Lawndale man finds hope in the basement of a church
By Pat Nabong and Hammad Sarfraz Although fewer people experienced homelessness in Chicago in 2016 compared to the previous year, nearly six thousand still live on the streets and in shelters. Bernard Johnson is one of them.
Historic Bronzeville hardware store and jazz archive set to close
By Pat Nabong Meyers Ace Hardware has two kinds of customers: those who buy paint for their walls and those who “listen to the walls.” For decades, hundreds of tourists and curious souls in search of jazz relics have been visiting the neighborhood store in Bronzeville. It has preserved remnants of what it used to […]
Obama’s supporters at famed barbershop say farewell
By Pat Nabong More than eight years after President Obama gave his first victory speech in Grant Park, Chicagoans in Hyde Park bid farewell to the president who used to live in their neighborhood. In Hyde Park Hair Salon, where President Obama has been getting his hair cut for more than 20 years, talk of […]
NoDAPL supporters chant ‘Mni wiconi’ and it’s not just about water
By Pat Nabong and June Leffler [Package of Standing Rock and the Dakota Access Pipeline stories here] Women in black burkas have marched around the Oceti Sakowin camp in North Dakota with a banner that reads, “Muslims stand with Standing Rock.” In a ceremonial dance, Aztec dancers from South America have skipped to the beat […]
Trump’s ascendancy intensifies #NoDAPL movement
By Pat Nabong [Package of Standing Rock and the Dakota Access Pipeline stories here] Right by the Chicago River, hundreds of Native Americans and their supporters chanted, “Water is life!” Adorned with traditional headdresses, some of them lit tobacco and prayed for their water. And as the sun set, they danced under the shade of […]
Protesters come together at Trump Tower in downtown Chicago
By Cloee Cooper and Fariba Pajooh [See related story on the night’s protest] Helicopters buzzed overhead as thousands of angry and perplexed people gathered at the Trump Tower to protest the election of Donald Trump as president Wednesday evening. Shocked youth, minorities, pregnant mothers and middle-aged people joined together to repeat chants of “No Trump, […]
Hillary Clinton wins the unofficial election among people who can’t legally vote
By Pat Nabong On the days leading up to the election, ex-offenders, permanent residents, tourists, disenfranchised voters, Mexicans and immigrants who couldn’t legally vote were able to cast their ballots in unofficial voting stations. And on the night that Donald Trump became president-elect, Hillary Clinton won the unofficial election. Official Unofficial Voting Station: Voting for […]
Native Americans seek visibility in their vote
By Pat Nabong [Package of Standing Rock and the Dakota Access Pipeline stories here] In the run-down American Indian Center, fewer than 20 Native Americans are gathered to discuss issues that are important to them in this year’s election. Susan Power, one of the founding members of the center, looks around the room. She bellows, […]
Día de los Muertos in Pilsen commemorates the dead and commits to fighting social injustices
By Pat Nabong People with faces painted to resemble skulls and hair adorned with flowers marched around Pilsen on the night when spirits are believed to visit the living. Photos of deceased loved ones and famous human rights advocates embellished the “ofrenda” or altar. Under the rain, children twirled to the beat of drums. Día […]
People with disabilities are being encouraged to report sexual violence
By Pat Nabong When the whole world heard Donald Trump talk about grabbing a woman without consent in a 2005 tape, thousands responded with the #notokay hashtag. Tweets about how women were raped or sexually assaulted poured in, bringing rape culture to the forefront yet again. As more women seem to be speaking out about […]
