As a musician-turned-painter, Robert “Baabe” Irving III is in famous, if not necessarily good, company. A foray into the visual arts seems to be the cool thing for past-their-prime rockers and strummers to do nowadays—Bob Dylan just had his first public exhibition of prints and sketches, Lou Reed’s second photography book was published not so long ago, and even Paul McCartney is contributing to the art market with a collection of lithographs. Talent among these men spans the spectrum, but Irving’s work falls nicely in the middle, as displayed by his show “Generations of Jazz Dreamscapes” at the eta Creative Arts Foundation. Read the rest of this entry »

In some ways, Grand Crossing and adjacent Chatham are like a case study in urban history. Both were originally settled by European immigrants working on the railroads and, later on, in factories. Both neighborhoods prospered during the first half of the 20th century. And starting in the 1950s, both were integrated; but here is where the two diverge. Grand Crossing saw a typical case of white flight, blockbusting by corrupt realtors, and subsequent economic stagnation. Chatham, on the other hand, integrated slightly later and learned from the mistakes of other neighborhoods. The whites still left, but their institutions and community groups were peacefully turned over to the new black residents. According to the Encyclopedia of Chicago, Chatham “has the distinction of being perhaps the only neighborhood in Chicago that developed from a European American middle-class community into one composed of middle-class African Americans.” To this day Chatham is more comfortable, while Grand Crossing is less well-off. Read the rest of this entry »

eta Creative Arts Foundation’s new play opens on a scene of newlywed bliss, which quickly turns into an argument before marital harmony is restored and the couple rushes off stage to have sex. It is a scene repeated countless times in “Checkmates,” written by acclaimed playwright Ron Milner and first performed at eta in January 1987. Like most of Milner’s previous works, “Checkmates” was a success and toured the country after its initial run at eta. It arrived on Broadway in the summer of 1988 for an extended run that featured a young Denzel Washington as Sylvester, a recently married black man rising through the ranks at a mostly white corporation. Syl (in this production, Keir Thirus) and his wife Laura (Caren Blackmore) serve as stand-ins for a younger generation of African-Americans who, the play implies, have had opportunity served to them on a silver platter. Syl and Laura’s foil is found downstairs in the form of Frank (Willie B. Goodson) and Mattie (Davalie Friend), an older couple who own the two-family house and rent out the upper floor. Read the rest of this entry »

Yassa’s African Restaurant was easy to find, just west of the intersection of 79th Street and Cottage Grove Avenue. Its unassuming exterior matched the rest of the gritty block—simple yet bright signage above the entrance, dark brick exterior, and a row of open parking meters lining the front. Knowing little about Senegal, a few stereotypical questions filled my mind. Would we eat with our fingers, like in an Ethiopian restaurant? Would we sit on the floor? Would the décor have elephants or lions? Entering the restaurant was like walking into someone’s back door. We were eagerly welcomed by the owner, a member of the Wolof people of western Senegal, who opened the place in 2004 as the first Senegalese restaurant in Chicago. The dining room was open yet dimly lit, and a family sat around the largest table. The seating was informal, around oversized square tables that were subtly oriented toward a big TV buzzing the latest political commentary on CNN. Everyone who came and sat down was eventually drawn in by the political banter, which harmonized with the drone of the lights and coolers. Read the rest of this entry »

“I always believed that we were doing art with a purpose, not art for art’s sake,” says Director Runako Jahi, “I believe that art should support humanity in some way.” Read the rest of this entry »

It has been seventeen years since Chicago’s eta Creative Arts Foundation first produced “Good Black,” featuring Runako Jahi, the artistic director of this year’s production, as the protagonist. “Yeah, I played the young man, so you can imagine how long ago that was,” he jokes. Indeed, the director, Edward Richardson, says this year eta is in its Sankofa season—the Sankofa, a bird in African culture, symbolizes both reflection on the past and forward movement. Since “Good Black” is one of the most popular plays in eta’s history, both Jahi and Richardson are glad to be bringing it back—and audiences will be glad to have it back as well. “People always call us and they say, when are you going to bring back ‘Good Black’?” Jahi says. Now, in the spirit of the Sankofa season, eta is happy to produce “Good Black” once more. Read the rest of this entry »