Illinois news

• Tary Coffee House brings ancient preservation techniques from the central Asian steppes to River North

  15-05-2024 21:07 via chicagoreader.com
  
  Last weekend, chef Ratbek Sadvakasov was competing in the Top Chef Challenge at the Vegan Women Summit in Hollywood. He served vivid and carefully composed plates of Impossible Beef meatballs with golden millet, spinach, pumpkin cream, and honey, garnished with steamed broccoli and dried raspberry powder. Sadvakasov is not a vegan. Nor is his restaurant, […]
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• Review: Park Life

  28-05-2024 19:08 via chicagoreader.com
  
  One banal afternoon in Chicago, two strangers—an austere consultant from New York and a mopey writer-substitute teacher from Los Angeles—start chitchatting on a park bench. Here, against a backdrop of parents corralling their chaotic children away from the playground, these two unnamed protagonists, played by Kathleen McElfresh and Matt Dellapina, respectively, toss awkward small talk […]
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• Los Angeles cumbia punks Tropa Magica make music for living the good life together

  28-05-2024 16:42 via chicagoreader.com
  
  Brothers David and Rene Pacheco make twisted cumbia as Tropa Magica. Born in East Los Angeles, the duo grew up immersed in the sounds of cumbia and ranchera, punctuated by chihuahua barks, baby wails, and family gossip. In a video for Firestone Walker’s 805 beer, Rene describes their philosophy as “conviviendo.” It’s music for living […]
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• Exiled electronic hip-hop duo Aigel make their Chicago debut

  28-05-2024 16:16 via chicagoreader.com
  
  Aigel are the dark electronic hip-hop duo of Tatarstan poet and vocalist Aigel Gaisina and Russian musician and producer Ilya Baramiya. The two came together in 2016 when Gaisina asked Bariyama to write music for poems she’d written after her boyfriend at the time was imprisoned on assault charges—he’d gotten into a fight with her […]
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• Ulric Shannon Shares Inspiring Journey And Brown v. Board’s Lasting Impact

  28-05-2024 16:00 via chicagodefender.com
  
  Chicago native Ulric Shannon understands the importance of a solid education. 
  Despite his parents not graduating from college, his father, who was from Alabama, and his mother, who was raised in the Chicago housing projects, instilled in their son the value of education. 
  Like many striving for more, their drive to raise an intellectually independent young man led him to pursue education as “a way out,” said Shannon.
  Shannon, who holds three master’s degrees&mda
  
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• Black Woman Crowned As Miss Universe Philippines For First Time Ever

  28-05-2024 14:30 via chicagodefender.com
  
  Photo: Miss Universe Philippines
  A Black woman has been crowned Miss Universe Philippines for the first time in history.
  On Wednesday (May 22), Filipino American Chelsea Manalo, 24, earned the title of Miss Universe Philippines at SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay, per CNN.
  Manalo, who has a Filipino mother and African American father, made history as the first Black woman to receive the Miss Universe Philippines crown. She represented Bulacan, a province North of Manila, and competed against 52 ot
  
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• J. Pharoah Doss: Bad Hair Days And Avoiding Appearances

  28-05-2024 14:00 via chicagodefender.com
  
  Vanessa Sefa, a Black teacher in the United Kingdom, shared a story on social media in 2021 to highlight the need for more Black teachers.
  A 12-year-old Black girl entered Sefa’s class. The student was in the rain. It caused her hair to tangle and shrink. With tears in her eyes, the kid told Sefa she wasn’t going to spend the entire day at school looking a mess and expressed her desire to go home.
  Going home was not an option, so the student asked Sefa to braid her hair.
  When the stu
  
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• Swappin’ Boots proves country has always been queer

  28-05-2024 13:00 via chicagoreader.com
  
  Chicago’s queer community is rich in bolo ties. And ten-gallon hats. And old-fashioned Western shirts with pearl-snap buttons, fringed leather jackets, and well-worn cowboy boots. Honestly, good luck finding any of these within a ten-mile radius of the city prior to June 1, when Swappin’ Boots, Queer Social Club’s hit two-step night, returns to Judson […]
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• Bryson Tiller Electrifies Chicago Fans Despite Forecast at Northerly Island

  28-05-2024 01:29 via chicagodefender.com
  
  Bryson Tiller embracing the love from Chicago fans as rain drips from the sky. He was performing his feature verse from Summer Walker’s “Play No Games” (Credit: Dominique Gillon)
  “The show must go on!”
  That’s what took place Friday (5/24) at the Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island as fans poured in to see R&B singer Bryson Tiller.
  The serenading vocalist is best known for his breakout hit, “Don’t” (2015), and has collaborated wit
  
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• Kim Gordon keeps it freaky and far-out on The Collective

  27-05-2024 21:58 via chicagoreader.com
  
  It’s been interesting to see how the members of Sonic Youth have tackled their solo careers since the landmark experimental rock band suddenly split up in 2011. Their paths have often suggested that Sonic Youth were a phenomenon greater than the sum of their parts, to put it politely. The output of guitarist Thurston Moore […]
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• Esteban Flores of Slow Joy champions his Mexican American heritage with southwestern grungegaze

  27-05-2024 21:21 via chicagoreader.com
  
  Slow Joy is the solo project of vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Esteban Flores, a second-generation Mexican American born and raised in New Mexico, and his heritage radiates throughout his music. “It’s the bass undertone to the treble,” he tells me over Zoom from his home in Dallas. As the grandchild of a pastor at a conservative […]
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• Reverence and Service: Mark Buford On Why Memorial Day Should Matter To Us

  27-05-2024 16:11 via chicagodefender.com
  
  Memorial Day also encapsulates the perspectives and experiences of African Americans. The holiday explores our reflections on the sacrifices made by veterans; it is also a day of participation in traditions such as family gatherings and barbecues, a chance to advocate for equitable treatment of veterans. The holiday is also a time to honor the memories of those who served by taking part in community engagement and support initiatives. 
  Mark Buford, a military veteran, Chicagoland real estat
  
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• Review: Backspot

  27-05-2024 16:00 via chicagoreader.com
  
  D.W. Waterson’s Backspot, at first glance, is a lot like any number of other sports films. There’s an ambitious protagonist and a gruff coach (Evan Rachel Wood) with (maybe) a heart of gold. There are training montages. There are setbacks, and relationships fray under the high-stakes pressure. And, of course, there are triumphs, victories, and […]
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• Guns Are Killing Young Black People in Rural America, Too

  27-05-2024 15:45 via chicagodefender.com
  
  A combination of limited opportunities, lax gun laws and a sense of hopelessness are likely causes for increasing gun deaths among young Black people in rural enclaves and small towns. (Credit: Luka Lajst from Getty Images Signature).
  This article was originally published on Word In Black.
  By Jennifer Porter Gore
  Overview:
  The scourge of gun violence, the leading cause of death for Black youths under 21, is a growing problem for small towns and rural areas that don’t get as much atten
  
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• Black Woman Earns College Degree At 79

  27-05-2024 15:00 via chicagodefender.com
  
  Photo: troy.edu
  A 79-year-old Alabama woman has earned her college degree.
  According to Fox 8, Angerline Day, 79, recently walked across the graduation stage and accepted her diploma from Troy University.
  “I don’t give myself any expiration dates on anything,” Day said.
  Day said she had dreamed of getting a psychology degree when she was younger but couldn’t afford it. Day was enrolled in Alabama State University after high school but didn’t have the money to finish
  
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• Surviving Domestic Abuse In Hollywood: The Story Of Diddy And Cassie

  26-05-2024 16:30 via chicagodefender.com
  
  By Michael Gaskins
  Let me take you back, way back, into time. It’s the mid-1990s, and Sean “Diddy” Combs, then known as Puff Daddy, was beginning his upward ascent in Rap and R&B. As the founder of Bad Boy Records, Diddy was a key figure in shaping the Hip-hop landscape. Artists like The Notorious B.I.G., Lil’ Kim, Total, Faith Evans and Junior Mafia were under his label, creating a distinct sound that resonated from car stereos to clubs everywhere. 
  Over the yea
  
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• Tariq Nasheed’s ‘Microphone Check’ Highlights Black Founders of Hip-hop

  26-05-2024 15:45 via chicagodefender.com
  
  Tariq Nasheed, director of Microphone Check, a documentary about Hip-hop (Credit: Kickstarter).
  By Corli Jay
  With her most recent album “Cowboy Carter,” Beyonce has sparked conversations about the Black origins of country music, a genre long co-opted and gentrified by the White masses despite its roots as a Black-founded style of music.A new documentary similarly aims to dispel myths about the origins of one of the world’s most popular musical genres, Hip-hop.
  “A lot of f
  
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• City Of Chicago Unveils Comprehensive Summer Safety Plan

  26-05-2024 14:30 via chicagodefender.com
  
  On Friday, the City of Chicago announced a groundbreaking summer safety plan, underscored by a $100 million investment from the FY24 budget. 
  This comprehensive strategy focuses on anti-violence programming, strategic CPD deployments and strengthened investigations, restorative justice, re-entry services, and domestic and gender-based violence prevention and intervention – all aimed at enhancing community safety and well-being. 
  “Today marks a significant step forward in ou
  
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• Obama Makes Surprise Appearance At Biden’s White House Dinner For Kenya

  26-05-2024 14:00 via chicagodefender.com
  
  Photo: Getty Images
  Former President Barack Obama recently made his way back to the White House.
  On Thursday (May 23), President Joe Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden hosted a White House state dinner for Kenyan President William Ruto and his First Lady Rachel Ruto, per CNN.
  The guest list for the official state dinner featured celebrities and politicians including Former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, actor LeVar Burton, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, NBA
  
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• After George Floyd’s Murder, a Minneapolis Church Builds Community

  25-05-2024 16:00 via chicagodefender.com
  
  George Floyd Mural (Credit: Lorie Shaull/flickr)
   
  A member of Calvary Lutheran Church says they’ve learned to be “gentle with each other so we can be dangerous together.”
   
  This article was originally published on Word In Black.
   By Rev. Dorothy S. Boulware
   May 25, 2024, marks four years since George Floyd was murdered — on May 25, 2020 — by white former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. Chauvin, who was found guilty of s
  
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• The Overlooked Black History Of Memorial Day

  25-05-2024 15:30 via chicagodefender.com
  
  Photo: Getty Images
  When the last Monday of May comes around, Americans fire up the grill, welcome the upcoming summer season, and most importantly, honor U.S. soldiers who gave their lives to defend the country.
  Initially called Decoration Day, the observance was held in remembrance of Union troops who perished during the Civil War. Over the next century, more states and government agencies started observing the holiday for all U.S. soldiers who died in wars. It didn’t become a national h
  
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• Vitamin T Fitness to host Mental Health Spin Bike Ride and Resource Fair May 25

  25-05-2024 13:30 via chicagodefender.com
  
  Vitamin T Fitness is marking Mental Health Awareness Month with a special spin ride and resource fair on Saturday, May 25, from Noon-1:30 p.m. at 6128 Broadway. Gym owner Tiffany Blakemore developed the event to raise awareness of the critical connection between mental and physical wellness.
  “We must take care of the mind and the body,” said Blakemore. “We all are either going through or have been through something that may have caused some type of mental distress. This event w
  
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• Chicago doom-folk outfit Huntsmen confront personal ups and downs on The Dry Land

  24-05-2024 22:18 via chicagoreader.com
  
  Chicago quintet Huntsmen made waves with their 2018 debut full-length, American Scrap (Prosthetic). The record’s distinctive sound blends heavy doom with dark folk and Americana, a combination so intuitive that it’s hard to remember it wasn’t already an established genre. Two years later, Huntsmen’s follow-up, the March 2020 release Mandala of Fear, is an ambitious […]
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• Chicago footwork producer Heavee brings his immersive vision to Smart Bar

  24-05-2024 21:52 via chicagoreader.com
  
  As Heavee, Chicago producer Darryl Bunch Jr. is responsible for some of the most inventive footwork tracks in recent memory. In March, Hyperdub released his album Unleashed, which offsets its polyrhythmic aggression with melodic serenity. Bunch likes to evoke video-game scores in his work, and Unleashed sometimes includes parts that recall, say, Super Mario 64, […]
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• That unrelenting buzz is the sound of a new summer schedule for Monday Night Foodball

  24-05-2024 20:50 via chicagoreader.com
  
  Hark! What’s that sound? That pulsating drone rising and falling amid the leafy, green canopy? It sounds like the sizzle of bison fat dropping on hardwood lump charcoal. Or it’s the snap of smoldering white oak and the fizz of icy cold beer. It has a bewitching aroma too—tangy fermented dough swelling into fresh, hot […]
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• UK punk legends the Damned reunite with their founding drummer to make noise, noise, noise

  24-05-2024 19:40 via chicagoreader.com
  
  You can keep your Clash and your Sex Pistols; when it comes to pioneering British punk acts, this closet pogo fiend will choose the Damned every time. The Damned roared out of the gate in November 1976 and became the first UK punk band to release a single—the irresistibly propulsive “New Rose.” Since then, the […]
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• The Chicago House Music Festival makes its grand return to Millennium Park

  24-05-2024 19:40 via chicagoreader.com
  
  The Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events debuted the Chicago House Music Festival in Millennium Park on Memorial Day weekend in 2018. Even in its first year, the fest felt like part of a tradition, because the city had presented house-music events in the same place at around the same time for years. On […]
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• Mysterious Australian instrumental trio Glass Beams make their Chicago debut

  24-05-2024 19:40 via chicagoreader.com
  
  Melbourne instrumental trio Glass Beams have crafted a distinct sound that blends influences from Indian classical music with elements of disco, funk, surf rock, and more. The band formed in 2020, and within a year they’d captivated an international audience with the strength of their debut EP, Mirage. While Glass Beams’ profile has continued to […]
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• Japanese art-rockers Melt-Banana have spent decades perfecting their mash-up of spasmodic noise 

  24-05-2024 19:40 via chicagoreader.com
  
  Japanese art-rock outfit Melt-Banana have been making sharp, spasmodic noise for 32 years. In that time, their approach hasn’t changed so much as they’ve gotten better at what they’ve always done. Their music pairs the energy of a sugar-crazed child with the sophistication of a lighting grid—it’s strangely angular in a way that feels technical […]
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• Inspired by migrating wildlife, sound artist Olivia Block returns to singing after three decades

  24-05-2024 19:40 via chicagoreader.com
  
  When Olivia Block came to Chicago from Texas in 1996, she’d already given up singing in order to focus on the collection and manipulation of sound. Her practice since then has ranged widely, encompassing orchestral compositions, musique concrète–inspired collages of found and performed materials, and site-specific works with which she’s invited listeners to perceive in […]
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