Chicago Cultural History
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This Love is Real
The Lovelites were a young female group out of Chicago featuring Patti Hamilton on lead. They gained notoriety in the late 60s for their song about teen pregnancy called “How Can I Tell My Mom and Dad (that I’ve Been Bad).” Here in Chicago, though, they are best known for “My Conscience”…a record penned by…
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Portraits of Black Chicago: Cool Off
Black youngsters cool off with fire hydrant water on Chicago’s South Side in the Woodlawn community… June 1973 “…The kids don’t go to the city beaches and use the fire hydrants to cool off instead. It’s a tradition in the community, comprised of very low income people. The area has high crime and fire records. From…
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Cassius and Sonji Clay: Love and Boxing
Sonji Clay and Muhammad Ali (then Cassius Clay), circa 1965. Awwwwww. Note his puppy dog gaze… Here in Chicago (back in the mid-60s), Cassius was flirting with the Black Muslims, superstardom and love (with a local singer named Sonji)…. According to Ali’s one-time doctor, Ferdie Pacheco, “[Ali’s first Wife,] Sonji was a pert, very pretty…
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Portraits of Black Chicago: The Fruit of Islam
The Fruit of Islam,’ a special group of bodyguards for Muslim leader Elijah Muhammad, sits at the bottom of the platform while he delivers his annual Savior’s Day message in Chicago. March 1974. “….The city is headquarters for the Black Muslims. Their $75 million dollar empire includes a mosque, newspaper, university, restaurants, real estate, bank,…
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The History of Gangs in Chicago
A Communiversity Course beginning next week… This course examines the history of gangs in Chicago through the lens of racism and social movements. Rather than explain Chicago’s history of gangs as a one-sided story of criminality, the course looks at how gangs have played political roles in Chicago and have changed in response to local…
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Chicago 10 [fight the power]
(above clip, from the film Chicago 10, as aired on PBS’ Independent lens) Plans for the Festival of Life (to be held during the Democratic National Convention of 1968), developed by Yippie founders Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin, called for a “festival of youth, music, and theater.” In January 1968, the Yippies released an initial…
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Portraits of Black Chicago: High School Student
A student at the Westinghouse Industrial Vocation School on Chicago’s West Side. May 1973 “…A student at the Westinghouse Industrial Vocation School on Chicago’s West Side*. She is one of the nearly 1.2 million black people who make up over a third of the population of Chicago**. It is one of the many black faces…
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JB Monorail by Theaster Gates
a bit about the residual effects of 1968 in Chicago (specifically on the West Side). Published in 68/08 on Dec. 6, 2008 in AREA/Chicago by Theaster Gates There are moments when I think that my life on the Westside of Chicago had no real relationship to the history of political struggle. I had not yet been…
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Life and Death of the West Side
Life And Death of the West Side: a Communiversity Course Dates: March 12 – April 30 (8 weeks) A Community Theatre Project In this course, participants will create an original theatrical stage production based on the Chicago West side Riots of April 6-8, 1968 (that were in response to the assassination of Martin Luther King…
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This Day in Chicago Radio History
This week in 1967, at WBEE 1570-AM (out of Harvey), this was the Number One record on their BEE Line-up Chart. It’s the Radiants (on local Chess Records) with “(Don’t it make you) Feel Kind of Bad”. Also on the charts that week: 2. The Whole World is a Stage — Fantastic Four 3. The…
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