Chicago Sun-Times: All posts by Arionne Nettles2023-09-01T16:29:54.004-05:00https://chicago.suntimes.com/authors/arionne-nettles/rss2023-09-01T16:29:54.004-05:002023-09-04T20:28:27-05:00Illinois is a haven against book bans. Surrounding states aren’t.
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<img class="Image" alt="The banned books section of Anderson’s Bookshop in suburban Downers Grove.&nbsp;" srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/78abe29/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3200x1796+0+302/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FODau2GR22XmQonT70AWaNW077_M%3D%2F0x0%3A3200x2400%2F3200x2400%2Ffilters%3Afocal%281600x1200%3A1601x1201%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24891379%2FBook_Ban_WBEZ.jpeg 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/0f113c6/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3200x1796+0+302/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FODau2GR22XmQonT70AWaNW077_M%3D%2F0x0%3A3200x2400%2F3200x2400%2Ffilters%3Afocal%281600x1200%3A1601x1201%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24891379%2FBook_Ban_WBEZ.jpeg 2x" width="490" height="275"
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<div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>The banned books section of Anderson’s Bookshop in suburban Downers Grove. </p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Arionne Nettles/WBEZ</p></div></div>
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<p>Illinois is once again a haven amid a sea of restrictive Midwestern states — this time over intellectual freedom and protections around keeping library books on shelves.</p><p>As Illinois became the first state to make a public stand against book bans, many neighboring states are making statements in the reverse: They plan to make it easier for books to be challenged and the consequences for pushing back against such restrictions more severe.</p><p>In April, Missouri <a class="Link" href="https://apnews.com/article/budget-schools-education-lawmakers-81424ffb499eb16d9f55e4e44c9893c3" target="_blank" >cut libraries out of its budget</a> because two library groups challenged a <a class="Link" href="https://apnews.com/article/science-entertainment-education-biology-missouri-0fdae848f82c26b67751662801dfe7c9" target="_blank" >new Missouri law</a> that made it a misdemeanor for librarians and educators to give students access to books deemed sexually explicit.</p><p>Meanwhile, in Iowa this summer, a school district used the AI chatbot ChatGPT to <a class="Link" href="https://www.popsci.com/technology/iowa-chatgpt-book-ban/" target="_blank" >find and then ban books</a> after Gov. Kim Reynolds <a class="Link" href="https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislation/BillBook?ga=90&ba=SF496" target="_blank" >signed legislation</a> “prohibiting instruction related to gender identity and sexual orientation.”</p><p>In May, Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb Indiana <a class="Link" href="https://www.indystar.com/story/news/politics/2023/05/08/indiana-gov-eric-holcomb-signs-book-banning-measure-house-bill-1447/70194265007/" target="_blank" >signed a bill</a> that requires schools to publish their book catalogs online so that community members can more easily review which books they would like to challenge.</p><p>And in Wisconsin, Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, has publicly argued against bills proposed by Republican state legislators. One <a class="Link" href="https://wisconsinexaminer.com/brief/republicans-propose-to-restrict-books-prosecute-school-staff/" target="_blank" >would prosecute </a>school staff. However, the state has not yet passed the numerous bills that have been introduced.</p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-center>
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<img class="Image" alt="Illinois is the first state to make a public stand against book bans, but many neighboring states are planning to make it easier for books to be challenged, and the consequences for pushing back against such restrictions more severe." srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/172992a/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6926x3887+0+365/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FbTCeF-UZuR9Hq2MXVnxFTjVbGx8%3D%2F0x0%3A6926x4618%2F6926x4618%2Ffilters%3Afocal%283463x2309%3A3464x2310%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24891174%2Fmerlin_114615857.jpg 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/e6eb396/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6926x3887+0+365/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FbTCeF-UZuR9Hq2MXVnxFTjVbGx8%3D%2F0x0%3A6926x4618%2F6926x4618%2Ffilters%3Afocal%283463x2309%3A3464x2310%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24891174%2Fmerlin_114615857.jpg 2x" width="490" height="275"
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<div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>Illinois is the first state to make a public stand against book bans, but many neighboring states are planning to make it easier for books to be challenged, and the consequences for pushing back against such restrictions more severe.</p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Daniel Boczarski/Getty</p></div></div>
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</div><p>Although Illinois has protections that surrounding states do not have, anti-censorship advocates are urging Illinoisans to also be vigilant and vocal in opposing these efforts, as they are often politically motivated and aimed at removing access to books about underrepresented groups. </p><p>And, they argue, the state’s bubble of protection could pop with any change in leadership.</p><p>The issue continues to grow nationwide. Book challenges <a class="Link" href="https://www.ala.org/news/press-releases/2023/03/record-book-bans-2022" target="_blank" >nearly doubled</a> in the U.S. in 2022, with the majority of those books written by and about people of color or LGBTQIA+ people.</p><p>“As citizens, we all have to speak up and make it understood to our elected officials that we won’t tolerate it and we want policies in place that prevent that, but to support individuals whose right to read and other states is being infringed, to support the librarians who are being attacked for providing books to their community,” said Deborah Caldwell-Stone, the American Library Association’s director of the Office for Intellectual Freedom. “We have to come together and provide support for those folks.”</p><h3>Book challenges ‘anywhere, anytime, to anyone’</h3><p>Mark Letcher, an associate professor and director of English and Secondary Education at Lewis University in Romeoville, Ill., and an Indiana resident, says even though Illinois is a leader in anti-book-banning legislation, “book challenges can still happen pretty much anywhere, anytime, to anyone.” </p><p> “It’s just that over here, in Indiana, we are seeing a lot more concentrated legislative efforts to make it easier for individuals or groups to basically force removal of books from school or library shelves,” Letcher added.</p><p>Educators and librarians face very strict penalties, including substantial fines and even jail time, if they are deemed in violation of this Indiana law, Letcher said. As a member of the National Council of Teachers of English’s Standing Committee Against Censorship, he said that supporting advocacy organizations that help them can be essential.</p><p>“From the teachers’ and librarians’ perspective, I know that when a book gets challenged, it can be a very frightening and a very isolating experience,” Letcher said. “You feel like you’re pretty much on your own against the world and you’re not quite sure who has your back.”</p><p></p><p>Anderson Bookshop marketing manager Kerry Clemm, who runs the company’s anti-censorship efforts, said awareness is a way to support the fight against book bans as a whole.</p><p>“Because we’re in a position where bans aren’t happening here [in Illinois], the best thing we can do is spread information,” Clemm said. “It is just critical that the information that we’re spreading … is correct and it comes from legitimate news sources.”</p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-center>
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<img class="Image" alt="Signs throughout Anderson’s Bookshop give customers detailed information about book censorship.&nbsp;" srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/912e1c3/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4800x2694+0+453/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2F9OZqlA0EaVBLIv7RUBi_-tvubPI%3D%2F0x0%3A4800x3600%2F4800x3600%2Ffilters%3Afocal%282400x1800%3A2401x1801%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24891390%2FWBEZ_banned_books_shelf_sign.jpeg 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/b766a4c/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4800x2694+0+453/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2F9OZqlA0EaVBLIv7RUBi_-tvubPI%3D%2F0x0%3A4800x3600%2F4800x3600%2Ffilters%3Afocal%282400x1800%3A2401x1801%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24891390%2FWBEZ_banned_books_shelf_sign.jpeg 2x" width="490" height="275"
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<div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>Signs throughout Anderson’s Bookshop give customers detailed information about book censorship. </p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Arionne Nettles/WBEZ</p></div></div>
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</div><p>Clemm said <a class="Link" href="https://bannedbooksweek.org/" target="_blank" >Banned Books Week</a>, which the ALA launched in 1982, has been a way for the literary community to support free access to books. But now, as challenges and bans have exponentially increased in recent years, it’s becoming more imperative to amplify, fact-check and cite information about updates from all over the country.</p><p>“[If] these book removal campaigns were to come at any of our school districts or our public libraries, they have the support of the state right now,” she said. “So we do live in a nice little bubble. But one thing that I keep reminding people is that elections have consequences, and our bubble could pop at any rate.” </p><h3></h3><h3>Deciding access for everyone</h3><p>Angelina Cicero, head of the English department at a public school in Wisconsin, said students and their families have the right to opt out of reading any book, for any reason.</p><p>“I believe — and I think most educators believe, I think most librarians believe — that parents have every right to decide what their own children have access to and read,” she said. “That is radically different from one parent, from one viewpoint, religious perspective, political perspective or personal cultural perspective, saying that they have a right to decide what anybody else’s child has the right to have access to.”</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><i>Arionne Nettles is a lecturer and director of audio journalism programming at Northwestern University’s Medill School. Follow her</i> <a class="Link" href="https://twitter.com/arionnenettles" target="_blank" ><i>@arionnenettles</i></a><i>.</i></p><div class="RelatedList Enhancement" data-module data-align-center>
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<img class="Image" alt="Dancers on the TV show “Soul Train” come down the “Soul Train” line." srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/7275d5e/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1280x718+0+67/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FLQcWXqt1vmfRQd7q63OZumLrf3k%3D%2F0x0%3A1280x852%2F1280x852%2Ffilters%3Afocal%28640x426%3A641x427%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24857555%2FSoul_Train_Dancers.jpg 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/704e2b8/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1280x718+0+67/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FLQcWXqt1vmfRQd7q63OZumLrf3k%3D%2F0x0%3A1280x852%2F1280x852%2Ffilters%3Afocal%28640x426%3A641x427%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24857555%2FSoul_Train_Dancers.jpg 2x" width="490" height="275"
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<div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>Dancers on the TV show “Soul Train” come down the “Soul Train” line.</p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Soul Train Holdings, LLC.</p></div></div>
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<p>“Soul Train” was the place of love, peace, and of course, soul. Broadcast nationally from 1971 through 2006, it was one of the longest-running TV shows in history — with the longevity of this cultural phenomenon attributed to creator and longtime host Don Cornelius.</p><p>In 2011, Chicago celebrated the 40th anniversary of the show’s first nationally syndicated episode with a free concert in Millennium Park.</p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-floatLeft>
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<img class="Image" alt="Don Cornelius, the creator of “Soul Train.”" srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/01ccd76/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2763x1551+0+725/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2F3ZMM8AWYIm4FVjYOQwpccRkxy9I%3D%2F0x0%3A2763x3000%2F2763x3000%2Ffilters%3Afocal%281382x1500%3A1383x1501%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24857546%2Fimg0129A.296.jpg 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/2886fca/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2763x1551+0+725/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2F3ZMM8AWYIm4FVjYOQwpccRkxy9I%3D%2F0x0%3A2763x3000%2F2763x3000%2Ffilters%3Afocal%281382x1500%3A1383x1501%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24857546%2Fimg0129A.296.jpg 2x" width="490" height="275"
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<div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>Don Cornelius, the creator of “Soul Train.”</p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Sun-Times file</p></div></div>
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</div><p>“That was incredible,” said former WBEZ host Richard Steele, a longtime radio personality and friend of Cornelius. “It was the 40th anniversary of the program, but it was also a celebration of Don Cornelius. That had never happened in Chicago — celebrating him even after all of his successes. And ... he was almost in tears, and he was not a guy to really shed tears.”</p><p>Steele was an emcee at the event. </p><p></p><p>Besides Cornelius himself being a product of Chicago, there’s another reason why this celebration was monumental: because it was Chicago that gave birth to “the hippest trip in America.”</p><p>Before becoming a nationally syndicated show, “Soul Train” began as a local show in Chicago. And this week, Aug. 17, marks 53 years since it aired for the very first time.</p><p></p><h3>A more grown-up dance show</h3><p>Back in 1970, young people lined up around the block of the Chicago Board of Trade building to be part of the first airing of this new dance show. They’d pack the tiny WCIU studio, along with mostly Black creatives who were invited to showcase their talents on TV.</p><p>Artist Michael Griffin was one of those creatives. He was part of a group of designers and models named Les Ménage.</p><p>“I was known as a good dancer and someone who dressed well, which is kind of how those friendships began,” he said. “Our group was pretty much well known in the Chicagoland area.”</p><p>Being on the scene is how he got to know Clinton Ghent — a Juilliard-trained dancer and choreographer who grew up with Cornelius. Cornelius tasked Ghent with finding hip people for the show, which was an extremely essential role. Ghent invited Griffin’s group on to “Soul Train” to model their clothing designs.</p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-center>
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<img class="Image" alt="Even after the nationally syndicated version of “Soul Train” moved to California, a local version continued to be filmed in Chicago. And dance contests affiliated with the show were common, like this one that took place in 1976 at High Chaparral nightclub in South Shore.&nbsp;" srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/9772e49/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1600x898+0+81/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FIHnyVeGT5428I7rIB-NTFQTa3iw%3D%2F0x0%3A1600x1060%2F1600x1060%2Ffilters%3Afocal%28800x530%3A801x531%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24857421%2Fcd30217f_cb31_40ed_ab17_aae5bdd70083.jpg 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/7f9b210/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1600x898+0+81/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FIHnyVeGT5428I7rIB-NTFQTa3iw%3D%2F0x0%3A1600x1060%2F1600x1060%2Ffilters%3Afocal%28800x530%3A801x531%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24857421%2Fcd30217f_cb31_40ed_ab17_aae5bdd70083.jpg 2x" width="490" height="275"
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<div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>Even after the nationally syndicated version of “Soul Train” moved to California, a local version continued to be filmed in Chicago. And dance contests affiliated with the show were common, like this one that took place in 1976 at High Chaparral nightclub in South Shore. </p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Larry Graff / Chicago Sun-Times file photo</p></div></div>
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</div><p>Ericka Blount Danois, author of “Love, Peace And Soul<i>,”</i> says the show allowed the city’s young people, like Michael Griffin, to become the show’s stars. And that was part of the magic.</p><p>“It was in this small space, like 10-by-10, no air conditioning,” she said. “But these kids were so talented that it took off. And also, just being able to sort of see yourself on TV, the kids felt like they were local celebrities, because they were.”</p><p>The idea of a dance show wasn’t necessarily new. There were other dance shows in Chicago, “Kiddie A Go Go” and “Red Hot and Blue.”<i><b> </b></i>But Cornelius was motivated. He wanted to show Black youth in a way that the national media wasn’t portraying them at the time. His idea was to reimagine what a dance show could be: make it fresher, edgier, cooler. And pairing the city’s young people with that vision proved to be a winning formula.</p><p>“This dance show that he created on WCIU Channel 26 was a little bit edgier,” Danois said. “These were teenagers, a little bit older, and they had dance moves that were good.”</p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-floatLeft>
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<img class="Image" alt="Black and white photo of Marvin Gaye (left) with longtime “Soul Train” host Don Cornelius in 1974." srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/77d0855/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2180x1223+0+888/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FJP7ScaxZtXZ6nUsUg04erTGwc8g%3D%2F0x0%3A2180x3000%2F2180x3000%2Ffilters%3Afocal%281090x1500%3A1091x1501%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24857578%2Fimg0127A.292.jpg 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/521e882/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2180x1223+0+888/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FJP7ScaxZtXZ6nUsUg04erTGwc8g%3D%2F0x0%3A2180x3000%2F2180x3000%2Ffilters%3Afocal%281090x1500%3A1091x1501%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24857578%2Fimg0127A.292.jpg 2x" width="490" height="275"
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<div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>“Soul Train” host Don Cornelius with singer Marvin Gaye.</p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Sun-Times file</p></div></div>
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</div><p>On top of this edgier approach, Chicago was already a music city, especially for Black musicians. So much of the most popular music of the 1950s and ’60s, leading up to the “Soul Train” launch in 1970, came from the city.</p><p>“Etta James, Muddy Waters, the Dells, Chuck Berry — all of these people in this sort of place that is not New York, but is a music town,” Danois listed. “Earth Wind and Fire, Curtis Mayfield, in terms of businesses, also, Sam Cooke … and Curtis Mayfield creating their own labels.”</p><p></p><h3>The role of the Black radio celeb</h3><p>Cornelius’ rise in entertainment was swift. But it likely started with a chance encounter while working as a Chicago police officer. Legend has it that he was discovered by an executive at radio station WVON during a traffic stop, when the exec was blown away by Don’s voice and suggested he come work at the station.</p><p>Cornelius started working at WVON in 1966, and at the time, the role of Black radio personalities mirrored that of celebrities. As migration to Chicago from the South continued during this time, communities of Black folks who loved their radio personalities continued to swell.</p><p>“Chicago was the mecca,” said Melody Spann Cooper, chair and CEO of the company that owns WVON — the first station in Chicago to cater to Black audiences.</p><p>Her father, Pervis Spann, was one of the city’s most well-known names in radio as well as the station’s co-owner.</p><p>“They all had monikers,” she explained. “You had E. Rodney Jones, ‘The Mad Lad,’ who was the program director; you had Bernadine C. Washington — she had the biggest women’s club in Chicago, 3,000 women strong. … But all of them have their own special identity, special brand, and they brought their own DNA, which made it so powerful.”</p><p>Steele, Cornelius’ friend, says he was ambitious and took full advantage of how well-loved WVON personalities were in the communities.</p><p>“WVON was the killer radio station at that point,” he said. “And Don was a news guy who filled in as a disc jockey from time to time. Because ’VON had such high visibility, it gave the personalities visibility, even the news people.”</p><p>Cornelius had music sets in high schools across the city called record hops. Those events created his audience for the show he would create.</p><p>In addition to radio, Cornelius already had ties in television. He hosted a daily news show called “A Black’s View of the News” at WCIU, the TV station where “Soul Train” would air. Don used $400 of his own money to produce the pilot.</p><p>“It became a success,” said Steele, about the start of the local show. “The first people he had on were the Impressions and Staple Singers. … And these kids were dying to be on television, show their dancing skills, and be there on ‘Soul Train’ with Don Cornelius.”</p><p>“Soul Train” wasn’t the only show in the country, though. Every major metro area had a dance show with local teens clamoring to be on it. But there was something about “Soul Train” — and Cornelius — that made this particular show stand out.</p><p></p><p>“He <i>was</i> cool,” Steele said. “Don went to DuSable High School. … And if you knew him, you wouldn’t say, ‘Oh, this is the erudite television personality.’ No, he’s Don from the hood.”</p><p>As a host, Cornelius’ connection with the audience was effortless. And, it was authentic.</p><p>“With him, since he was from the inner city and from the community, he connected directly. He didn’t have to stretch to do that,” he said. “He knew who everybody was, what they were about, as you do when you grew up in a community and you’re a person who’s involved a lot.”</p><p>And it’s that culture, that Chicago cool, that took “Soul Train” far past the walls of its 10-by-10 studio. In 1971, just a year after being a local show, Cornelius got a syndication deal and created a new version of the show in Los Angeles. There, it became a national phenomenon.</p><p>Even after Cornelius moved out to Los Angeles, he continued to produce a local version of “Soul Train” in Chicago. Ghent, who helped him launch the original broadcast, hosted the Chicago show until 1976 (with reruns airing until 1979). And kids still lined the block for that one, too.</p><p></p><h3>A long-lasting legacy</h3><p>Although<b> “</b>Soul Train” ended in 2006, its legacy — and that of its founder — did not.</p><p>“It was fitting that Don Cornelius, from here, would start something like that,” said Duane Powell, a DJ and music historian. “Because he was literally seeing the vibrancy of this soulful culture right where he’s from. And I do see it [now].”</p><p></p><p>Here in Chicago, Powell says there are new young creatives who are connecting with each other, taking control of their own futures, and creating resources to display Chicago talent to the world.</p><p>“I think that millennial-wise, a lot of millennials have taken up the mantle of a lot of Chicago goodness and have been really, really forging new paths globally,” he said. “So I do see that era has shaped … where we are now.”</p><p>He’s really proud of creatives — like Chance the Rapper, Vic Mensa and Noname — who are doing the very same things that people like Cornelius did in his day. Because of this, he wants young Chicago to know about the city’s full influence.</p><p>“There’s so much of Chicago history that has not been really covered and talked about,” he explained. “We still are this really untapped market. And just how influential we were all over the world. This is the home of house music, this is the home of the modern blues, this is the home of gospel.”</p><p>And, Chicago is the home of soul.</p><p><i>Arionne Nettles is a lecturer and director of audio journalism programming at Northwestern University’s Medill School. </i></p><p></p><p></p>
https://chicago.suntimes.com/2023/8/17/23836328/love-peace-and-soul-trainArionne Nettles2023-08-03T05:30:00-05:002023-08-03T12:29:45-05:00‘The Chi’ Season 6 brings new drama, and a chance to catch up on TV’s most Chicago show
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<div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>Jemma (Judae’a Brown) and Jake (Michael V. Epps) return this weekend for Season 6 of “The Chi.” </p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>SHOWTIME</p></div></div>
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<p>Showtime’s “The Chi” has never shied away from drama, theatrically or in real life.</p><p>Offscreen, the writers’ strike <a class="Link" href="https://deadline.com/2023/05/writers-strike-the-chi-production-shut-down-1235365311/" target="_blank" >abruptly halted filming</a> of its sixth season, with Chicago picketers targeting its South Side set. But producers squeezed out eight episodes that will drop as the first release this week of what is ultimately planned to be a two-part season once filming resumes.</p><p>The Part 1 premiere will begin streaming Friday on Paramount+, for those with the Showtime plan, and will debut on the Showtime TV channel at 8 p.m. Sunday.</p><p>Onscreen, the drama mines Chicago’s actual headlines, from gun violence to missing Black women and girls.</p><div class="RelatedList Enhancement" data-module data-align-center>
<div class="RelatedList-title">Related</div>
<ul class="RelatedList-items">
<li class="RelatedList-items-item">
<a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/2018/1/1/18317557/local-native-lena-waithe-feels-distinctly-qualified-to-tell-stories-of-the-chi" target="_blank" >From 2018: Lena Waithe feels distinctly qualified to tell stories of ‘The Chi’ </a>
</li>
<li class="RelatedList-items-item">
<a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/2018/1/7/18340374/lena-waithe-s-the-chi-debuts-tonight-sad-truths-disturbing-images-and-all" target="_blank" >From 2018: ‘The Chi’ debuts tonight — sad truths, disturbing images and all </a>
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<p>With production of freshly scripted series halted over strikes, now is a good time to binge to catch up on the show. Here is a helpful, mostly spoiler-free guide to catch you up on what you missed — and why it’s the most Chicago show on TV right now.</p><h3>What is the basic premise?</h3><p><a class="Link" href="https://www.wbez.org/stories/the-chi-hits-home-with-post-trauma-complexities/a8edca3b-9bc9-4f2a-824c-34e5045c4283" target="_blank" >Season 1 of “The Chi,”</a>, which premiered in 2018, starts off with a heavy focus on the collective trauma from the shooting death of a beloved neighborhood teen. That causes a ripple effect through a connected South Side Chicago neighborhood.</p><p>But as the show finds its way across multiple seasons, the characters grow, and that focus expands to highlight everyday themes such as familial relationships, life as a young parent and friendship.</p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-center>
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<div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>Boys when “The Chi” began in 2018, Alex Hibbert (left) and Shamon Brown Jr. have grown into key actors on the series.</p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Showtime</p></div></div>
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</div><p>Although the show has many characters who remain from that initial season, “The Chi’s” youngest actors consistently earn their place — and get expanded storylines as the show progresses. Kevin (Alex Hibbert) began as the show’s young star, and as his friends Jake (Michael V. Epps) and Papa (Shamon Brown Jr.) steal fans’ hearts, they become key characters. Viewers watch them grow from middle-school kids to young adults in high school with very different challenges.</p><h3>Why does the show feel so relevant?</h3><p>With Chicagoans Lena Waithe and Common as two of the show’s executive producers, often the episodes feel sourced straight from Chicago headlines. One season dives heavily into <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/2021/6/25/22551121/unforgotten-51-murder-black-women-chicago-we-walk-for-her-iv-john-fountain" target="_blank" >missing Black women and girls</a>. The plotline shows how the burden of establishing investigations often falls on families, who must prove, for example, that a missing Black teen isn’t a runaway, while also battling victim-blaming.</p><div class="RelatedList Enhancement" data-module data-align-center>
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<a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/movies-and-tv/2020/6/29/21306121/the-chi-birgundi-baker-kiesha-williams-showtime-missing-black-women-breonna-taylor-oluwatoyin-salau" target="_blank" >From 2020: ‘The Chi’ actress Birgundi Baker steps up in prominent role as a missing Black woman </a>
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<a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/movies-and-tv/2020/6/18/21293656/chi-season-3-showtime-jason-mitchell-jacob-latimore-lena-waithe-chicago-preview" target="_blank" >From 2020: Jacob Latimore says firing of Jason Mitchell makes room for ‘so much more range from everybody.’</a>
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<p>In recent years, the show confronts the idea of defunding the police. It also tries to show the challenges that come along with neighborhoods creating their own means of support. In the drama, community members create an organization that people can call for emergencies. Sometimes the help goes well, and sometimes it doesn’t. But that kind of plotline is not often seen dramatized on TV.</p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-center>
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<div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>Imani (Jasmine Davis, pictured during Season 3) is one of two trans characters on “The Chi.”</p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Showtime</p></div></div>
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</div><p>There’s also a storyline about queerness and transphobia as the show has introduced two trans characters (Imani played by Jasmine Davis, and Fatima played by L’lerrét Jazelle) — neither of whom are pushed into stereotypical tropes.</p><h3>What behind-the-scenes controversy impacted the show?</h3><p>For new viewers, “The Chi’s” third season kicks off with a startling and abrupt opener without the context of the real-word controversy behind it. In 2019, Jason Mitchell, who played Brandon — one of the show’s main characters — was <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/2019/11/5/20949611/jason-mitchell-the-chi-denounces-misconduct-allegations-that-got-him-fired" target="_blank" >fired</a> after multiple misconduct allegations, including one from actor Tiffany Boone who played his girlfriend, Jerrika.</p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-center>
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<div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>The departures of Jason Mitchell (as Brandon) and Tiffany Boone (as Jerrika) shifted plotlines on “The Chi.”</p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Showtime</p></div></div>
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</div><p>Mitchell’s abrupt departure from the show, and later Boone’s, caused some major character changes. Nevertheless, after the initial shock of the major shift in plot, the show pads in enough drama that viewers can eventually push the strangeness of episode one aside.</p><h3>What will Chicagoans recognize, and why has that been an issue?</h3><p>“The Chi” will immediately look familiar to Chicagoans, but in Season 1, that might not always be a good thing. The first season of the show has many scenes shot on the city’s West Side. And as any Chicagoan can explain: Every side of the city has its own visual aesthetic.</p><p>In the first season, many of the characters visit a “South Side” corner store that is actually a West Side building. There are also scenes with characters on an “L” train platform with just the sign changed to appear to be on the South Side. Unfortunately for the show, Chicago audiences notice everything, and some viewers voiced their dissatisfaction with these choices on social media.</p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-center><div class="Enhancement-item">
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</div></div><p>But show producers took this feedback to heart for Season 2 and focused more in subsequent seasons on more accurately depicting the South Side. In later seasons, viewers start seeing more authentic scenes, from a food truck parked in front of the Avalon Regal Theater on 79th Street to characters walking down the streets with noticeable signs, and the South Side lakefront as a backdrop.</p><h3>Start at Season 6, or at the beginning?</h3><p>It is possible to start watching “The Chi” in Season 6 and not feel totally lost. But through past seasons, many of the characters have had significant evolutions, and missing past episodes will rob viewers of the heartwarming and funny backstories.</p><h3>Why does it stand out in a crowded streaming market?</h3><p>“The Chi” is indeed a drama — with the show not shying away from many of the serious, scary, and downright traumatic things that can happen in a major city. But it also shows the fullness of a community. Its writers ensure that there are moments of love and tenderness, of joy and happiness, of family and friendship.</p><p>This balance is what makes a collection of blocks and streets feel like a community. And it’s what makes “The Chi” relatable to the viewers who love it.<br></p>
https://chicago.suntimes.com/movies-and-tv/2023/8/3/23816461/the-chi-season-6-showtime-paramount-most-chicago-showArionne Nettles2023-06-24T07:45:00-05:002023-06-22T09:45:58-05:00Alejandra Oliva argues in new migration memoir ‘Rivermouth’ for the United States to be more compassionate to migrants
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<img class="Image" alt="Alejandra Oliva with her dog Chico. " srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/5a171ef/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1600x898+0+169/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2F_RD_rFZGYnK5u-RzqGHTN3GS5bo%3D%2F0x0%3A1600x1067%2F1600x1067%2Ffilters%3Afocal%28972x801%3A973x802%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24745113%2Fa279065c_6343_4590_8cce_0e981567ee7d.jpg 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/4f33e1f/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1600x898+0+169/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2F_RD_rFZGYnK5u-RzqGHTN3GS5bo%3D%2F0x0%3A1600x1067%2F1600x1067%2Ffilters%3Afocal%28972x801%3A973x802%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24745113%2Fa279065c_6343_4590_8cce_0e981567ee7d.jpg 2x" width="490" height="275"
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<div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>Alejandra Oliva with her dog Chico.</p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Taylor Glascock / WBEZ</p></div></div>
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<p>Alejandra Oliva started working with immigrants to Chicago as a volunteer interpreter in 2016, helping new arrivals fill out forms to apply for asylum.</p><p>The process saw her spend weeks working with people as they recounted the traumatizing stories that forced them to leave their homes.</p><p>A graduate student in divinity school at the time, Oliva began to draw connections between her studies and her job as interpreter for people in these stressful situations. The language used to define and express the immigration experience, she realized, often defaulted to talking about large movements of many people. The needs and issues of individuals were lost.</p><p>“It’s not a numbers game; it’s not just a demographics issue,” Oliva said. “It’s about individual people, individual families who are trying to do the best thing for themselves and for their families — and trying to sort out what comes next.”</p><p>She ties these experiences together in a new memoir, “Rivermouth: A Chronicle of Language, Faith, and Migration” (Astra House, $28), which weaves stories of those she met with her own family’s past.</p><p>“To be an immigrant is to belong to two worlds while also belonging to neither,” she writes. “Solid land is hard to come by and what is left to the immigrant is the watery dreamworld of the river, which sweeps them along in ways you can only half understand.”</p><p>The <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/books" target="_blank" >book</a> comes as new U.S. laws take effect making it more difficult for asylum-seekers to find refuge. In Chicago, people are arriving daily, and the city has struggled to shelter them, having routed some to police stations, community centers and City Colleges of Chicago buildings.</p><p>“The thing that I hope that the book makes people realize is that people are coming because their homes are no longer safe places to be,” Oliva said, “and the best thing that we can do for people is to make our communities safe places to be, and that looks like helping everyone.”</p><p>Oliva worked in <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/immigration" target="_blank" >immigration</a> advocacy roles from court observation to a full-time communications role with the National Immigrant Justice Center to accompanying people to service agencies and meetings with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials. She often spent weeks delving into the stories of new arrivals to Chicago and helping them apply for asylum.</p><p>“It was basically doing a long-form interview with someone,” she said. “ ‘OK, tell me what happened, when you decided to leave, why did you decide to leave, and what were the things that happened to you or to your family that made that decision? Why are you scared to go back home? What are you worried will happen?’ And then you take it, and you sort of scrunch it up so that you can fit it into this form.”</p><p>Oliva’s parents, who immigrated to the United States before she was born, ensured she was bilingual. In the book, she tells their stories and those of her grandparents and great-grandparents.</p><p>But she’s clear through her inclusion of these experiences that her family had both logistical and financial privilege in their immigration story. Her parents, who were married when they moved to the United States from Mexico, arrived after her father was admitted to a doctoral program in Boston. Because his mother had been born in Texas, he already had U.S. citizenship. Many migrants aren’t that lucky, Oliva said.</p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-center>
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<img class="Image" alt="Alejandra Oliva’s book “Rivermouth.”" srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/4a28190/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1600x898+0+85/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FluXgHJ_3tG4RA-gas_Pd8arj-0I%3D%2F0x0%3A1600x1067%2F1600x1067%2Ffilters%3Afocal%28800x534%3A801x535%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24745118%2Fbefbd8db_ab0e_4126_a0d3_e5cf0ba527bf.jpg 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/9f6e91a/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1600x898+0+85/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2FluXgHJ_3tG4RA-gas_Pd8arj-0I%3D%2F0x0%3A1600x1067%2F1600x1067%2Ffilters%3Afocal%28800x534%3A801x535%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24745118%2Fbefbd8db_ab0e_4126_a0d3_e5cf0ba527bf.jpg 2x" width="490" height="275"
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<div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>In her new memoir “Rivermouth,” Alejandra Oliva questions who gets access to the proverbial American dream.</p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Taylor Glascock / WBEZ</p></div></div>
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</div><p>In the book, Oliva questions who gets access to the proverbial American dream and reinforces the idea that the United States can be more welcoming and compassionate to those seeking help.</p><p>“There is — and there has always been — enough resources for everyone,” she said. “It’s just really challenging to get people to use them and to sort of allocate them in the ways that these communities actually need and these communities have been asking for.”</p><p>Oliva said she hopes chronicling personal stories will help people think about the individuals behind the immigration issues.</p><p>“It’s so easy to have your head turned or to kind of think that if nothing’s visibly bad to you that nothing’s going on,” she said. “But, like, there’s almost always something happening, there’s almost always need happening, there’s almost always some better world that you can be working towards. And I think that that’s kind of the thing that I want folks to take from the book.”</p><p>As a Chicagoan, Oliva has been part of the effort to help migrants to the city. When Texas Gov. Greg Abbott started busing migrants from the U.S.-Mexico border to Chicago last year, she was there when a Chicago <a class="Link" href="https://www.wbez.org/stories/chicago-volunteers-welcome-migrants-bused-from-texas/c2c7ec33-5c81-4f20-a791-3f8ceb4e6812" target="_blank" >welcome center opened</a> and was one of the smiling faces who welcomed migrants after their 18-hour bus ride.</p><p>“It is among the proudest I’ve ever been … to get people the right resources, connected to the right agencies, making sure that everyone knew where they were headed,” she said. “It was just incredible to see.”</p><p>This boots-on-the-ground work is essential, Oliva said. Though it’s ultimately the job of federal and local governments to ensure that migrants have the resources they need, there is a way for people and communities to “meet needs with one hand while holding the government accountable with another hand.</p><p>“I think that there is a way for everyone to get involved and to step in and to give in the same way even when it’s not an emergency and even when it’s not people who are arriving suddenly,” she said. “And so, inasmuch as the book is about immigration, it’s also about figuring out how to get involved in your community and how to stay involved.”<br></p>
https://chicago.suntimes.com/2023/6/24/23769737/alejandra-oliva-rivermouth-migration-memoirArionne Nettles