Dr. Carol Adams, President & CEO of DuSable Museum

I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Carol Adams, President & CEO of DuSable Museum of African American History. It is usually the interviewer’s role to make the interviewee comfortable and ready for the interview.  Can I just say that Dr. Adams calmed my nerves for this interview? First of all, I was excited she said yes. And secondly, I was concerned about a couple of my questions, but she helped smoothed that over, too.

Anyway, listen to my interview with Dr. Carol Adams to learn about the history of DuSable, Dr. Margaret Burrough’s legacy and their community engagement.  Check out DuSable Museum’s website at www.dusablemuseum.org, like their Facebook Page, and follow them on Twitter. Be sure to become a member to help support the continued growth of the museum.

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What’s been your experience at DuSable Museum?

Hyde Park Jazz Festival 2011
Saturday, September 24, 2011 | 1 p.m.–2 a.m.
Sunday, September 25, 2011 | 1 p.m.–8 p.m.

Assorted venues and stages in Hyde Park Website
Chicago, IL 60637

Free

Judith E. Stein, AB ’62, AM ’64, co-chair and co-founder of the Hyde Park Jazz Festival, invites alumni and friends to join her for its fifth anniversary.

Celebrate jazz’s great legacy and bright future on Chicago’s South Side. Enjoy a full weekend of free jazz beginning Saturday, September 24 at 1 p.m. in 15 creative and unexpected, indoor and outdoor venues throughout Hyde Park, culminating with the Midnight Jam hosted by vocalist Dee Alexander in Mandel Hall.

The Jazz Festival resumes on Sunday, September 25 from 1 to 8 p.m. with all jazz performances on the James Wagner Main Stage on Midway Plaisance between Woodlawn and Ellis.

Event Contact

Judith Stein, AB’62, AM’64
jestein@sbcglobal.net
UChicago Contact

Theresa Ebenhoeh
tebenhoeh@uchicago.edu
773.834.4676

In addition to the ETA Creative Arts Center and the South Shore Cultural Center, where are the tourism spots south of 59th Street?

Images: hydepark and etacreativearts

As your Chicago South Side Resource, I am learning more about Chicago. I am more observant than most when I visit different neighborhoods. It could be because I’m a journalist or it could be because I am uberly nosy. Either way, I have checked out some things in Chinatown that are pretty admirable that, if applied by Black people, could make their economic conditions just a little better.  Following are three lessons the Black community can learn from Chinatown.

1. Everyone is welcome to visit, but they are not welcomed to stay

I’ve shopped, eaten and participated in different festivities in Chinatown, and I have seen very few people of  Asian descent that live or work there.  Remember, this is my observation only.  It is a tight knit community.  And, to be sure that only a few outsiders can come in, mostly everything is in their language with a few select words translated to English.

 Lesson: Stop letting everyone into your community. Yeah, I know that things are much deeper than this, and race, class and politics have a lot to do with much of it. Just know that other people cannot take over if they cannot get in.

 2. Chinese money stays in the Chinese community

From my observations, everything Chinese people need is in their neighborhood. As I stated earlier, I have seen mostly people who look like them working in their stores. They probably don’t have to leave the community unless they just want to.  And, I have to wonder, how many times does the dollar circulate in their community before it leaves the community?  Here’s a random, yet relevant thought: Have you ever seen any Asian people in businesses in the Black community if they were not the owners?

 Lesson: Spend your money with Black-owned businesses and employ other Black people.  I know this is easier said than done on so many levels; but if you can find good, reliable help, hire it.

3. They control their own media

I personally have never seen or heard of any new stories about Chinatown on any local stations in Chicago and I refuse to pay for cable. I have two thoughts on why this is so. First, this could be because they do not report their “dirty laundry” to large mainstream media sources. Or, they empower their media sources to tell their stories their way.  Either way, what happens in Chinatown stays in Chinatown.

 Lesson: Create and control your own media. Tell your story with accuracy and honesty to counter mainstream media images and stories. Free social media tools are available or report your stories to bloggers, social media gurus and other online community influencers who care about your community.  Ideally, the people telling your stories will live in the communities in which they are reporting.

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The lessons listed about are just a few things I’ve seen as an outsider looking in. And from what I can tell, the Black community would fare much better economically if they practiced the above three lessons from Chinatown.

Images: chicagochinatown, brotherpeacemaker

Remember Soul Train?  The show that started with Black people with Afros, bell-bottoms, stacks shaking their groove thangs to either live artists or the current hits of the day?

Did you know that Soul Train started in Chicago?

To honor the show’s 40th anniversary, the city’s Cultural Affairs and Special Events department along with the Chicago Office of Tourism and Culture are sponsoring the first ever Soul Train photography show, an exhibition of 55 rarely-seen photos from the Soul Train archives. The images are a sampling of more than 300,000 photographs taken on the Soul Train set during the show’s 1971 to 2006 run. The photo show will be in the first floor gallery space at Expo 72, the city’s exhibition space at 72 E. Randolph.

Hurry! It will only be here through September 5, 2011. Did I mention that it was free??

Have you already checked out the exhibit? How was it?

The Bud Billiken Parade and Picnic,  the oldest and largest African American parade in the United States, will be held on Saturday, August, 2011. The parade route begins around 39th & King Drive and ends near 55th & King Dr. at Washington Park. Can you believe it’s been 82 years since Robert S. Abbott, the Founder of the Chicago Defender, started this community tradition?

Pack up your family, chairs and food and march on down to the Bud Billiken for a day of fun and entertainment. You also get to see the programs and activities in different communities.

Image: Chicago Defender Charities

It’s that time again. Time to celebrate the beauty, talents and the empowerment of African Americans at The Black Women’s Expo. This event is filled with education, shopping, entertainment and other fun things to do for women and men.  This year Loretta Divine will be hosting the Phenomenal Woman Awards & Gala. Check out their site for more details.

Image: sponsor Chicago