Gas mask, fire extinguisher, lawn mower, peanut butter, traffic light, cell phone, air conditioner, pencil sharpener, stove, refrigerator and an ironing board. They all have one thing in common– African Americans invented them. Black History month highlights the achievements of African-Americans. These achievements have had an effect on everyone in America. It is not just a celebration just for African-Americans but a celebration of the human spirit.
A man named Carter G. Woodson created Black History Month. Woodson was the son former slaves who received his bachelor’s and master’s degree from the University of Chicago. In 1912, Woodson became only the second African-American to earn a doctorate from Harvard University.
Black History Month was first called “Negro History Week.” Woodson chose the second week in February because both Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln were born in the month of February. He viewed the two men as visionaries who influenced the lives of African-Americans. In 1976, the week was extended to one month to allow for more activities and programs.
Like the events that celebrate the Latino culture, Black History Months is about remembering the past by looking forward to the future.
The Chicago Fire Soccer Club announced Thursday that individual game tickets for the Fire’s 2012 Major League Soccer campaign at Toyota Park will go on sale beginning Monday, February 6 at 10:00 AM CT.
Individual game tickets start as low as $15, while Family Four Packs which include 4 Pepsi’s, 4 hot dogs and 4 match tickets are $79 (Corner Kick) and $99 (Premier).
Both individual game tickets and Family Four Packs can be purchased by calling 1-(888)-MLS-FIRE, visiting Ticketmaster online, via their Facebook page, or by clicking on Chicago-Fire.com. Download the 2012 Chicago Fire home schedule by clicking here (PDF).
Hosting 14 of the club’s 17 MLS regular season home matches on weekends, the club begins its 2012 home schedule with Opening Night at Toyota Park against the Philadelphia Union on Saturday, March 24 at 7:30 PM CT.
Last weekend, I got the esteemed honor of covering Sox Fest 2012 for. As a lifelong White Sox fan I relished the opportunity to be a part of Sox Fest as a member of the media. Not only did I see some of the players I idolized as a kid, I also got to meet two reporters from my favorite radio station, WSCR 670 The Score. Also I met a gentleman who has been covering the team since the 1950’s. Also this person gave me some sound advice since I am just starting out in the world of journalism.
As the media reception started, current and former players came into the room and most of the media went to get sounds bites from the notable team members like Paul Konerko, Jake Peavy, and A.J. Pierzynski. I interviewed two players who are very important to the team, Alexei Ramirez and Dayan Viciedo. I interviewed the team’s new manager Robin Ventura. I asked shortstop Alexei Ramirez about the clubhouse will be a lot quieter now that Ozzie Guillen is no longer the manager. “Things are where they need to be right now.” Ramirez said. Also I asked the team’s new manager Robin Ventura about how he plans to run the team as opposed to his predecessor Ozzie Guillen. “We have alot of things in common. We were teammates and we had the same approach to the game.” Ventura added. Lastly, I spoke with Dayan Vicedo, the starting left fielder about how he plans to contribute to the team this season. ” I want to help the team where ever I can since I’ll be on the field on a full time basis.” Vicedo said.
After the media reception, I went over the opening ceremonies. As I was waiting for the festivities to start, I asked a couple of White Sox fans what were their expectations of the team this season. The responses I got were of the “cautiously” optimistic variety. White Sox fans want the team to do well but they know that the season will be an uphill battle after what happened last season.
The ceremonies began with a procession of current and former members of the team led by the team’s public address announcer (I thought he would be bigger). The most polarizing reaction from the White Sox faithful was for general manager Kenny Williams. The reaction was a mixture of cheers and jeers. The reaction sounded just about right after how the team under performed last season.
After taking in the atmosphere and gauging the expectations of the season, I think the Chicago White Sox fans will have the type of year that fans will never forget.
Last night, the San Diego trio, Los Hollywood, hit up the Cubby Bear in Wrigleyville. As the opening act for Noches de Rock, which will take place Thursday nights, Los Hollywood was an excellent way to start the series.
The band hadn’t been back to Chicago since 2008, right after they won the MySpace Latino Battle of the Bands competition which not only built their fan base around the country, but launched them into the indie rock scene, playing at South By South West in Austin, Texas and the Latin Alternative Music Conference in New York City.
The band made up of Heidy Flores on vocals, Marcos Mondregon on guitar/bass and Gustavo Mojica on drums, recently ended their mini-Southern California tour, was only in for two days and had the opportunity to see Los Rieleros del Norte and K-Paz de la Sierra at VLive. The fact that they got a shout out from the stage, had an opportunity to hang out with Los Rieleros and got back stage access, threw Flores for a whirlwind.
“De repente dice uno de ellos, ‘Saludos a Los Hollywood!’ and I was excited!” said Flores. “He said it twice.”
The Cubby Bear performance started close to 11 p.m. with a fairly decent crowd. As soon as they took stage, people clapped, whistled and cheered.
Although many of us in the audience didn’t find out about this show until this week, it was still a good time. According to their manager, Guillermo Wightman, this show was planned a mere three weeks ago. They got the call, booked the tickets and here they were.
This was the first time for Mondregon in Chicago. He was living in Mexico for two years and wasn’t on the first trip.
“It’s awesome. It’s an awesome city and I’m happy to be here,” he said. “I was in Mexico and I was tryin to fix my papers and my immigration status. I’m happy to be back.”
Flores’ voice was as magical on stage. The music really spoke for itself. New fans could not stop talking about the sharpness and the beauty of the songs they heard for the first time.
Flores and Mondregon played a new song called Cucu, representative of the heart in love. Upbeat and cute, the song is a definite upside to the music the band is producing. Most of the songs, they said, are about love.
For the past few years, Los Hollywood have been in the process of writing and figuring out just where they want their new album to go. Within the time they’ve been away from Chicago, they released a second EP, which I didn’t hear about until last night. But all of those elements will be going into the new album produced by Thom Russo, which they hope will be out by summer of 2012.
“We’re very excited because we’re going to work with a great producer who’s worked with Johnny Cash, Michael Jackson,” said Flores. ” [In] Latin America I would say Juanes, Mana. He just recently went to the Latin Grammys this year as a sound egineer. He now has 16 Grammys.”
The music on the new album is going to be an improvement and a change for sure, they all agreed.
“I think we’ve grown in these past three years since we came. I think the songs are going to be way better, the production, everything is going to sound a lot better,” said Flores.
The three have been working tediously on the lyrics to the songs, locking themselves away until they emerge with a hit, they said. But they never try to force or finish a song just to finish it. The lyrics have to come to them, they said.
“We’re not machines, you know? We’re not always producing songs. Pero queremos sacar canciones que le guste a la gente,” Mojica said. One song in particular took them a month to finish writing. ”La cancion no queria ser terminada,” laughed Mojica.
“Some songs are like the first EP but everything is different. Things are different. Ahora los tres somos mas involucrados in the song writing,” Flores added.
Though the album isn’t done, it’s almost there. Once they land in San Diego, they’ll be going back to write more songs and finish the album.
The band played about four of their new songs, which seemed to hit home with the audience. Of course they played “No Te Aguites,” their fist single that everyone adores, “Te Quiero Tanto” and “Gira, Gira” off of their fist EP. People in the audience were definitely singing along.
Though their music is growing and changing, Mojica claimed that there will always be that “Los Hollywood” sound to their music.
“Even si tocamos cumbia, Los Hollywood will be there. Creo que es la forma que tocamos juntos los tres. Cuando nos juntamos a tocar, sale el sonido de Los Hollywood,” he said.
It definitely showed last night. They ended their 10-song set list and decided to play just one more, with which the audience wasn’t satisfied. They left the stage only to be invited back on by screaming, whistling and chants of “Otra! Otra!”
What people don’t usually know is that Flores sang rancheras and mariachi music before finding her love for rock and pop. Mojica told me years ago that that’s how he came to find out who she was. She was the girl that sang Mariachi and played guitar in San Diego. The first song they ever played together was Alanis Morisette’s “You Oughta Know.”
As she came back on stage, they decided to play a ranchera that had people clapping and whistling up a storm. The girl still has it.
Over all, it was an excellent performance on a mild night in the city. The band said they had a blast and look forward to being back again. Meanwhile, they have big plans coming up like visiting Colombia, Spain and of course, Mexico.
Have you heard about Ana Tijoux’s new album, “La Bala”? Featuring 11 new songs and a collaboration with Jorge Drexler, among other artists, this album is sure to be a chart topper. Politically charged, enlightened and groovy, Tijoux takes a lot of the energy from her debut album “1977″ and brings it back again.
I had the pleasure of meeting Tijoux at the Latin Alternative Music Conference is New York City two years ago. Very talkative, educated and charming, Tijoux spoke to us about her climb to the top. In addition, I was also lucky enough to catch her performance at Lollapalooza last year, where she packed the house. People of all different shapes, colors and backgrounds were there, waving their hands, dancing with her music and some were even singing along.
Her recently released single “Shock” from the new album has already been named “Single of the Week” on iTunes Latino and has been featured on NPR and this Tuesday you’ll be able to get your hands on the new album, which was recorded in Santiago, Chile and mixed and mastered in Detroit.
Because of student protests in Chile and other worldly events, Tijoux was inspired to write “Shock” and pay homage to the protesters of her home country. The rapper, who was born in France to a French mother and Chilean father, there due to political exile during Pinochet’s regime, is multilingual and actually started rapping first in French then in Spanish. Tijoux has also claimed to know a little Japanese.
Wait to hear the buzz more as soon as the album is released. For now, check out the video to “Shock,” shot last year in Chile.
So I was on a CTA bus last week when I saw a billboard promoting tourism in Arizona. In any other situation I wouldn’t think twice about a billboard promoting tourism. But this particular billboard was at the corner of Ashland and Cermak. The billboard was in Pilsen, a predominately Latino neighborhood that has strong feelings one way or another about immigration. To make matters worse, Arizona has very strict laws regarding illegal immigration.
So I got in touch with someone from the Arizona board of tourism to find out why the billboard was placed in that neighborhood. I spoke with Kiva Couchon, Communications Manager and Public Information Officer.
”According to our agency’s marketing research, Chicago is a top visitor demographic for Arizona. We focus many of our traditional and digital advertising efforts throughout the greater city of Chicago. From Cactus League spring training excitement to the state’s amazing weather and outdoor adventures, Arizona appeals to visitors from Chicago. And that is something that we certainly appreciate!”
Believe it or not the numbers back her up. Outside of California and Texas the most visitors to Arizona come from the state of Illinois. Also, I have seen different version of the Arizona board of tourism billboard by Midway Airport and by the Magnificent Mile.
You could say that either the Arizona board of tourism just didn’t know better or placing that billboard in Pilsen was an aggressive way of spinning damage control. We’ll see.
Yes, I am covering Sox Fest this weekend. You might ask yourself why after how last season turned out. Well someone has to do it. The Chicago White Sox had a subpar season in 2011 (Read my blog about it). There are more subtractions than additions. Many players from last season are no longer with the team and outspoken manager Ozzie Guillen was not brought back. Expectations are low from the media and the team’s passionate fan base.
This is what you need to know about Soxfest
Where: Palmer House Hilton, 17 East Monroe St. Chicago, IL 60603 When: January 27-29
Friday, January 27
4:00-9:00 p.m.
Saturday, January 28
9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Sunday, January 29
9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
How Much: Two-Day Passes are $70.
Saturday-Only Passes are $50
Sunday-Only Passes are $35
Who will be there: New White Sox manager Robin Ventura along with Jesse Crain, Adam Dunn, Tyler Flowers, Gavin Floyd, Phil Humber, Paul Konerko, Brent Lillibridge, Brent Morel, Jake Peavy, A.J. Pierzynski, Alexei Ramirez, Chris Sale, Matt Thornton, Dayan Viciedo and other current team members will be joined by members of the 2005 World Series winning White Sox team – Neal Cotts, Joe Crede, Pablo Ozuna, Cliff Politte and Frank Thomas are scheduled to appear.
In spite of freezing temperatures and snowfall, many people made their way on Friday, January 20 to meet with Chicago Public Schools to protest the closing/phase out/turnaround of several schools around Chicago. At the last meeting, I expressed my concerns at the way the meeting was being held. Several teachers spoke about their students and the amount of dedication they showed, in spite of test scores. This is a serious issue and while the parents students and educators were all struggling to get their points across as to why Crane High School is a great school, they neglected to point out what they could do to improve it.
This time, they came prepared with a guideline for how they could improve the school and its students.
Why is the Phase-out/co-location a bad idea?
• Sending students to lower performing schools is not giving them access to a quality education.
• All receiving schools are level 3 schools and have been on probation for 10 years.
• For the class of 2012, Crane has outperformed all proposed receiving schools in EPAS Testing gains and has matched Citywide Gains
• There are increases in violence and suspensions following school actions. Ex: Austin closing means a 231% increase in suspensions involving violence at Clemente High School
• Students will travel across neighborhood borders into and through different gang territories
• Co-located buildings have a history of violence and uneven distribution of resources
How do we improve?
• We are looking forward to collaborating with CPS and the Board of Education to improve our school
• Space utilization – addition of desirable programs
• IB (International Baccalaureate)
• 7th and 8th grade Academy
• Increase CTE programs – Cosmetology, Trade programs etc.
• Student services – Mentoring, tutoring, development
• Increase special needs services – Crane is at 26% which is 12% above CPS average
• Parent services – workshops, trainings, GED programs, Resources room
Improve Instruction and increase student gains
• Data driven instruction – Organized Data Team trained and aligned with the district
• Strategic learning initiative – focus instructional program that has proven to increase student achievement in low performing CPS Schools
• Full day plan – focus on reading/writing
• Tiering of students based on individual needs to move toward skill mastery
• Goal: with full CPS support, we can make significant progress in moving Crane high school to a Level 2 school within 2 years
As much as the general public wants to blame for-profit universities for false promises, the people who apply to these schools should shoulder some of the blame. People should look into the school that they apply to before they are crushed by student loans. Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan is suing local for-profit university Westwood College for providing false hope and rising student loans to students in the criminal justice program. When these students graduate, they are hit with the harsh reality: Their degree is from a university that is not accredited.
Accreditation is the act of granting credit or recognition to educational institutions that maintains suitable standards.
I have heard the stories of people who went to for-profits schools only to be crushed by student loan debt. It is sad.
However, it is hard to sympathize with someone who did not find a job because they later found out that the school they went to was not accredited. As someone who will soon have a Master’s degree from a for-profit university, before I signed up I checked to see if the school was accredited and looked to see if I could handle the course load.
The elephant in the room about for-profit universities that no one like to talk about is some of the people who apply to the school get overwhelmed by the coursework. These people usually drop out owing money to a school they obviously had no business being in the first place.
After finding my seat inside the illustrious walls of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra I noticed I had sore feelings about spending my evening on M.L.K Day watching a classical music concert. Was this the way to celebrate a visionary leader and a Nobel Peace Prize recipient? I pushed aside the personal inventory and began to think of Dr. King. I recalled that my work lead me to Memphis recently. A city where Dr. King launched a program of support for striking sanitation workers in 1968 in the lead up to a Poor Peoples’ March on Washington. While in Memphis I visited the Lorraine Motel where Dr. King was assassinated. The motel has since been turned into the National Civil Rights Museum. At the end of your walk through the museum you arrive at the very spot on the balcony where Dr. King was struck down outside his room. I remember standing there longer than I remember and feeling overwhelmed by his voice and his energy which lingered in the space.
I was at the Chicago Symphony for the Chicago Sinfonietta, a special tradition honoring Dr. Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. which was co-founded by Dr. Paul Freeman, one of the first major Black orchestral conductors. With conductor Mei-Ann Chen and guest conductor Jeri Lynn Johnson leading the Fifth Annual Chicago Sinfonietta the evening promised to produce some magic for the audience. The Apostolic Church of Sanctuary brought its members to the concert and it’s Choir was scheduled to supplement the symphony’s rendition of Harambee: Road to Victory.
Indeed, the evening was magnificent for everyone involved. The Maestro Mei-Ann Chen was in her element! In one fell swoop she released her energy thru the Hall and invited every soul to join in the eruption of joyous musical emancipation. All I could do was admire the carefully calculated convulsions she produced while directing the very capable orchestra members. There was elation all around. We could see that she was born to throw up her arms and guide each note into oblivion, writhe around towards the wind section and jerk her body in an attempt to harmonize with the energy of the brass section. In a move that was symbolic of the night Maestro Mei-Ann raised her fist in the Black Power Salute, clenched fist raised in the air. Intentional or not her salute and her will to establish a relationship with people who are different from her prompted me to pronounce her as the John Carlos or Tommie Smith of the symphony.
Maestro Chen admitted to the audience her ignorance of Gospel music and the Apostolic Church Choir responded with the spirit and whimsical energy of 100 years of Gospel music tradition. No one was safe that night, we had been rendered to our cores and moved beyond what we imagined our ticket would allow us to experience. The Maestro had one more gift for the audience. United in song we swayed side-to-side, hand-to-hand guided by the Apostolic Church singing We Shall Overcome, becaming something resembling Dr. King’s beloved community, in song. This was indeed a great way to celebrate Dr. King.
The elation and rambunctious applause pulled on the heart-strings and the Apostolic Choir showered the crowd with the final beautiful notes. I was defenseless against the beauty of the moment, pure rhapsody.
Unity and collaboration across differences! Let this message ring out load and clear and may his passion inspire a new generation of movement builders. Harmony and cooperation to create a beautiful thing. Let this reverberate through every street in the Windy City and may we all keep the spirit of Dr. King and continue his work for justice throughout the year.
