http://www.chicagodefender.com/blogs-1-1-1-5.html Some years ago as I was driving down Jeffery Ave. in my South Shore community, I observed an older woman in distress. She had tripped, gotten herself entangled in a wire fence around a patch of grass and was having difficulty in her attempt to get up. I immediately pulled my car over, parked and ran about a half block back to where she was. Upon closer observation I realized that she was quite inebriated. One of her shoes had come off; her purse ]]> Several weeks ago, I was returning to Chicago from an extended weekend in historic Richmond, Virginia. Because I waited too late to make airline reservations, I was unable to book a direct flight. So my travel itinerary had me changing planes in Atlanta.On my return to Chicago, I was in line at the Richmond airport, waiting my turn to check in. A young lady just ahead of me had missed an earlier flight and was inquiring about stand-by status on a]]> If my memory serves me correctly, it was the evening of October 11, 1984, and I was standing in tiptoe anticipation on a chair not far from the outdoor stage at Comiskey Park. Along with thousands of others, I was waiting for Michael Jackson and the rest of the Jackson 5 to hit the stage to perform the Chicago portion of their now famous Victory Tour.It had rained earlier in the day, so the ground was wet, but our spirits were definitely not damp]]> On Monday mid-morning, June 15, I joined with a number of Chicagoans at The Field Museum to view 150-plus images in a compelling exhibit presented by the Chicago Urban League. "Road to Freedom: Photographs of the Civil Rights Movement, 1956 – 1958" is a gripping and emotional black-and-white display taken by photojournalists, artists and amateurs alike, and how they played such a significant role in uncovering “the atrocitie]]> I was born many, many moons ago at Provident Hospital to the beloved union of Lemage Samuel Fambro Jr. (“L.S.”) and Lois DeRuth Davenport Fambro. My first home was in Bronzeville on what was then South Parkway Ave. – now Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. Several months later, our small family of three (I’m an only child) was required to move because the apartment building where we lived and others around it were to be raze]]> Listen to "I'm in Love With Another Man" from the "Fearless" CD What’s in a name? Well, if the name happens to include a reference to a musical genre, it could mean a whole lot. Jazmine Sullivan’s mother remembers having a sense that the child she was carrying 21 years ago was born to sing, and as a lover of jazz, she named her daughter accordingly. While there are elements of jazz in her phrasing - sultry ]]> Listen to "Push Da Button" Oprah Winfrey presents “The Color Purple” starring Fantasia For two weeks only—September 2 – 13, 2009 The Arie Crown Theater welcomes the soulful singing sensation as she reprises her critically acclaimed role of Celie in the smash hit musical.CHICAGO (April 27, 2009) – The producers of “The Color Purple” are proud to announce that American Idol Season 3&rsquo]]> Well, the Chicago Defender is now located in lovely headquarters in the heart of the Bronzeville Community at 4445 S. Michigan Ave., in what "back in the day" was the famed Metropolitan Funeral Home. The staff has settled in, and we are fast becoming familiar with our new surroundings. Many of us have been relegated to tiny cubicles, a far cry from offices we were privileged to work in when we were on S. Michigan Avenue overlooking Lake]]> Just in case you don't know, the Chicago Defender is about to move its offices from downtown (200 S. Michigan Ave.) back to the community - to "the hood" - where we will once again have a strong community presence and be accessible to our loyal and faithful readers and clients.For many, many years up - up until January of 2006 - the Chicago Defender was located at 2400 S. Michigan Ave.; before that the Defender had offices at 34th and I]]> All the recent media buzz about the Obama’s new pet, Bo, the six-month-old Portuguese Water Dog, has caused me to go back into my memory bank to my first pet, Stumpy, who I remember looks a lot like Bo. But we were told that his breed was Water Spaniel. A couple, friends of my parents, gave him to us because they were moving to Arizona and for some reason had decided not to take him along. Their loss; our gain! Stumpy, a medium-size dog, wa]]>