This Is Life: Rediscovered Short Fiction by Frank London Brown collects the forgotten writing of a Chicago Renaissance writer at his height, showcasing vivid vignettes of Black life in the city 60 years ago. Published this June by From Beyond Press, This Is Life compiles Brown’s flash fiction written for the Chicago Daily Defender in […]
Tag: Chicago Defender
Black Chicago dance culture shines at Art on the Mart
On the evening of Thursday, June 30, dozens of young Black dancers gathered on the Chicago Riverwalk across from the Merchandise Mart. At 9 PM that night, Art on the Mart, which bills itself as the world’s largest permanent art projection, would debut two new pieces, including Billiken, an homage to the biggest Black parade […]
Drawing beyond the margins
Black cartoonists from Chicago are featured in a new book and included in a new exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago.
Black Creativity thrives in its 50th year
The legacy of the Museum of Science and Industry exhibition is built on cultural representation and innovation.
Chicago Humanities Festival wants you to feel powerful
This season’s lineup focuses on harnessing the strength within.
What did a 1930s ballet say about cultural appropriation in modernist Chicago?
La Guiablesse was imagined by and starring a white woman who choreographed the piece for her city’s most talented black dancers.
The maverick behind the camera
African-American photojournalist Dorrell Creightney and his work have faded into memory—until now.
Vlogger ZackTV devoted his life to making Chicago’s fractious rap scene into one community
Zack Stoner, who was shot to death, documented every unseen corner of Chicago hip-hop.
Majority of south- and west-siders feel Chicago media ‘too negative’ about their neighborhoods
But according to the results of a new survey, Chicagoans are willing to donate to news organizations and even get involved in coverage.
Black video game characters finally get their due in Dateline: Bronzeville
Artist Philip Mallory Jones previews his ambitious project depicting life in Bronzeville circa 1940.
Bit Bash, Comedy Nerd Fest, and more things to do in Chicago this weekend
Bud Billiken Parade, Northalsted Market Days, and more happenings from August 12-14.
Reader’s Agenda Sat 8/9: Brain Frame finale, United Nations, and Medium Cool
What’s on the Reader‘s Agenda for Saturday, August 9
Unfriendly confines: Did racial discrimination start the Cubs’ slide?
P.K. Wrigley spurned black players at a pivotal time—did his actions start the Cubs’ slide?
Fifty years later, participants in the March on Washington still hoping for justice
Organizers of the Chicago contingent in the 1963 March on Washington say it’s time for another movement.
Of Paramount’s importance
Record Store Day is a good day to remember that legendary early blues-and-jazz label Paramount was a subsidiary of a furniture company.