Opinion: Portrayals of Black Men in Sports Don’t Tell Real Story
No matter the year or the reception, the depiction of black men in sports movies is far from accurate. Favorites like Remember the Titans, Glory Road and The Blind Side all tell the story of the black man’s struggle to find success in the sports world. But how accurate are these movies? How does football accurately show [...]
Manifest Talent, Identity, Achievement and Celebrate
It is the end of the semester at Columbia College Chicago, and Friday is that yearly explosion of talent and fun: Manifest. View the video preview and then read the 5 reasons Manifest is the place to be on Friday. 1. “Manifest Destiny” (Be there or be square) Columbia’s mission is, “to educate students who [...]
May Day march in Chicago focuses on immigration reform
Carl Rosen, a worker for the United Electrical Workers was one of hundreds of people who participated in a May Day march in downtown Chicago on May 1, calling for immigration reform. “We need to legalize the status of the 11 million undocumented workers that are here because otherwise they are being used to drive [...]
The Buckingham Fountain Springs to Life
In a rite of a spring, the world’s largest fountain, the Clarence F. Buckingham Memorial Fountain in Grant Park, opened today for its 86th season under sunny skies. A little girl wearing a red jacket pulled a fake level connected to a box, and jets of water of slowly started to shoot into the air, [...]
Volkswagen donates cars to Chicago Fire Department
Volkswagen donated three of its passenger sedans to the Chicago Fire Department Training Division to help rescue teams learn how to get into the vehicles after they’ve crashed. At a demonstration Thursday, fire rescue squads annihilated one of the brand new vehicles with the hydraulic Jaws of Life from Hurst Tools. A firefighter walked up and [...]
Chicago Health Atlas valuable resource for you and your community
BLACKLINE REVIEW is a new video news site in Chicago. They specialize in reporting about new start-ups in town. Here is an excellent piece they put together that describes the Chicago Health Atlas, an new open gov data mashup, and provide concrete examples of how you can use this to see if you neighborhood is [...]
When actions speak louder than words
Here’s a series of videos that show the silent protest organized by ArtAmmo in action:
Art=Ammo joins families in protest against gun violence in Chicago
Mothers of young victims affected by gun violence, along with Art=Ammo (Artists Against Gun Violence) came together in the Chicago downtown area to honor their loved ones during a silent demonstration in April. The group created an artistic display in an effort to protest gun violence in the city underneath the Picasso display outside of the Daley Center [...]
Building a barbecue community in West Ridge
Harry Belafonte is playing on the turntable and the smell of smoked barbecue invades the room. Within moments of walking in, Rub’s Backcountry Smokehouse proves true to its name, and feels more backwoods Nashville than it does Northside Chicago. Vintage flags, wagon wheel chandeliers and ornamental pigs decorate the space. Through the economic downturn, struggling [...]
Rogers Park vintage shop transports treasures back to the future
Lost Eras, 1511 W. Howard St., is a vintage and costume store located in Rogers Park. In this video, owner Charlotte Walters describes what to expect to find inside this unique shop.
Video: Infinite Ripples of Peace March in Pilsen
On March 21, youth and members of the Pilsen community hung handmade prayer flags and walked for peace at the Infinite Ripples of Peace March, organized by ElevArte Community Studio. The march was part of Ten Thousand Ripples, a public art and peace project promoting peace in Chicago’s neighborhoods, created by a partnership between artist Indira [...]
Weather is a never-ending story in Chicago
Janice Klassen (over 60), Alice O’Connor (32), Joseph Robinson (17), Phil Moloitis (55), Steve Ellyas (24)
Echoes of Hiroshima mark the anniversary of Fukushimi earthquake and tsunami in Chicago
March 11 marked the second anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami in Fukushima Japan. The Osaka Committee of Chicago Sister Cities International presented a ceremony with drums, vocalists, speakers and a photo exhibit. Anti-nuclear protesters from the Nuclear Energy Information Service called for a halt to the development of nuclear energy, noting that the reactors [...]
Chicago group marks second anniversary of tsunami hitting Japan
March 11 marked the second anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. The Osaka Committee of Chicago Sister Cities International presented a ceremony with drums, vocalists, speakers and a photo exhibit. Anti-nuclear protesters from the Nuclear Energy Information Service called for a halt to the development of nuclear energy. Watch a video of the [...]
Most Chicagoans brush off largest snowstorm of the year
Last week Chicagoland experienced the biggest snowstorm of the season, but most residents took the pelting in stride. Many areas throughout Chicago and the northern suburbs were blanketed with more than a half-a-foot of snow, according to reports. “It’s kind of expected being in the Midwest, but it’s also unexpected at the same time because it [was] [...]
Talk derby to me
You can’t get into the Batcave. That’s the informal name the skaters give to their secret practice space on the West Side. By day, they’re women of many different ages and backgrounds. But a few nights a week, they enter to the Batcave to put on another persona: as the fast, formidable athletes of the [...]
Former Pilsen gang member works to improve community
In the 1960s and ’70s, he was a member of a notorious, Chicago gang, but today he can be heard along the main streets of Pilsen saying “God bless you,” to passersby. Raymond Gutierrez Jr. spends his time reaching out to communities with high crime rates to help decrease the violence in Chicago by inviting [...]
Chicago Braces for Possible Federal Cuts
When Chicago resident Annaa Ryndak lost her job last month, she started to pay closer attention to how she spends her money. As long as she was working, she paid little attention to news about the debt and so-called fiscal cliff, she said. But when across-the-board federal cuts go into effect on Friday, Ryndak said she [...]
