• Moonwater Dance Project celebrates the collective power of women in movement

    Moonwater Dance Project celebrates the collective power of women in movement
    Three dancers stand far upstage, lit by dim lights and with their backs to the audience. To their left, three dancers lay on their sides. As the upstage dancers slowly—joined step for step—turn to face front, the dancers on the floor sit up to reveal that their faces are covered by their jackets’ hoods. Center […]
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  • Mom Facing Charges After Allegedly Running Over 16-Month-Old Son

    Mom Facing Charges After Allegedly Running Over 16-Month-Old Son
    Photo: Polk County Sheriff’s Office
    A Florida woman is facing charges after she allegedly ran over her 16-month-old son and boyfriend following an argument, per PEOPLE.
    On Monday (June 24), 27-year-old Aaliyah Ross was arrested on charges including child abuse, neglect, domestic battery, and leaving the scene of a crash in connection to an alleged attack on her boyfriend and child.
    According to police, the incident stemmed from an argument between Ross and her boyfriend over how to discipl
  • Mayor Brandon Johnson Launches Workers’ Rights Campaign For Creative Workers

    Mayor Brandon Johnson Launches Workers’ Rights Campaign For Creative Workers
    Mayor Brandon Johnson, the Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP), and the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events launched a new workers’ rights campaign for creative workers, “Art is Labor.” 
    The multi-department effort was designed with input from stakeholders including 3Arts, Arts Alliance Illinois, Chicago Cultural Alliance, Lawyers for the Creative Arts, Mezcla Media Collective, other cultural and community organizatio
  • BIN President Tony Coles ‘Lock It and Store It!’ Gun Safety Message

    BIN President Tony Coles ‘Lock It and Store It!’ Gun Safety Message
    Tony Coles is President of Multi-Cultural Business and Development for iHeartMedia as well as President of BIN: Black Information Network, the first and only 24×7 comprehensive national audio news service dedicated to providing an objective, accurate, and trusted source of continual news coverage with a Black voice and perspective. His work leading BIN has earned him several industry-leading accolades and awards, including being named as a 2021 Billboard Magazine Change Agent and receivin
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  • 1-800-TruckWreck Awards $37.5K in Scholarships to Chicago High School Students

    1-800-TruckWreck Awards $37.5K in Scholarships to Chicago High School Students
    Law firm has now pledged a total of $165,000 to local Chicagoland students in 2024 for scholarships and educational programs (Photos provided courtesy of Witherite Law Group).
    To continue its commitment to giving back to the Chicago community and uplifting area youth, 1-800-TruckWreck, powered by Witherite Law Group, brought the Witherite Law Group Making a Difference Scholarship back to the city for the second time by awarding 15 students $2,500 each, for a total of $37,500 in new scholarships.
  • A Tiara Made with Rubies dripping Blood, Do You Want It?

    A Tiara Made with Rubies dripping Blood, Do You Want It?
    By Umnia Khan
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  • ‘Black Boys Cry’ Stage Play Shines Light on Joy, Brotherhood, and Healing

    ‘Black Boys Cry’ Stage Play Shines Light on Joy, Brotherhood, and Healing
    The touring play Black Boys Cry, now at the City Lit Theatre, explores the emotional journeys of seven Black men (Photo Credit: 1989 Dreams production).
    “Black Boys Cry,” a touring stage play, is at the City Lit Theatre. This compelling and humorous narrative follows the lives of seven Black men navigating their journeys toward experiencing joy. 
    Addressing themes such as healing from childhood trauma, addiction, and abandonment and exploring aspects of sex and sexuality, these
  • Prison death, scrap metal permit, mask ban

    Prison death, scrap metal permit, mask ban
    Deadly heat, dangerous conditions in Illinois prisons About 100 people packed into a classroom at Northwestern University’s Pritzker School of Law on Tuesday, June 25, to remember Michael Broadway, who died a week earlier while incarcerated at Stateville Correctional Center in Chester Hill. Family, friends, and advocates took turns sharing heartbreaking remembrances, fiery condemnations, and […]
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  • COLUMN: Trump’s Debate Remark on ‘Black Jobs’ Exposes His True Nature

    COLUMN: Trump’s Debate Remark on ‘Black Jobs’ Exposes His True Nature
    In a Presidential debate more cringeworthy than a straight-to-Tubi movie, one of the more uncomfortable moments occurred when the “Black people” portion of the program commenced. 
    President Biden and Donald Trump were asked how they would address the needs of Black voters.
    That’s when Trump remarked that he would stop immigrants from taking “Black jobs.” We have a question for former President Trump: What is a “Black job?” #CNNDebate pic.twitte
  • Chicago’s REACH Pathways wins $20K Prize at Summerfest Tech Pitch Competition

    Chicago’s REACH Pathways wins $20K Prize at Summerfest Tech Pitch Competition
    REACH Pathways, a startup from Chicago, won the top prize at this year’s Summerfest Tech Pitch Competition, earning a $20,000 cash award. Sponsored by Molson Coors and in partnership with Milwaukee World Festival, Inc. (MWF) and Young Enterprising Society (YES), the event highlighted a shared commitment to supporting emerging tech, innovation and entrepreneurship.
    Milwaukee-based Roddy Medical secured the second-place prize of $10,000, while Chicago’s Liff Happens won a $5,000 award
  • When people are under economic stress, their pets suffer too – we found parts of Detroit that are animal welfare deserts

    When people are under economic stress, their pets suffer too – we found parts of Detroit that are animal welfare deserts
    Poverty, fiscal stress and abandoned homes have fueled a long-standing stray dog problem in Detroit. AP Photo/Carlos Osorioby Laura A. Reese, Michigan State University
    Nearly two-thirds of U.S. households have at least one pet. More than ever before, companion animals are a part of life – particularly in cities, where the majority of Americans live.
    Cities offer access to many resources, but often it’s not distributed evenly. Some scholars describe parts of U.S. cities with few
  • Bally’s Chicago Casino Celebrates 1 Millionth Visitor

    Bally’s Chicago Casino Celebrates 1 Millionth Visitor
    Just nine months after opening its temporary location in the historic Medinah Temple, Bally’s Chicago Casino welcomed its 1 millionth visitor, Don Neushwander and his partner, Hwa, from Morris, IL, who walked in together and were awarded the grand prize. 
    Bally’s Chicago has consistently had the second most admissions of any casino in the state since its opening in September 2023. Monthly admissions increased 48 percent between September 2023 and May 2024, and the number of new
  • A decade of Freelance Wrestling: where high-flying moves meet raw talent

    A decade of Freelance Wrestling: where high-flying moves meet raw talent
    “Two thousand sixteen was the year of my first Freelance Wrestling match. [That] was also the year I was gonna hang it up,” said professional wrestler Mustafa Ali in front of fans at the Logan Square Auditorium in April. A circle of local independent wrestlers who just finished a night of putting their bodies on […]
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  • Intergenerational connection is radical

    Intergenerational connection is radical
    In my 18 years of teaching college students, I have found that many LGBTQ+ young adults do not realize that older gay, bi, trans, nonbinary, or queer people exist. A  significant number believe that they themselves won’t live past 40. Earlier this year, a 20-year-old transgender student began crying in my class as they described […]
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  • Grails’ adventurous rock is for the people

    Grails’ adventurous rock is for the people
    Grails are a band meant to be experienced live. Their recordings serve up a heady shot of 70s-flavored instrumental guitar rock, but when the musicians can be corralled onto a stage (they live in five different places across the U.S.), they reveal a chemistry that can’t be neatly distilled. In an interview with Willamette Week […]
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  • Swiss group L’Eclair spin pop’s past into funk’s future

    Swiss group L’Eclair spin pop’s past into funk’s future
    Six-piece Swiss ensemble L’Eclair specialize in a style of instrumental funk that sounds unstuck in time. Their smooth, precise breaks evince the far-reaching influence of hip-hop, but their dreamy, hypnotic melodies sound like they might’ve been assembled from the same mythical trove of forgotten private-press recordings that DJ Shadow mines for his kaleidoscopic beats. Last […]
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  • Etran de L’Aïr bring the world the happy desert blues

    Etran de L’Aïr bring the world the happy desert blues
    Nigerien band Etran de L’Aïr (“Stars of the Air”) aren’t as well-known in the West as Tuareg desert-blues superstars such as Tinariwen, Mdou Moctar, and Bombino. But in their hometown of Agadez, where bandleader Aghaly Migi formed the group in 1995, they’re long-standing legends. They started out playing local weddings and have since drawn international […]
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  • Teen on Home Confinement Charged with Murder of Retired CPD Officer

    Teen on Home Confinement Charged with Murder of Retired CPD Officer
    Sixteen-year-old Lazarius Watt, who turned himself in over the weekend, has been charged as an adult with first-degree murder for the shooting death of retired Chicago Police Officer Larry Neuman. 
    During a hearing, a Cook County judge described Watt’s alleged actions as “heinous” and deemed him a danger to the entire neighborhood before remanding him to custody.
    Prosecutors said Watt was on home confinement at the time of the murder and violated his electronic monitoring
  • Love & Hip Hop star Teairra Marí gets back to basics

    Love & Hip Hop star Teairra Marí gets back to basics
    The music industry can be a harrowing place that chews people up and spits them out, but it remains attractive to plenty of artists pursuing commercial success. R&B songstress Teairra Marí Thomas, who makes music as Teairra Marí, has had her share of ups and downs in the unforgiving universe of labels, hit records, and […]
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  • Experimental composer Whitney Johnson duets with cellist and sound artist Lia Kohl at Kilbourn Park

    Experimental composer Whitney Johnson duets with cellist and sound artist Lia Kohl at Kilbourn Park
    Whitney Johnson makes music that asks to be excavated. On the Chicagoan’s latest solo album as Matchess, 2022’s Sonescent (Drag City), she sculpts two long-form pieces that patiently evolve into dreamy fantasias. She begins “Almost Gone” with a piercing sine tone that acts as a palate cleanser and a directive for the casual listener: proceed […]
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  • Heavy shoegaze unit Interlay celebrate their new EP as a Chicago band

    Heavy shoegaze unit Interlay celebrate their new EP as a Chicago band
    Shoegaze’s fog has saturated indie rock over the past couple years, and while I love hearing new bands find their own ways to make out-of-this world guitar ambience with phalanxes of pedals, for every one that succeeds there seem to be a dozen indistinguishable also-rans. Thank goodness for Interlay, one of the few new acts […]
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  • Review: A Family Affair

    An arrogant movie star in his mid-30s with intimacy issues breaks into his assistant’s house and instead finds her mother, a widowed fashion writer living in a waterside mansion. Like magic, they fall in love. This reads like the back cover of a pulp fiction romance novel, where in reality, it’s an A-list rom-com with […]
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  • CNN Fails To Grant Credentials To Black-Owned Media Ahead Of Biden-Trump Debate

    CNN continues face backlash after failing to grant credentials to Black-owned media outlets ahead of tonight’s debate between President Joe Biden and Donald Trump.
    The highly-anticipated debate is taking place at the CNN studio in Atlanta this evening. However, 800 media outlets around the world was granted credentials, but there is zero representation from Black-owned press, according to EBONY. 
    The Atlanta Black Star released the denial for media credentials which stated, “Due
  • UNCF’s AMI Gala Raises $700K, Celebrates Black Excellence

    UNCF’s AMI Gala Raises $700K, Celebrates Black Excellence
    Target received the “A Mind Is…” Gala Corporate Award. Left to right are: Maurice E. Jenkins, Jr., executive vice president for field development, UNCF; Kenya Joyce Hatch, area development director, Chicago, UNCF; Fred Mitchell, vice president of development for UNCF’s Mid-Atlantic and Midwest regions; Jalah Hood, Target Scholar; Ron Brown, vice president of Community Impact, Target; and Lisa Rollins, regional development director, Workplace, UNCF (Credit: Ven Sherrod).
  • Kidneys from Black donors are more likely to be thrown away

    Kidneys from Black donors are more likely to be thrown away
    Corey Mayes at his New York home on Feb. 10, 2023, after receiving a kidney transplant. Steve Pfost/Newsday RM via Getty Images− a bioethicist explains why
    by Ana S. Iltis, Wake Forest University
    As one of the leading causes of death in the U.S., kidney disease is a serious public health problem. The disease is particularly severe among Black Americans, who are three times more likely than White Americans to develop kidney failure.
    While Black people constitute only 12% of the U.S. populat
  • Rep. Jamaal Bowman Loses Democratic Primary In New York

    Rep. Jamaal Bowman Loses Democratic Primary In New York
    Photo: Getty Images
    Democratic Rep. Jamaal Bowman lost the primary election for New York’s 16th District on Tuesday (June 25), according to NBC News.
    Bowman, a critic of Israel and a member of the progressive “squad” of lawmakers of color, was defeated by Westchester County Executive George Latimer.
    On Tuesday night, Bowman conceded defeat while speaking to his supporters.
    “This race was never about me and me alone. It was never about this district and this district alone
  • This Week In Black History June 26 – July 2, 2024

    This Week In Black History June 26 – July 2, 2024
    JUNE 261899—Black inventor William H. Richardson redesigns the baby car­riage. While the idea for the baby car­riage is nearly 300 years old, Richard­son’s patent, filed at the Boston patent office, included several new features including a special joint which allowed the bassinet to be turned to face the mother or whoever was pushing the carriage. Many of Richardson’s designs are still in use today. [There is some authority that Richardson’s patent was actual
  • “Slouching towards being a white cube”

    “Slouching towards being a white cube”
    At the heart of Weatherproof are two bold, young artists eager to agitate, serving up brief yet blistering exhibitions that affirm the vitality of Chicago’s do-it-yourself gallery scene. Weatherproof is a passion project turned curatorial umbrella and gallery led by Milo Christie and Sam Dybeck, presenting unusual contemporary art in an Albany Park office and […]
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  • DIY nights at the library

    DIY nights at the library
    Chicago Public Library’s (CPL) Little Village branch is offering free live music and crafts throughout the summer, with organizers and performers both aiming to engage with the community and expose attendees to a diverse array of local talent and artistic activities. The Little Village branch’s Craft and Concerts series, hosted over four weeks in July […]
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  • Bad Johnny’s wood-fired Roman-style pizzas return to the next Monday Night Foodball

    Bad Johnny’s wood-fired Roman-style pizzas return to the next Monday Night Foodball
    Whenever John Pragalz makes a margherita pizza, a tiny, flour-dusted, apron-clad gremlin appears on his left shoulder and begins jabbering in the Neapolitan dialect: “Ci hai tradito!,” it spits into his ear, chopping its forearm up and down. “Che porco dio, questa pizza margherita e’schifosa! Che cazzo!” Pragalz isn’t fazed. With the casual disdain of […]
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