Local News

The Black Hollywood Education & Resource Center Announces 30th Anniversary of Sistas Are Doin' It For Themselves Short Film Showcase and Virtual Film Festival

The Black Hollywood Education and Resource Center (BHERC) will host the 30th Anniversary of its Sistas Are Doin' It For Themselves Short Film Showcase and Virtual Film Festival. All in-person events will be held May 19-21, 2023 at the Directors Guild of America in Los Angeles, California. The Virtual Festival will be streamed via BHERC.TV from May 22-31.

ATTORNEY GENERAL RAOUL ANNOUNCES SETTLEMENT WITH TELEHEALTH COMPANY, VISIBLY

Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced a bipartisan national settlement with Visibly Inc. (Visibly) that resolves an investigation into deceptive business practices at the online telehealth company. Visibly, formerly known as Opternative Inc., is a Chicago-based company that markets and sells an online vision test, among other products.

ComEd Invests $963 Million with Diversity-Certified Suppliers in 2022

As part of its longstanding effort to advance equity in the communities it serves, ComEd spent $963 million, or 43% of its total supply chain spend, with businesses owned by women, people of color and veterans in 2022. This brings its spend with diversity-certified suppliers since 2012 to $7.4 billion. Maintaining its commitment to local investment, ComEd spent $651 million of its total diverse spend last year with Illinois-based suppliers.

MAYOR LIGHTFOOT JOINS CITY OFFICIALS FOR A JOINT RIBBON-CUTTING AND GROUNDBREAKING CEREMONY FOR 43 GREEN

Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot was joined by City officials, P3 Markets, and The Habitat Company for a joint ribbon-cutting and groundbreaking ceremony for 43 Green, an $81.8M INVEST South/West two-building project that will bring equitable transit-oriented development to Chicago’s historic Bronzeville area

Dion’s Chicago Dream launches Feed the Dream fundraising competition

Dion’s Chicago Dream, a nonprofit taking a fresh approach to eliminating food insecurity, launched the Feed the Dream fundraising competition to raise $1 million to deliver healthy, high-quality produce to 1,000 Chicagoland households every week for one year.

Chicago Teens can Apply for After School Matters® Summer Programs

After School Matters’ summer session application is open, offering thousands of Chicago teens the opportunity to apply to hundreds of programs in the arts, communications and leadership, sports, and STEM. Programs begin June 26, run for six weeks, and will take place in-person at locations across the city like libraries, parks, After School Matters facilities, and community-based organizations as well as some select remote options. Teens interested in applying can visit afterschoolmatters.org.

CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY IS AWARDED A $2 MILLION GRANT FROM THE MELLON FOUNDATION TO MAKE BLACK HISTORY MORE ACCESSIBLE TO THE PUBLIC

The library’s largest collections grant ever received to support the Renaissance Project which enhances the library's special collections and archival materials of rich Black cultural and historical resources.

RED CLAY DANCE COMPANY ANNOUNCES WORLD PREMIERE OF “REST. RISE. MOVE. NOURISH. HEAL.”

Red Clay Dance Company will close out its 14th Season with the world premiere of its newest work, “Rest.Rise.Move.Nourish.Heal.,” which audiences will have the opportunity to experience on June 8-10, 2023. Rest. Rise.Move.Nourish.Heal is a site-responsive dance ritual created by Founder and Artistic Director Vershawn Sanders-Ward and Company in collaboration with composer avery r. young, filmmaker Jovan Landry, Kelley KFLEYE Moseley and Evelyn Danner.

Carol's Daughter Launches Birthing While Black Campaign for Year 3 of Black Maternal Health Initiative, "Love Delivered"

Carol's Daughter has announced its Birthing While Black campaign, which showcases the real-life stories of Black people navigating the crisis. To kick off the campaign, Black birthing people everywhere are encouraged to share their birthing stories on social to raise awareness around Black Maternal Health, by using the hashtag: #BirthingWhileBlack and tagging @carolsdaughter. Each post will spark a donation to the Mama Glow Foundation that will help fund doula support for families in need.

OkayMedia Hires New EIC To Oversee OkayPlayer + OkayAfrica

OkayMedia, the multimedia organization dedicated to uplifting the artistic and progressive voice of global Black culture, announced the hiring of Geo Hagan as the new Editor-in-Chief.

How to Exercise Good Financial Health

April is Financial Literacy Month – a perfect time to start building a foundation for a healthy financial future. Good financial health is the foundation on which strong and resilient households, communities and economies are built, but the reality is, many struggle to manage their financial daily lives.

American Library Association Executive Director named to TIME 100 List

Tracie D. Hall, Executive Director of the American Library Association, has been named in the TIME Most Influential List. Hall had no idea that she was being considered for the list. She called it a humbling experience to be named on the list, which features some very notable and well-known people. People on the TIME 100 List are chosen by TIME editors. She believes she was chosen because libraries are on the front lines of conversations about Democracy, the right to read and free expression.

Mobile business owner wants to help other mobile entrepreneurs

Wysonia Payton has reinvested herself a lot over the course of her life. After working as a hair stylist for 25 years, she decided she wanted to go into catering with Decadent Flavors. Decadent Flavors has been around for eight years, and Payton calls it her “new baby.” When she was younger, she loved cooking and even thought about going to culinary school while, she continued to work as a hair stylist.

Mural celebrates life of Mayor Harold Washington

A mural that depicts the life and legacy of Mayor Harold Washington now sits at the college that bears his name. On Thursday, April 13th, the mural, created by Judith Mayer, was unveiled at Harold Washington College, located at 30 E. Lake St. The unveiling was a celebration of the mural and an opportunity for people to reflect on the lasting legacy of Washington, who was Chicago’s first Black Mayor.

YELLOW BANANA CLOSES $26.5 MILLION TRANSFORMATIVE INVESTMENT IN SIX GROCERY STORES ON CHICAGO’S SOUTH AND WEST SIDES

Yellow Banana, the owner and operator of eight Save A Lot locations in the Chicagoland area, today announced the March 31, 2023 closing of a $26.5 million investment into grocery stores on the South and West Sides of Chicago. This transaction marks the next step in Yellow Banana’s ongoing commitment to underserved communities throughout the City of Chicago and the U.S. The investment combines a $13.5 million Community Development Grant that the City previously awarded to Yellow Banana in July 2022 with New Markets Tax Credits, third-party financing and funding from Yellow Banana.