“Chicago is the steppin’ capital of the world.” That’s a phrase coined by local DJ Sam Chatman, also known as the Godfather of Steppin’. And though the dance craze’s popularity has spread far and wide, no one can do it quite like the hometown originators.

Shermann “Dilla” Thomas has a new gig at theDuSable Black History Museum as a brand ambassador and social media chief — an opportunity he’s called a “dream job.” It’s just one of his many projects — from giving bus tours to posting on TikTok about the city’s lesser-known history.

The history of the month dates back almost a century, and the way it is celebrated and evolved has created history in itself.

Artist and photographer Tonika Lewis Johnson and sociologist Maria Krysan compiled Chicagoans’ stories in their new book. The goal was to better understand what can happen when people explore often ignored parts of the city.

The first episode of the four-part series, called “Exodus,” details the first wave of migration north from southern states that helped turn the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago into a Black metropolis.

Almost six decades later, urban historian Shermann “Dilla” Thomas is making sure new generations know the details of Martin Luther King Jr.’s time in Chicago through his educational tours of the city’s neighborhoods.

While it is now a time-honored tradition, the establishment of the holiday had a prolonged, difficult path to acceptance.

José “Cha Cha” Jiménez in the 1960s founded the Young Lords as a street gang to counter the growing hostility toward the Puerto Rican community in Lincoln Park, at the time one of the most impoverished neighborhoods of Chicago.

Voters can choose from 10 designs for a new flag, the current flag, the 1918 centennial flag or 1968 sesquicentennial flag.

The Illinois Flag Commission chose the 10 finalists from nearly 5,000 submissions in a contest that closed in October. The fate of Illinois’ official banner will ultimately be up to lawmakers and the governor.

Chicago is home to one of the largest urban Native American populations in the United States. More than 65,000 Native Americans live in the greater metropolitan area, representing about 175 different tribes.

In 1966, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. came to Chicago’s West Side to protest against discriminatory housing practices. The neighborhood went into an uproar following his assassination in 1968, resulting in numerous riots and looting. “When the West Side Burned” outlines the destruction and struggle to recover.

The Chicago International Film Festival kicks off Wednesday and will commemorate its 60th anniversary. But at the time of its founding, director and founder Michael Kutza, couldn’t have imagined what it would become.

The Harlem Globetrotters may have a New York name, but they’re a Chicago team.  The players and founder Abe Saperstein disrupted the game of basketball and gave it a whole new look when they were founded in the 1920s.  A new book reveals the history and legacy of the storied team. 

Two friends have combined their love of fashion by incorporating film and the runway to take people on a journey back to see Black fashion on Chicago’s South Side decades ago. The “Chicago Style” film and fashion show runs from 3-6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 21.

Everyone in Chicago knows the work of architect Benjamin Marshall, even if his name doesn’t carry the weight of Louis Sullivan or Frank Lloyd Wright. It’s hard to imagine the city without Marshall’s enduring contributions — the South Shore Cultural Center, the Drake Hotel and many other historic buildings.