homepage
EMERGE!™ A Fashion Runway Show hosted an epic return to the runway during New York Fashion Week February 2022 Legendary Designer Karl Kani received Fashion Innovator Award
The leading emerging designer runway show established to be a catalyst and provide a national platform for independent and emerging designers returned to an in-person live runway show during New York Fashion Week on February 15, 2022 at Broad Street Ballroom (41 Broad street – New York, NY). The Show was taped for a new series called “A Road to Emerge!” which will highlight the behind the scenes of a fashion show.
Chicago Community Loan Fund Launches “Communities of Color Fund” to Serve Chicago’s South and West Sides, Five Suburban Counties
Chicago Community Loan Fund (CCLF), along with key investors, has created a $25 million loan fund to support African American, Latino and other business developers of color. The Communities of Color Fund was added to CCLF’s lending capabilities as another tool to address racial equity in low- to moderate-income neighborhoods throughout Chicagoland with a strong emphasis on Chicago’s South and West sides and suburban markets that lack access to low-cost capital.
PRESIDENT PRECKWINKLE AND THE COOK COUNTY LAND BANK AUTHORITY ANNOUNCE THE TRANSFORMATION OF 1,000 VACANT AND ABANDONED PROPERTIES INTO HOMES, OFFICES AND COMMUNITY SPACES ACROSS THE REGION
The Cook County Land Bank Authority (CCLBA) announced today that through its programs, community developers have now renovated 1,000 previously vacant and abandoned homes in Cook County, returning them to productive, tax-generating use.
New Updates to College Scorecard Make Tool More Useful for Students and Families
The U.S. Department of Education released updates to the College Scorecard that make the tool more useful for students and families weighing college options.
Lt. Governor Stratton Launches Agricultural Equity and Food Insecurity Initiative
Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton today launched the Agricultural Equity and Food Insecurity Initiative, called #AgConnectsUsAll. We know there are disparities in who enjoys the benefits of, and who has access to, the opportunities the agriculture industry has to offer in this country—including in Illinois. We also know that food insecurity impacts far too many people in all 102 counties of Illinois, especially children and the elderly.
A. Philip Randolph “Gentle Warrior Awards” Returns as a Gala Cocktail Reception
The only museum of its kind to celebrate community leaders who uphold the labor movement; agents of change Presented by Wintrust, the National A. Philip Randolph Pullman Porter Museum (NAPRPPM) will mark its 27th anniversary by hosting the “Gentle Warrior Awards” Gala Cocktail Reception. The museum’s premiere fundraiser will take place from 5 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 26, Hyde Park Bank, 1525 East 53rd St.
Richard King Mellon Invests in Black Founded Ed-Tech Startup
RK Mellon Foundation makes a project-related investment in a Black father-son-led company that aims to increase diversity in STEAM fields so disadvantaged populations are included in the future of work. Damola and Wole Idowu - engineers, creatives, educators, and entrepreneurs - founded Toyz Electronics at Carnegie Mellon University’s Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship in Pittsburgh, Penn
SHARON CHUTER AND PULL UP FOR CHANGE TEAM UP WITH NEW BEAUTY BRANDS
Following a successful launch in February 2021, in which over $400,000 was raised and deployed to eight emerging black business founders at Essence Festival of Culture, Sharon Chuter and her non-profit organization, Pull Up For Change are re-launching the Make It BLACK campaign for Black History Month 2022 with new beauty partners.
REALM PICTURES AIMS TO DISRUPT HOLLYWOOD’S ELITIST BUSINESS MODEL
The power brokers of Hollywood have long been the omnipotent gatekeepers to the entertainment industry. According to Realm Pictures International, it’s time to shatter that stranglehold and open the industry to outstanding undiscovered talent, particularly women and artists of color.
GOVERNOR, AG ADDRESS EXPRESSWAY SHOOTINGS, ORGANIZED RETAIL CRIME
Two of the state's top officials each held news conferences Monday morning to outline current and proposed responses to increasing crime, including expressway shootings and organized retail thefts.
WITH A STIRRING AND INSPIRATIONAL SPEECH, JONATHAN JACKSON ENTERS RACE FOR FIRST DISTRICT HOUSE SEAT
Jonathan L. Jackson, an activist, businessman and educator, is a strong and outstanding candidate to become the next congressman representing Chicago’s South Side and the entire Illinois 1st Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Black Child Clothing Introduces Their 300 Signature Collection
Black Child Clothing, a clothing company out of Chicago, Ill., is excited to announce the launch of their 300 Signature Collection. This collection was designed to commemorate the 300 Freedom Suit Cases that were filed in the St. Louis Circuit Court House from 1814 to 1860, a time period when it was illegal for a slave to be found literate. The designs on the 300 Signature Collection display replicas of authentic slave signatures from these 300 Freedom Suit Cases.
LIFEWTR® Spotlights and Uplifts Black Creatives
Quilen Blackwell’s journey took him from Madison, Wis. to Thailand to Milwaukee and finally to Chicago, where he founded an organization that takes vacant lots, turns them into solar farms that grow flowers. The flowers Chicago Eco House grows provide an economic solution for poverty where the farms are located.
Black Women on Boards Launches New Accelerator and Founding Partners
Black Women on Boards (BWOB), a new global organization that removes the invisible obstacles that Black female executives face when pursuing board membership, announced a new cohort-based board accelerator program for its members with the support of founding partnerships with DCVC, Diligent, Felicis Ventures, Kleiner Perkins, and Sapphire Ventures.
