The “very well connected” Elzie L.
Higginbottom, president and CEO of East Lake Management, has signed on to chair
the 11th annual Black United Fund of Illinois’ Living Legends/Passing the Torch
Awards, a celebration of role models who represent leadership by example, serve
as mentors, motivate tomorrow’s leaders and encourage generational continuity.
The Oct. 9th BUFI benefit at the Parkway
Ballroom will salute outstanding women pioneers –yet to be announced! – who
invest time, energy and skills to groom a new generation that will ensure a
better future for all of us, says Higginbottom. Past recipients include
pioneers in civil rights, education, business, politics, media and community
development. The event will begin with a reception by Rome’s Joy Catering, a
silent auction and female-focused entertainment.
The memorial Natalie Rose Puryear Young
Community Leader Scholarships, named for BUFI’s former vice president of
communications who died in January 2009, are funded by her family and
administered by BUFI. They recognize academic excellence and community service
to local high school seniors. For $125 tickets, call (773) 324-0494 or email
www.info@bufi.com.
Soul Train Turns 40 – The first-ever Soul
Train Photo Exhibit has opened at Expo 72 (72 E. Randolph), which celebrates
the 40th anniversary of the Chicago-based, longest-running, nationally
syndicated program in television history. The weekly after-work dance party,
Friday Night Groove (4 p.m.-6 p.m. thru Sept. 2), kicked off with Chicago DJ
and house music pioneer Steve “Silk” Hurley. A guest DJ will be featured each
week. Attendees will feel as if they’ve stepped onto the Soul Train set,
dancing to Soul Train beats under disco balls amid a photo retrospective.
“Soul Train is part of Chicago’s rich
cultural heritage,” said Michelle T. Boone, commissioner of the Dept. of
Cultural Affairs and Special Events, at Friday’s opening The ground-breaking
show, which was created, produced and hosted by South Side native Don
Cornelius, inspired a new generation of music, style and dance and probably did
more than anything else to integrate R&B into mainstream pop culture.
The free exhibit that closes Sept. 5
features a never-before-seen collection of over 55 rare images of the biggest
names in music taken right on the Soul Train stage, including Chaka Khan,
Stevie Wonder, Sly Stone, Chuck Berry and others. Visit www.ExploreChicago.com.
Film Focus – The Interrupters, a new epic
tale of courage and hope from Chicago’s Kartemquin Films by director Steve
James (Hoop Dreams) and award winning author-turned-producer Alex Kotlowitz
(There Are No Children Here) whose original article inspired the film,
premieres this Wednesday at 7:15 p.m., at ICE Theater Chatham 14, 210 W. 87th
St.
The film, which officially opens here at
the Gene Siskel Film Center on Aug. 12 for a two-week run and at the ICE
Theaters Chatham and Lawndale on Aug. 26, has become an audience favorite and
won several awards since its world premiere at Sundance Film Festival. Already
acclaimed by international critics as one of the best documentaries of recent
years and a potential Oscar nominee, the film opens nationwide in New York on
Friday.
Synopsis: The Interrupters follows a year
in the life of the city as it grapples with the plague of urban violence. At
the heart of the story are Ameena Matthews, Cobe Williams and Eddie Bocanegra,
each of whom has credibility on the street because of their own personal
histories. With gumption, wisdom and wit, they work to protect their Chicago
communities from the violence they themselves once employed.
These “Violence Interrupters” (their job
title) work for CeaseFire, a local organization whose guiding principle is that
the spread of violence mimics the spread of infectious diseases, and so
responds with similar treatment: go after the most infected and stop the
infection at its source. The Interrupters captures a period in Chicago when it
became a national symbol for the violence in our cities with the high-profile
fatal beating death of Derrion Albert, a high school student whose death was
caught on videotape.
Happy B’day – to Roderick Hawkins, Lillie
Sanders, Dr. James Buckner, Gina Davis, Nina Tabb, Jackie Moore, Robert Shaw,
Mary Fields Taylor, Ryan Baker, Jeremiah Wright-Haynes, Stephen Mitchell, Kenny
Johnson, Lauri Sanders, Ivory Haygood, D.C. Madd Hatter, Marcia Cookie Jacobs,
Marcellus Stamps, Davante Stone, Marki Lemons-Ryhal, Tumia Romero, Larry
Wilson, Yvonne Lane, Leontyne Brown and Elaine Davis.
Fly Girl – Dr. Mae Jemison, first African
American woman to travel in space (1992 aboard Space Shuttle Endeavor),
addresses Girls Take Flight, a mini-conference Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., at
DuSable Museum in support of the museum’s newest exhibit, Black Wings: American
Dreams of Flight. The exhibit charts the ground-breaking, history-making and
patriotic paths of a very valiant and extraordinary group of aviators,
including Bessie Coleman securing a pilot’s license through The Tuskegee Airmen
and the integration of our armed forces, to Guy Bluford in space.
Dr. Jemison will highlight some of the
experiences during her space mission and seek to inspire girls toward academic
and career success in science and technology. The event begins with a film
screening of Endeavor, a biography of Dr. Jemison. Other participants: history-making
teen pilots, Kimberly and Kelly Anyadike. Inspired by the Tuskegee Airmen,
15-year-old Kimberly flew a single-engine Cessna from her hometown, Compton,
Calif., to Newport News, Va., becoming the youngest Black female pilot to fly
cross country, a 13-day journey. At age 16 Kelly set a world record in 2008 by
being the youngest Black female to solo in four different fixed-wing aircrafts
on the same day.
The exhibit covers significant fixtures,
events and themes associated with African Americans in aviation and aerospace
history. Organized by the Smithsonian Institute Traveling Exhibition Services,
it’s designed for young women, ages 8-18. Admission is $10; call (773)
947-0600, ext. 290 for group rates.
MAXX Awards – Don Jackson, president-founder
of Central City Productions, and Barry Mayo, president of Radio One, each
receive a coveted 2011 Lifetime Achievement Award from Target Market News on
Monday during its 12th annual MAXX Summit and Awards Program at the Wyndham
Hotel. It’s the industry’s largest yearly gathering that recognizes the
contributions, innovations and exceptional performances of African American
professionals in marketing, advertising, media, public relations and consumer
research.
Honorees were selected from candidates recommended
by TMN’s editors, writers and contributors. Each was considered on the basis of
the longevity of their careers, their advocacy of African American marketing
and media, and the professional accomplishments that distinguish them within
the industry, said Ken Smikle, TMN president. Other recipients: Bob McNeil,
Images USA; Michelle Ebanks, Essence Communications Inc.; Jennifer Jones,
AT&T; Matthew Barnhill Jr., Black Entertainment Television/BET; and Terrie
Williams, Terrie Williams Public Relations.
“Most of these professionals have
received little recognition for their hard work, but all of us have in some way
benefited from their efforts and examples, Smikle said. “We’re pleased to honor
their success and contributions and encourage the entire industry to join us in
acknowledging them.”
To Good Health – Health screenings and
awareness info, raw food demos, exercise, youth activities, line dancing,
souvenir and goodie bags and more (all free!) are on tap for Saturday’s Emma
Foster Health & Wellness Family Fair, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., at Sixth Grace
Presbyterian Church, 600 E. 35th St. Extra parking: West Point Church, 36th
Street and Cottage Grove Avenue, and Catholic Archdiocese, 35th Street and Lake
Park Avenue. Call (312) 225-5300.
Copyright 2011 Chicago Defender
