Chicago Sky Tamera Young uses basketball to empower youth
By Hannah Gebresilassie WNBA’s eight-year veteran Tamera Young uses basketball as a platform to serve Chicago’s youth. The Wilmington-native graduated from James Madison University and became the first WNBA player from the school. After becoming CAA Player of the Year, Young was selected as the no. 8 draft pick by the Atlanta Dream in 2008. […]
Chicago Ethiopian leaders question world’s silence over devastating drought in homeland
By Hannah Gebresilassie Ten million people in Ethiopia are struggling to survive, let alone find a decent meal to eat. The country is facing its worst drought since the eighties, while political tension continues to erupt as ethnic groups clash. It’s been just ten days since South Sudanese gunmen were blamed for killing 200 people […]
Need a job? UIC senior turns rejection into a startup
By Hannah Gebresilassie Rejection was the inspiration behind a new startup. After getting turned down by over 50 employers, Thomas Ma had enough and created Career Podium. Career Podium is an interactive platform designed to help students successfully land internships and jobs. Ma, 22, is a senior at the University of Illinois at Chicago set to […]
Assyrians around the world ring in the new year with hope for a new spring
By Hannah Gebresilassie Assyrians in Chicago, and around the world, celebrate Kha b-Nisan, or the Assyrian new year. Milad Shaer, owner of Milo’s Pita, joined thousands in a Chicago-held parade to celebrate 7,000 years of Assyrian heritage. Their ancestry traces back to the ancient Assyrian empire in the prehistoric Middle East and present day Iraq, […]
KAOS youth club uses sports, mentoring as alternative to Chicago’s chaotic streets
By Hannah Gebresilassie Ty Young is giving back to the streets that put a bullet in his son. While Young, a pharmacy tech, couldn’t keep his son from being shot in 2013, he could do something about the South Side youth culture that created the perilous landscape in the first place.
Bouncing back: “I know what it is to have your dreams ripped out of your womb and your identity taken for a spin”
By Hannah Gebresilassie Vunzai Yeazel, founder of Gorgeous Within and Live Bold Consulting, took a leap from corporate America after a decade when she was among about 100 employees laid off from Allstate. In the last few years, Yeazel, 35, bounced back from a failed marriage, two consecutive miscarriages, lost friendships and a surgery to remove five fibroids.
Ethiopians find a home — and sometimes a hand — away from home in South Africa
By Hannah Gebresilassie “Sami, Sami!” two Ethiopian beggars shouted with their hands held out on a misty afternoon in Little Addis, an Ethiopian district on Jeppe Street in downtown Johannesburg. Sami Shiferaw stopped, pulled about 50 rand ($3) from his pocket and handed it to the men: “They’re our friends,” Shiferaw said. “I have to.” […]
Seniors: In the games of Uno — and life — reversals are quite expected
By Hannah Gebresilassie Studies show laughter leads to a healthier lifestyle, especially with seniors. And that simple reality made for an exciting, laughter-filled match of Uno at Pomeroy Apartments — with positive health benefits to boot — on a snowy game night Feb. 24. Chicago Cares, a public and community service organization, hosts a monthly game […]
Protesters crash mayor’s private MLK party
Text by Hannah Gebresilassie Video by Kat Lonsdorf Chicago activists interrupted Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s privately held interfaith breakfast Friday commemorating the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., to protest the mayor’s handling of fatal shootings of unarmed black teenagers by Chicago police. As promised, more than 30 protesters gathered at the main entrance of […]
Chicago ministers say no to King breakfast with the mayor
By Hannah Gebresilassie Who wants breakfast? Not ministers and activists in Chicago. In light of the controversy surrounding the fatal police shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald and Cedrick Chatman, also 17, religious leaders say they will join activists in a protest on Friday morning outside of Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s planned private commemorative breakfast of Dr. Martin […]
