Illinois news

• 90-Year-Old Man Who Was Nearly 1st Black Astronaut Finally Headed To Space

  28-04-2024 14:00 via chicagodefender.com
  
  Photo: eddwight.com
  A 90-year-old man who was set to become the first Black astronaut in space decades ago is finally headed to space, CBS News reports.
  Ed Dwight was selected by former President John F. Kennedy in 1961 to enter the Path to NASA’s Astronaut Corps, an Air Force training program.
  Finishing the program in 1963, Dwight was set up to make history as the first Black astronaut.
  “I thought these dudes were crazy,” Dwight previously said of the opportunity.
  The Air Forc
  
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• Remembering Steve Albini

  13-05-2024 20:27 via chicagoreader.com
  
  When Pitchfork broke the news last Wednesday morning that Steve Albini had died, it hit the Chicago scene like a thunderclap. Both as a recording engineer and as a musician, Albini had seemed like a permanent fixture, too thoroughly woven into the fabric of underground rock to leave it. At least when death came for […]
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• Chicago rock duo Feller celebrate their strangely enticing debut EP

  13-05-2024 17:18 via chicagoreader.com
  
  Last fall, when Jon-Carlo Manzo launched Fire Talk’s Chicago-centric sublabel, Angel Tapes, I knew to keep an eye on it. Fire Talk had already done exceptional work releasing music by local indie rockers, and Manzo has great taste. Angel Tapes’ third release is the new Universal Miracle Worker, the debut EP by local duo Feller, […]
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• Chicago metal four-piece Selenoplexia show you the darkest side of the moon

  13-05-2024 17:09 via chicagoreader.com
  
  Chicago metal quartet Selenoplexia attracted some attention with their strong 2022 debut EP, Agony, and last fall they released their first full-length, Exalt and Despair. The band’s name refers to what were believed, prior to the 20th century, to be the sometimes fatal physical and mental health conditions caused by the rays of the moon. […]
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• VOICES Heard: New Cancer Study Will Center Black Women

  13-05-2024 16:00 via chicagodefender.com
  
  Black women are significantly more likely to die from breast cancer than white women — even though they are diagnosed less often (Credit: Klaus Nielsen, Pexels).
  In a groundbreaking study, the American Cancer Society will investigate the link between breast cancer and race by exclusively tracking Black women.
  This article was originally published on Word In Black.
  By Jennifer Porter Gore
  Overview:
  Researchers hope to enroll 100,000 Black women of various ages, looking for links between bre
  
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• The Secret Sisters return after four years with some serious folk-country Medicine

  13-05-2024 16:00 via chicagoreader.com
  
  The Secret Sisters released Mind, Man, Medicine in March, and it already feels like one of the best Americana albums of 2024. The record represents a homecoming, musically and literally—the duo recorded it at the legendary FAME Studios in their hometown of Muscle Shoals, Alabama. Since the early 60s, FAME has served as a forge […]
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• Sonja’s lusty heavy metal blends goth rock and 80s Sunset Strip sleaze

  13-05-2024 16:00 via chicagoreader.com
  
  Sonja aren’t a traditional supergroup—the members of this Philadelphia trio have all collaborated with one another elsewhere, most notably in beastly Philly black-metal band Woe. But these folks also have heavy pedigrees outside their shared past, spending time individually in metal outfits Tombs, Infernal Stronghold, Rumpelstiltskin Grinder, and Crosspitter. If you can name a metal […]
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• Shoegaze legends Ride embrace the journey on the synth-pop–influenced Interplay

  13-05-2024 16:00 via chicagoreader.com
  
  Ride made an indelible impact on shoegaze and indie rock. The UK four-piece’s first two albums, 1990’s Nowhere and 1992’s Going Blank Again, are widely considered genre landmarks. Though Ride split up just before releasing their fourth full-length, Tarantula, in 1996, the original lineup reunited nearly two decades later. And they’ve stayed reunited: this March, […]
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• Electronic-music pioneer Suzanne Ciani celebrates the 40th anniversary of her album Seven Waves

  13-05-2024 16:00 via chicagoreader.com
  
  If you’ve seen television commercials from the 1980s, you’ve probably heard Suzanne Ciani, even if you don’t realize it. Do you remember the sound of a Coke can being popped and poured? The space-age shimmers that accompanied the on-screen appearances of logos for the likes of AT&T and ABC? The robotic chirp of a GE […]
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• Chicago rapper KingTrey angles for a spot in the post-Chance canon with Southend Legend

  13-05-2024 16:00 via chicagoreader.com
  
  According to the 2020 census, the suburban village of Glenview has a population of around 49,000 people, and just 1.4 percent of them are Black. That helps explain the isolation, frustration, and sadness Chicago rapper KingTrey felt navigating that town as a teenager—an experience he makes the focus of “Black Kid / In Glenview,” a […]
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• Chicago’s Sprite give slacker rock a kick of energy

  13-05-2024 15:45 via chicagoreader.com
  
  The four Chicagoans who recently formed slacker-rock group Sprite have a surplus of indie cred, but none of their previous bands has balanced heavy and heavenly as well as Sprite do on December’s self-released, self-titled album. Separately, the members of Sprite traffic in related but distinct styles. Guitarist Donny Walsh has played in nervy postpunk […]
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• The Tomeka Reid Quartet goes long on third album 3+3

  13-05-2024 15:27 via chicagoreader.com
  
  Cellist Tomeka Reid and her powerhouse quartet—guitarist Mary Halvorson, bassist Jason Roebke, and drummer Tomas Fujiwara—recently celebrated their tenth anniversary of performing together. But you could be forgiven if you thought they’d already had a decade together when they released their self-titled debut in 2015—the album is a marvel of uncanny synchronicity and head-spinning polyrhythms. […]
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• Chicago troubadour and guitar god Bill MacKay releases Locust Land

  13-05-2024 15:17 via chicagoreader.com
  
  I’ve loved seeing kindly troubadour Bill MacKay get more of the spotlight. Once Chicago’s best-kept guitar secret, he now seems to be growing his fan base even faster than his discography, which already included solo works and collaborations with experimental musicians such as Ryley Walker, Nathan Bowles, Katinka Kleijn, and Cooper Crain (Bitchin Bajas, Cave). […]
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• Drummer, bandleader, and impresario Mike Reed throws a five-day celebration of his 50th birthday

  13-05-2024 15:04 via chicagoreader.com
  
  Mike Reed owns Constellation and the Hungry Brain, coprograms the Chicago Jazz Festival, and directs the Pitchfork Music Festival; he knows how to throw a shebang. But the five-night celebration that he’s planned to observe his 50th birthday keeps the focus on his creative side. Reed is also a drummer, composer, improviser, and bandleader whose […]
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• TSU’s Duante’ Abercrombie Aims to Bring the HBCU Experience to Hockey

  13-05-2024 15:00 via chicagodefender.com
  
  Duante’ Abercrombie, a former coach with the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs, is building a first-of-its-kind hockey program at the HBCU Tennessee State University (Photo Provided).
  By Evan F. Moore
  The first thing newly hired Tennessee State University hockey coach Duante’ Abercrombie plans to do once he settles in his office is to establish a visual—and lofty—representation of what could be possible for the Tigers faithful: a photo of the NCAA Men’s Ice Hockey Cha
  
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• TSU’s Duanté Abercrombie Aims to Bring the HBCU Experience to Hockey

  13-05-2024 15:00 via chicagodefender.com
  
  Duanté Abercrombie, a former coach with the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs, is building a first-of-its-kind hockey program at the HBCU Tennessee State University (Photo Provided).
  By Evan F. Moore
  The first thing newly hired Tennessee State University hockey coach Duanté Abercrombie plans to do once he settles in his office is to establish a visual—and lofty—representation of what could be possible for the Tigers faithful: a photo of the NCAA Men’s Ice Hockey Cha
  
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• No dust to shake off

  13-05-2024 14:00 via chicagoreader.com
  
  On a sunny spring day, Experimental Sound Studio’s Audible Gallery is an ideal place to immerse oneself in the five decade retrospective of interdisciplinary artist Sandra Binion. The walls are covered with tactile displays of timelines, correspondences, and ephemera selected from Binion’s archive by curator Mariana Mejía (166 distinct artifacts, to be exact). In the […]
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• Confederate Names Of Two Schools Being Restored Following Board Vote

  13-05-2024 14:00 via chicagodefender.com
  
  Photo: Getty Images
  A Virginia school board has reversed its decision to rename two public schools honoring Confederate military leaders.
  On Friday (May 10), the Shenandoah County, Virginia school board voted 5-1 in favor of a proposal that will restore the Confederate names of two of its schools, per NBC News.
  The move comes after the board decided in 2020 to change the names of schools linked to Confederate leaders Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee, and Turner Ashby. Following Tuesday’s v
  
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• April Gibson: Chicago Poet’s New Book Talks Race, Motherhood and Mississippi

  12-05-2024 16:00 via chicagodefender.com
  
  Poet, Mother, Educator, Author and South Sider April Gibson releases her new book, The Span of a Small Forever (Photo Provided).
  This Mother’s Day weekend, the Chicago Defender celebrates dynamic Black women excelling in their careers while guiding and nurturing their families.
  As Mother’s Day approaches, let’s take a moment to honor the extraordinary gift that is April Gibson. She is a mother, poet, writer, professor and the author of “The Span of A Small Forever.”
  
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• 7th Annual Engineering Competition Showcased Chicago Students’ Innovation in ‘Advanced Autos – Driving Towards Innovation’

  12-05-2024 14:00 via chicagodefender.com
  
  Project SYNCERE hosted its 7th annual ENpowered Games on April 26 at Wintrust Arena. This year’s competition, themed “Advanced Autos – Driving Towards Innovation,” convened over 400 students from 13 Chicago-area schools to build on the excitement around autonomous design, such as the technology Tesla used for its autopilot vehicles. Student teams competed in two challenges:Advanced Autos Challenge: Teams designed autonomous cars using the engineering design process to nav
  
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• Black Teen Who Said Cop Threatened Him For Filming Mom’s Arrest Gets $185K

  12-05-2024 13:30 via chicagodefender.com
  
  Photo: Getty Images
  A Black teenager has been awarded $185,000 after he accused a Louisiana deputy of interfering and threatening him for recording his mother’s violent arrest, ABC News reports.
  De’Shaun Johnson, then 14, was at home with his mother, Teliah Perkins, when St. Tammany Parish deputies alleged she rode a motorcycle without a helmet. Perkins’ attorneys said the allegation was baseless and never prosecuted.
  Perkins’ encounter with deputies turned violent as she
  
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• Chesaree Rollins of Chicago: Balancing Motherhood, Business, and Culinary Excellence

  11-05-2024 16:30 via chicagodefender.com
  
  This Mother’s Day weekend, the Chicago Defender celebrates dynamic Black women excelling in their careers while guiding and nurturing their families.
  With Mother’s Day around the corner, heartwarming tales of mother-daughter bonds take center stage. These stories embrace the beautiful whirlwind of motherhood and endure its ups and downs with love, patience, and unwavering commitment.
  Hailing from Chicago, Chesaree Rollins (Chef CheSa) is the creative force behind CheSa’s Bistro
  
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• Exclusive: Lil Rel Howery On Why ‘We Grown Now’ Is A Chicago Love Letter

  11-05-2024 15:30 via chicagodefender.com
  
  Lil Rel Howery plays Jason in We Grown Now (Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures).
  In case you haven’t heard, Netflix recently released an animated reboot of “Good Times” that is rife with racist, vile and cringe-inducing depictions of Black life. It makes it seem as if the people responsible for it had no connection to the spirit of Chicago, the original show or its Cabrini-Green setting. For shows in the “Straight Huff” category, it is about as tone-deaf, facile and pu
  
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• Meghan Markle Says ‘I See Myself In All Of You’ During 1st Trip To Nigeria

  11-05-2024 14:00 via chicagodefender.com
  
  Photo: Getty Images
  Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have embarked on their first-ever trip to Nigeria.
  On Friday (May 9), the Duke and Duchess of Sussex kicked off their three-day visit to Nigeria by invitation of the country’s Chief of Defense Staff, its highest-ranking military official, per ABC News.
  The couple started the trip by visiting a school in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city. Harry and Meghan were greeted by cheering children before they spoke to the students about mental hea
  
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• Dr. Tyra Urges Chicagoans to Prioritize Health and Celebrate National Nurses Week in May

  11-05-2024 13:30 via chicagodefender.com
  
  Dr. Tyra L. Dean-Ousley, affectionately known as Dr.Tyra, is on a mission to inspire Chicagoans to prioritize their health for a better quality of life. 
  As National Nurses Week approaches from May 6 through 12, 2024, and National Nurses Month throughout the month of May, Dr. Tyra underscores the pivotal role of nurses in fostering healthier communities.
  Dr. Tyra, EdD, MSN, FPA, FNP-BC is a respected nursing leader, educator, clinician, and consultant with over 30 years of experience. The n
  
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• Review: Mother of the Bride

  10-05-2024 19:05 via chicagoreader.com
  
  While there’s nothing wrong with a good old-fashioned Hallmark-style rom-com, there are just so darn many these days that to make one truly worthwhile, it really has to be a cut above. And while Mother of the Bride seems to have a lot of what could make it a standout—a pretty solid cast full of […]
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• Review: Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

  10-05-2024 19:04 via chicagoreader.com
  
  Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes begins generations after the franchise’s last installments directed by Matt Reeves, which followed the first speaking ape, Caesar. And just as this film’s central simian Noa (Owen Teague) must contend with Caesar’s legacy, director Wes Ball must escape the shadow of Reeves, who took easy popcorn fodder and […]
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• Review: Dark Matter (Season one)

  10-05-2024 19:04 via chicagoreader.com
  
  Based on Blake Crouch’s 2016 sci-fi thriller novel of the same name, Dark Matter stars Joel Edgerton as college physics professor Jason Dessen, who lives in Chicago with his wife, Daniela (Jennifer Connelly), and their 15-year-old son, Charlie (Oakes Fegley). One night, Jason is abducted by an alternate version of himself who transports him to […]
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• Campus protests, sexual abuse in youth prisons, May Day for Palestine

  10-05-2024 17:00 via chicagoreader.com
  
  Campus crackdowns The violence that swept college campuses from Columbia University to UCLA made it home to Chicago as police brutally disbanded Palestine solidarity encampments at the School of the Art Institute (SAIC) and the University of Chicago (U. of C.). Within an hour of SAIC students announcing their May 4 occupation of the Michigan […]
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• The play that goes wrong

  10-05-2024 16:39 via chicagoreader.com
  
  My only memory of a Thanksgiving play from my school days stretches back to first grade, when I was asked to play a young Pilgrim boy instead of a girl—because there were more girls than boys in my class and I had short hair. Those were, of course, far less enlightened times. But as Larissa […]
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