In BUILD, Chicago youth find an alternative to gang violence
By Shreya Bansal Medill Reports CHICAGO — It’s the day before Thanksgiving and a group of young and old men have come out to play football as a part of their “turkey bowl.” When a police car passes by, the officers wave and smile at the players. One of the older men waves back and […]
Birdies & Bird Watchers: The Dispute Over Jackson Park’s Golf Course
By Casey Bannon Medill Reports In 1899, Jackson Park became the first golf course built west of the Allegheny Mountains. Two decades later, some of the first black men’s golf leagues were formed on the property. Now, over a century after the first golf shots were struck on Jackson Park’s fairways, its golf course […]
Partnership between ComEd and Bronzeville creates new opportunities on the South Side
by Jillian Melero Medill Reports Paula Robinson has been president of Bronzeville’s Community Development Partnership, a neighborhood advisory group, for 29 years. She co-founded the Urban Innovation Center, a business incubator focused on tourism, technology, and transportation, with Bruce Montgomery in 2006. Between her roles in community development and technology innovation, Robinson has been a […]
Chicago woman living her passion for eight decades
Loumay Alesali Medill Reports Doris Humphries, 93, has been dancing since childhood. She used to nail bottles caps to the soles of her shoes, so she can hear herself when she tried to do tap routines she saw in movies. “It is just something I love, and I get into it. I just feel the […]
Harvest Christian Bookstore deflects internet with customer service
By Richard Foster-Shelton Medill Reports “In these times of online stores and books that can be delivered immediately to your favorite device, one independent bookstore on the South Side of Chicago has weathered the storm by turning to a very specific demographic: Christians. Harvest Christian Bookstore, at 10600 S. Western Ave., specializes in Christian products. […]
Community efforts bring about theme of ‘Englewood Rising’ in the South Side neighborhood
By: Hannah Wiley and Joey Mendolia Medill Reports Tina Hammond has brought a splash of color and a message of hope to her Englewood neighborhood. Buying a vacant lot next to her home for $1 through a city program, Hammond and her husband transformed the once bleak empty space into a garden of positivity.
Coach Defies Death, Lives to Help Others
By Jennifer Lee When he was shot in fourth grade, his mother said it would only make him stronger. When he was stabbed in eighth grade, she looked at it as a blessing. Against all odds, Terry Jones has survived six gunshot wounds and one stabbing. “I think there’s someone on earth that needs my […]
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.
Spike Lee brings “Chi-raq” discussion to Evanston
By Tim Rosenberger and Valerie Lapointe Director Spike Lee did not shy away from addressing the controversy surrounding his film “Chi-Raq” at a recent screening of the film at Northwestern University. That was a good thing because his audience was vocal about the movie’s take on racism, representation of women and gun violence during the […]
Musical celebrating Chicago’s black cultural history to debut at the Chicago Theater
By Marisa Endicott For one night this Saturday, Bronzeville is taking over the Chicago Theater. “Bronzeville The Musical” tells the story of the Great Migration, the exodus of African-Americans from southern states to northern cities during the greater part of the 20th century. The musical, an original production by the Chicago-based Mahdi Theatre Company, celebrates the arrival […]
