• Chicago Reader formally completes transition to nonprofit

    Chicago Reader formally completes transition to nonprofit
    Sale documents were signed May 16, 2022, to transfer ownership of the Chicago Reader to the Reader Institute for Community Journalism, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
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  • VOICES Heard: New Cancer Study Will Center Black Women

    VOICES Heard: New Cancer Study Will Center Black Women
    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
  • The Secret Sisters return after four years with some serious folk-country Medicine

    The Secret Sisters return after four years with some serious folk-country Medicine
    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

    Sonja’s lusty heavy metal blends goth rock and 80s Sunset Strip sleaze
    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

    Shoegaze legends Ride embrace the journey on the synth-pop–influenced Interplay
    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

    Electronic-music pioneer Suzanne Ciani celebrates the 40th anniversary of her album Seven Waves
    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

    Chicago rapper KingTrey angles for a spot in the post-Chance canon with Southend Legend
    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 […]
    The post Chicago rapper KingTrey angles for a spot in the post-Chance canon with <i>Southend Legend</i> appeared first on Chi
  • Chicago’s Sprite give slacker rock a kick of energy

    Chicago’s Sprite give slacker rock a kick of energy
    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

    The Tomeka Reid Quartet goes long on third album 3+3
    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

    Chicago troubadour and guitar god Bill MacKay releases Locust Land
    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

    Drummer, bandleader, and impresario Mike Reed throws a five-day celebration of his 50th birthday
    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 Duanté Abercrombie Aims to Bring the HBCU Experience to Hockey

    TSU’s Duanté Abercrombie Aims to Bring the HBCU Experience to Hockey
    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
  • No dust to shake off

    No dust to shake off
    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

    Confederate Names Of Two Schools Being Restored Following Board Vote
    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
  • April Gibson: Chicago Poet’s New Book Talks Race, Motherhood and Mississippi

    April Gibson: Chicago Poet’s New Book Talks Race, Motherhood and Mississippi
    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.”
  • 7th Annual Engineering Competition Showcased Chicago Students’ Innovation in ‘Advanced Autos – Driving Towards Innovation’

    7th Annual Engineering Competition Showcased Chicago Students’ Innovation in ‘Advanced Autos – Driving Towards Innovation’
    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
  • Black Teen Who Said Cop Threatened Him For Filming Mom’s Arrest Gets $185K

    Black Teen Who Said Cop Threatened Him For Filming Mom’s Arrest Gets $185K
    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
  • Chesaree Rollins of Chicago: Balancing Motherhood, Business, and Culinary Excellence

    Chesaree Rollins of Chicago: Balancing Motherhood, Business, and Culinary Excellence
    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
  • Exclusive: Lil Rel Howery On Why ‘We Grown Now’ Is A Chicago Love Letter

    Exclusive: Lil Rel Howery On Why ‘We Grown Now’ Is A Chicago Love Letter
    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
  • Meghan Markle Says ‘I See Myself In All Of You’ During 1st Trip To Nigeria

    Meghan Markle Says ‘I See Myself In All Of You’ During 1st Trip To Nigeria
    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
  • Dr. Tyra Urges Chicagoans to Prioritize Health and Celebrate National Nurses Week in May

    Dr. Tyra Urges Chicagoans to Prioritize Health and Celebrate National Nurses Week in May
    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
  • Review: Mother of the Bride

    Review: Mother of the Bride
    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

    Review: Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
    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)

    Review: Dark Matter (Season one)
    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

    Campus protests, sexual abuse in youth prisons, May Day for Palestine
    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

    The play that goes wrong
    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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  • Sweet Success: Kilwins Owner Named Illinois Small Business Person of the Year

    Sweet Success: Kilwins Owner Named Illinois Small Business Person of the Year
    I knew I wanted to do something with entrepreneurship, but I didn’t know what it would be. – Jacqueline “Jackie” Jackson
    Walking into Kilwins in Andersonville is like entering a wonderland of sweetness. As soon as you open the door, the air is filled with the delightful aroma of chocolate, caramel and vanilla, instantly awakening the senses and inducing pure excitement. Ice cream is also served in the cozy space, where every sweet craving is effortlessly satisfied.
  • A Barrie Cole festival lays the table for a thoughtful feast

    A Barrie Cole festival lays the table for a thoughtful feast
    Editor’s Note: Since all the plays presented in Hamburgers & Disappointment are for two people, we thought it made some sense to have two critics writing about the festival. Capacity and Meaning Is Tricky As one half of Sweetback Productions’ festival of playwright Barrie Cole’s two-person one-acts, Capacity and Meaning Is Tricky offer audiences a […]
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  • Pullman and Roseland Communities Celebrate Latest Milestone in their Revitalization

    Pullman and Roseland Communities Celebrate Latest Milestone in their Revitalization
    At the groundbreaking for the new 8-acre Pullman Gateway commercial center and the first Chick-fil-A on the South Side at 112th and Corliss Avenue. Pictured left to right are: Adrienne Baker, IFF, Managing Lending Director; Jason Hill, Chick-fil-A, Midwest Regional Director; 9th Ward Alderman Anthony A. Beale; David Doig, CNI, President; Commissioner Ciere Boatright, Dept. of Planning and Development; Reverend Charlie Dates, Salem Baptist Church; Reverend James Meeks, Hope Center Foundation, Fou
  • The return of the American Writers Festival

    The return of the American Writers Festival
    In May 2022, the American Writers Museum presented the inaugural American Writers Festival, a free literary event featuring conversations with more than 70 authors from across the country. With five stages at the museum and the Chicago Cultural Center, the festival drew thousands of visitors. On May 19, the one-day event returns for a second […]
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