10 Search results for "chiraq"

Nearing the end of each year, I like to compile a list of upcoming films that look intriguing to me or that I have been anticipating for months, or even years. This year, I tailored my list to be extensive and hella Black, just for y’all. Each of these feature a predominantly Black cast, Black […]

For a long time now, I’ve stood by a belief: the only people that refer to Chicago as “Chi-Town” are either tourists, distant suburbanites, or rappers looking for a shortcut. And I’ll never refer to the city as “Chiraq” and side-eye anyone that does. But I’m not against all nicknames for the city that raised me, just […]

There are thousands of articles online at this point about the gun violence in Chicago and the larger issue of gun violence throughout this country. However as it relates to Chicago……there is so much to be said and done that one hardly knows where to start. We can talk about access to guns, a rigged […]

Interviewing Asean Johnson, his mother Shoneice Reynolds, and his brother Krisean at the AFT Convention in Los Angeles (Photo by Dr. Goddess)  httpv://youtu.be/yS7eUMayPJQ Asean Johnson stepped onto the national stage 2 years ago when his mother Shoneice Reynolds, a Chicago Public School employee, was on strike. Deciding to come to the picket lines with his […]

The following post originally appeared on Chatham Chatter under the title of “That Time My City Didn’t Kill Anyone.” By: Chicago Chatter Native son of Chicago. Raised in Chatham. Bulls, Bears, and Sox fan (in that order). Lived just a few blocks off of 79th and the Dan Ryan until my late twenties. This information […]

The term “Chiraq” has been long debated. With the release of Nicki Minaj’s new single, the “Chi-raq”, discussion about appropriateness of the term has been further fueled. Chicago author, motivational speaker and activist Richard L. Taylor, Jr. created a video in response to the song and term, calling for community members to reclaim their city. 

Earlier this year, Nicki Minaj came under fire for using an iconic image of slain civil rights leader Malcolm X on her song cover. Minaj borrowed an image of X peeping out of a window with a semi-automatic weapon that was captured approximately a year before his death. The cover’s release for the song title, […]

With so many of our young people growing up in neighborhoods steeped in violence, it is imperative that we take seriously the toll it takes on their emotional health, and how that only perpetuates the cycle of violence.

How does one frame Black masculinity in the age of Barack Obama and Chief Keef? Does Black masculinity fall within the framework of masculinity in general, or is it an outlier seeking to find a home?  In Souls of Black Folks, W.E.B. Dubois purports  that due to the irreparable damages of slavery and institutionalized racism, […]

I attend Temple University in Philadelphia, and almost every time I mention that I am from Chicago I get 2 questions: “Do you know Chief Keef?” and “Have you ever been shot?” When did Chief Keef become the poster-boy for Chicago? What does this say about our society’s obsession with violence?