Community Focus
La Femme Dance Festival Celebrates Black Women Choreographers
As a Black woman, Vershawn Sanders-Ward wanted to create a dance festival that celebrated the voices of Black women and brought their work to Chicago stages. Sanders-Ward, Founder and Artistic Director of Red Clay Dance Company, created La Femme Dance Festival for that reason.
Hot Sauce Poetry Provides A Space For Poets And Spoken Word Artists
Heartbreak led Tiffany McCaskill to start writing poetry. In high school, she was an emcee. She had dreams of leaving college and becoming a rapper. Her parents weren’t going for that, so she stayed at her HBCU. But, in the back of her mind she was always thinking of rhymes and lyrics, putting pen to paper to express herself.
Metropolitan Peace Academy Looks To Expand Work With New Training Facility
The Metropolitan Peace Academy now has a brick-and-mortar facility to hold its community violence intervention training. Metropolitan Peace Academy started in 2018 with eight community-based organizations that came together with the hope to reduce shootings and homicides in the city, as well as reclaiming safe spaces in neighborhoods. It also aimed to professionalize street outreach through the Metropolitan Peace Academy. The first cohort was 25 outreach workers who had lived experiences, and some were returning citizens
New Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Is The First Black Woman In Role
Dr. Olumsmbo Ige has been appointed as the Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner, making her the first Black woman in the role.
Illinois Made Program Amplifies Small Businesses
Stephanie Hart opened the Brown Sugar Bakery on 75th Street in 2002. Since then, Brown Sugar Bakery has expanded to include a space in the former Cupid Candies building where she makes candy.
Justin Austin Talks ‘Champion’
The story of welterweight boxer Emile Griffith, in the form of an opera written by composer Terence Blanchard, is coming to the Lyric Opera of Chicago on Saturday, Jan. 27th. Justin Austin portrays young Emile in the Lyric performance of “Champion.” Both of his parents are opera singers and he was exposed to the theatre at a very young age. Being around Black opera singers at a young age helped him realize that was something he wanted to do. He started singing at the age of 3 and professionally at age 4, performing the boy Soprano part of Scipio in “Porgy and Bess.”
North Lawndale Employment Network Receives Neighborhood Builders Recognition
The North Lawndale Employment Network is one of two Chicago-based organizations that have been awarded the 2023 Bank of America Neighborhood Builders grant. It is the second time North Lawndale Employment Network has received the award. It will use the $200,000 grant money to continue its mission to provide employment opportunities to residents in the North Lawndale community.
Hyde Park Art Center Provides Funds To Artists In Non-Traditional Spaces
The Artists Run Chicago Fund is supported by the Hyde Park Art Center. It provides funds to artist-run platforms that give opportunities to other artists, enable them to show their work, support artists in making artwork and make connections between artists and the work they make. The fund also gives priority to platforms led by Black, Indigenous, People of Color, LGBTQIA +, women artists and artists with disabilities. The hope is they can use the funds to strengthen the city’s art communities and artist-to-artist support networks.
Dream Vault Opens at Blue Door
Dion’s Chicago Dream in partnership with the Blue Door Neighborhood Center Morgan Park and T. Castro Produce have developed a way for people to receive fresh produce with the hope it will benefit residents in the Morgan Park community.
Christmas in the Wards celebrates its 27th year of Giving & Service to the Community with Events in the City, Southland, and Proviso!
Christmas in the Wards celebrated its 27th year of Giving & Service to the Community with multiple events this year. Starting off the holiday celebrations was the annual shopping with the Mayor December 11, 2023, at Walmart, 10900 S. Doty Avenue in Chicago. Larry Huggins, Founder of Christmas in the Wards, and Title Sponsors Metropolitan Pier & Exposition Authority (*MPEA), Walmart & Amazon; Presenting Sponsors, Walgreens & Grub Hub along with Platinum, Diamond, Gold Sponsors and Aldermen on the south side to shop for families.
Hip Hop Nutcracker reimagines the classic with a Hip Hop feel
The Hip Hop Nutcracker infuses the story of the classic Nutcracker, with the timeless music of Tchaikovsky, reimagined to take place in New York City with breakdancers, a deejay and a violinist.
Program helps parents of newborns
A Chicago Department of Public Health program provides free, in-home nurse visits to parents with newborns. Family Connects Chicago was launched in 2020 and is available to families in Chicago who deliver babies at eight hospitals throughout the city.
An update on the Woodlawn Central Plan
The Woodlawn Central Master Plan was created as a part of a 2060 Plan by J. Byron Brazier. The plan was approved by the City of Chicago Department of Planning and Development. Brazier took some time to speak with the Citizen Newspaper and give an update on the progress of the plan.
FROM ADVERSITY TO VICTORY: DIXMOOR VIKINGS 11U AND 10U TEAM EYE SUPER BOWL GOLD IN ORLANDO, FLORIDA
The Dixmoor Vikings 11U and 10U Pop Warner teams are gearing up for an exhilarating opportunity as they head to the prestigious Pop Warner Super Bowl in Orlando, FL. This remarkable achievement comes on the heels of the team’s incredible performance, having clinched the National Runner-Up position after narrowly missing out on Nationals last year.
