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Book

We are the culture : Black Chicago's influence on everything

Call Number

  • 305.896 N475 (CEN)

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Publication Information

Chicago : Lawrence Hill Books, [2024]

Physical Description

xv, 269 pages ; 24 cm

Summary

"Journalist Arionne Nettles believes it is time Black Chicagoans receive the acclaim, the honor, and the acknowledgment for their contributions to American culture and their recognition of where they truly came from. During the Great Migration, more than a half-million Black Americans moved from the South to Chicago, and with them, they brought the blues, amplifying what would be one of the city's greatest musical artforms. In 1958, the iconic Johnson Publishing company, the voice of Black America, launched the Ebony Fashion Fair show, leading to the creation of the first makeup brand for Black skin. For three decades starting in the 1970s, households across the country were transported to a stage in Chicago as they moved their hips in front of TV screens airing Soul Train. Chicago is where Oprah Winfrey, a Black woman who did not have the "traditional look" TV managers pushed on talent, premiered her talk show, which went on to break every record possible and solidify her position as the "Queen of Daytime TV." It's where Hall of Famer Michael Jordan led the Bulls to six championships, including two three-peats, making the NBA a must-see attraction worldwide and wearing Jordans a style symbol to this day. And it's home to Grammy-winner Chance the Rapper, whose work honors the city's cultural institutions, from the White Sox to modern art superstar Hebru Brantley. It all happened right here, in Chicago. For the past century, Black Chicago's influence has permeated not just the city but, really, what we see as modern-day pop culture throughout the country and, in some ways, the world"--

Contents

  • Introduction: From Chicago with love
  • Part I: Black news cannot be silenced : the creation of the Defender. Homecoming
  • Black journalism pushes for progress
  • The making of the man
  • A great migration
  • News in times of turmoil : Black nuance, Black perspective
  • Part II: And with them, they brought the blues. Cadillac Baby's Show Lounge
  • Mississippi mud music
  • An urban Chicago style
  • Part III: "You ain't heard nothing yet". On my radio
  • The voice of Chicago
  • Rise of the Black radio star
  • The Chicago sound
  • Part IV: "And you say Chi City?". Dancing down
  • The scene that House built
  • "It's a drill"
  • Part V: Black life in print. Black excellence, Baby
  • If I were a Negro
  • The JPC launching pad
  • What's happening in Black America
  • Celebration of Black cuisine
  • Part VI: Black luxury, Baby. First taste of beauty
  • Making fashion fair for ebony skin
  • The limitless art of fashion
  • Part VII: Hair that makes a statement. The shine of a crown
  • From respectability to Black and proud
  • At the root of change
  • Part VIII: Black representation on the big and small screens. Black and white and technicolor
  • Silence and the silver screen
  • Talkies
  • Singing cowboys
  • Dancing, Afros, and a whole lotta soul
  • Part IX: The Oprah effect. A full cup
  • The Oprah Winfrey Show
  • A shift to "live your best life"
  • Oprah OWNs media
  • Part X: Sports cool. The best. Ever. Anywhere
  • Three-peat after three-peat
  • Be like Mike
  • White Sox hat
  • Part XI: The arts. Art for the people
  • Being Black is
  • Chicago's own literary renaissance
  • Touch the sky
  • Epilogue: The end is just the beginning.

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