 26-27, 2024 Program Thursday, September 26 Welcome (4:00 PM Central) Dr. Young Kim and Dr. Nicholas Doumanis Dr. Kevin Schultz, Chair, Department of History, UIC Dr. José Camacho, Director, School of Literatures, Cultural Studies, and Linguistics, UIC Mr. Endy Zemenides, Executive Director, The Hellenic American Leadership Council Dr. Georgios Loizou, Political Counsellor, Embassy of the Republic of Cyprus, Washington, D.C. Keynote Lecture (4:30 PM) “The Evolution of the Cypriot Diaspora,” Dr. Panikos Panayi, De Montfort University Friday, September 27 Opening Remarks (9:00 AM) The Honorable Mr. Emmanuel Koubarakis, Consul General of Greece in Chicago Session 1 (9:15 AM-10:30 AM) “Cyprus 1960-1974: The Impressive Economic Growth of a Newly Founded State and Its Impact on the Evolution of the Cyprus Problem,” Dr. MarilenaVarnava, Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London “The Attila Invasion as the Turning Point for the Cypriot Diaspora: Cypriot Migrants and Refugees before and after the Invasion of Cyprus,” Dr. Elena Bouleti, Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences Session 2 (10:45 AM-12:00PM) “The “Greek” Lobby 1974-1978 and Greek America’s Relationship with Greece,” Dr. Alexander Kitroeff, Haverford College “Reckoning without the Host: Diasporic Aspirations for Repair on Cyprus,” Dr. Vangelis Calotychos, Brown University “’Cyprus Week’ and the Politics of Education in New York City during the 1970s,”FevroniaSoumakis, Queens College, City University of New York “Afterlives of the Greek American Anti-Junta Movement: New York’s ‘Free Voice of Greece’ Radio Program and the Cyprus Crisis,” Jerry Christodoulatos, University of California, San Diego “Challenging Memory, Redefining History: Archiving the Cypriot Canadian Diaspora,” Theodore Xenophontos, York University “Australian Politics and the Turkish Invasion of Cyprus, 1974,” Dr. Nicholas Doumanis, University of Illinois at Chicago “The Scholarly ‘Diaspora’ and the Limits of Research in a Divided Cyprus,” Dr. Young Richard Kim, University of Illinois at Chicago Session 5 (5:00 PM-6:15 PM) Diane Alexander White, “Turks Get Out of Cyprus Protest Photography, Chicago 1974” Special Panel, moderated by Mr. Michael Dovellos, Honorary Consul of the Republic of Cyprus in Illinois
