There is a musician whose work might be missing from your iPods: David "Honeyboy" Edwards. He was a blues icon who passed away in August at the age of 95, but his friends are working tirelessly to preserve his legacy. Next week, they are holding a special benefit...

Now, when you see or hear the term "flash mob," a scary image comes to mind: a large group of black teenage boys who appear out of nowhere to commit crimes. Before now, the term had a harmless connotation: it referred to large groups of people who appeared...

For the past week, the national media has been buzzing about two black males in Chicago having their words taken out of context. One of them is a 39 year old former radio host; The other, a 4 year old boy. Both incidents involve the highly sensitive issue of race...

Munson Steed has more than just a unique name. He has developed an original "blueprint" to change the way Madison Avenue looks -- from a cultural perspective. And that's not the easiest thing to do given Mr. Steed's busy schedule. He's the owner of Steed Media Group, the publisher of

It's the new Great Migration: black Chicagoans are "relocating" to the southern suburbs. Just one week after my blog about the Chicago Sun-Times "Changing Chatham" series, it seems as if some blacks move on if certain folks don't move out. But it's much bigger than a residential issue. Chicago...

For years, Chatham has been the premier black community on the South Side with nice homes and manicured lawns. But some residents feel their "grass was greener" on the other side of history. Earlier this week, the Chicago Sun-Times featured an eye opening series called "Changing Chatham", creatively written...

Before summer officially begins, Chicago is dealing with more than just a spike in temperatures. It seems as if hot weather brings some of the wrong people outside who contribute to a rise in reported crimes. Whether it is a promising college graduate hit by a stray bullet or...

Now, VCU stands for more than just Virginia Commonwealth University. The new meaning of the school's acronym is "very capable of upsets" after their basketball team's surprising win over top-seeded Kansas in the NCAA basketball tournament.

I'm not much of a sports fan. It goes back to painful...

After surviving the blizzard of 2011, it is fair to say that Chicagoans have suffered with cabin fever. But it is not fair to blame the recent spike in violence on warm weather. As journalists, we should know better than that. Yet, this time every year the same headlines feature...

Seven months after his tragic death, the killer of Chicago police officer Michael Bailey remains at large. Usually, such a high profile case would be solved. But detectives can't break the case until they break the code of silence.

Last week, Paul Meincke of ABC7Chicago reported on the updates...

Cancer does not have to be a period, as long you find the right "comma" to replace it. "Commas" come in various forms, from alternative treatment to faith-based healing, but are designed to prolong that previously inevitable death sentence.

By now, you may have read or heard that Aretha...

Contrary to popular assumption, the term "business ethics" should not be considered an oxymoron. However, there are two stories from the news this week that show the dichotomous nature of ethics in the stock market.

One man, William von Mueffling, has taken the challenging but honest route to save...

Mrs. Rosa L. Gibbs is still here.

Yesterday, she turned 108 years old and became one of the oldest residents in the city of Chicago. But only one TV station covered her story--WCIU-TV.
http://www.wciu.com/youandme.php?section=home&assets=videos&assetID=10003673
So, I decided to grab my camcorder and capture history in the making.

Steve Urkel messed everything up for men like me.

The famous character from the sitcom "Family Matters" appeared to be a positive example of a young black male, but instead represented a caricature that makes inner-city kids think twice about hitting the books. And with school starting for most kids...

There's a new job skill that the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) is requiring of a few agents: how to speak Ebonics. And that's probably because it is not usually taught in schools.

I never thought I'd live to see the day when mastering slang or speaking poor English could...

Life has imitated art for comedian/radio personality George Wilborn.

Just like Walter Younger -- Sidney Poitier's character in the 1961 film, A Raisin In The Sun, Mr. Wilborn and his family learned that the color of money cannot always stop some folks from looking at the color of their skin....

President Obama is coming back to town next week for a birthday party. Unfortunately, there have been too many families in this city gathering for funerals instead of celebrations. In the past two months, we have lost three Chicago police officers to the same violence they worked to keep...

If I didn't have an opinion about health care reform before, I sure have one now.

On Monday, I spent 10 hours in the emergency room at The University of Chicago's Bernard Mitchell Hospital. I was there seeking treatment for a toe injury, but ended up finding a news...

Chicago has become the unintended setting for a rather scary movie.

The storyline is grim, full of senseless killings and more people wondering when the violence will end. In fact, this movie never seems to approach the climax. Instead, we are stuck looking at a continuous loop of rising action....

Don't believe everything you read in the newspaper or see on TV about blacks in Chicago.

It is true that violence is rampant in predominantly African-American neighborhoods, but the actions of a few should not lead to unfair stereotypes of the majority. In fact, Chicago has always been the...