Jazz is the foundation of Mark Ruffin’s entire career as a music historian, journalist and broadcaster. In this week’s Black Voices Book Club selection, the principles of jazz composition also inspired his fictional takes on topics of race and intolerance.
Arts & Entertainment
Feb 28, 2021 |
In this recently rediscovered interview, the Grammy Award-winning actor talks with “Our People” host Jim Tilmon about how media representations affect popular perceptions.
Feb 25, 2021 |
A Chicago artist is working to make sure no musician is left behind with a community organization dedicated to Black musicians in Chicago.
Feb 25, 2021 |
What does a 20th century electricity baron have to do with a spitting llama at a suburban petting zoo? Geoffrey Baer is here with the story of the Hawthorn Mellody dairy farm in this week’s Ask Geoffrey.
Feb 24, 2021 |
There are many ways the COVID-19 pandemic has turned people’s lives upside down. This is the story of the emotional devastation — and recovery — experienced by beloved local musician Erwin Helfer.
Feb 23, 2021 |
From Harriet Tubman and Rosa Parks to Marsha P. Johnson and Stacey Abrams, Black women continue to be key leaders in our communities. This Black History Month, WTTW News shined a light on Black women during our February community conversation. Watch it now.
Feb 22, 2021 |
A musical journey through Black history explores how African traditions not only influence music genres today, but how they have helped the Black community celebrate and maintain its traditions.
Feb 21, 2021 |
Black women’s hair, particularly in the workplace, has been the subject of endless discussion in recent years. In this rediscovered 1968 interview from the WTTW show “Our People,” actor Diahann Carroll tells a story that demonstrates it’s not exactly a new issue.
Feb 21, 2021 |
Princeton University professor Dr. Eddie Glaude Jr. talks about his hopes for the nation — and those of writer James Baldwin — in this week’s Black Voices Book Club selection.
Feb 21, 2021 |
Six Flags Entertainment Corporation says it is planning to open all 26 of its amusement parks and water parks for the 2021 season, including five that were not able to operate last year because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Feb 20, 2021 |
The improbable story began during the winter of 1973, when Karen Autenrieth lost her wedding band at her grandmother’s house in Chicago. It’s a memory she clearly recalls decades later.
Feb 16, 2021 |
A group of young women are changing the narrative of gospel music — and who it’s for. We meet a band of sisters who are on a mission.
Feb 16, 2021 |
“Sole e Amore,” Enrique Mazzola’s newest project, will include two dozen songs by seven of the most beloved Italian opera composers of the 19th century, performed by 11 members of the Ryan Opera Center, Lyric’s renowned artist development program.
Feb 14, 2021 |
In this rediscovered interview from the WTTW series “Our People,” host Jim Tilmon gets the Chicago comedian to tell one of his signature stories.
Feb 14, 2021 |
“White Fright: The Sexual Panic at the Heart of America’s Racist History” re-examines the Reconstruction era through the 1960s and offers a new perspective on America’s history of white supremacy. Author Jane Dailey joins us as part of our Black Voices Book Club series.
Feb 12, 2021 |
Sea shanties are suddenly all the rage thanks to TikTok but Chicago’s long been a hub for shanty singing. We explore the city’s connection to the musical tradition — and its undeniable staying power.
