chicago
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Osundairo Brothers File Defamation Lawsuit Against Jussie Smollett's Legal Team
In the case with more twists than a YouTube tutorial, Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo, the two personal trainers implicated in the case of Empire star Jussie Smollett, have filed suit against Smollett’s representation for defamation, according to the Chicago Tribune. According to their suit, the Osundairo brothers, who told investigators that Smollett paid them to…
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Fearing a Serial Killer Has Been Targeting Black Women in Chicago for 20 Years, Activists Push Police to Start a Probe
Teresa Bunn was eight months pregnant when her body was found inside a burning trash can in Chicago 12 years ago. Bunn’s death came within a day of that of another woman, Hazel Marion Lewis. Lewis’ body also was found inside a burning trash can in Chicago. According to the Murder Accountability Project, Bunn and…
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'A Grave Threat to Public Safety': John Legend Calls Out Chicago Police Union in Op-Ed
As the city of Chicago lurches forward with its lawsuit against actor Jussie Smollett, John Legend penned a blistering op-ed last week, taking aim at Chicago’s powerful police union. Writing for the Chicago Tribune, the singer accused the Fraternal Order of Police of posing “a grave threat” to Chicago’s safety by obstructing efforts to instill…
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‘The Truth Is the Truth’: Sparkle May Testify Against R. Kelly Once Again
It was 2001, and Stephanie “Sparkle” Edwards took the stand to testify against Robert “R.” Kelly, the man who dubbed her his protegé, in connection with an alleged sex tape involving her 14-year-old niece. Cut to 18 years later and Sparkle is faced with having to do that once again — this time for four unrelated…
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Prosecutor Kim Foxx to Expunge Marijuana Convictions in Chicago
It’s not exactly a secret that black folks are disproportionately affected by marijuana convictions. But Chicago prosecutor Kim Foxx has big plans to right an egregious wrong. The Chicago Sun-Times reports that Foxx has big plans to erase the pot-related charges of thousands of Chicago residents. Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx said she is…
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New Video Shows Student's Account of What Chicago Police Did to Her Was Exactly as Bad as She Said
You can believe Chicago police, stalwarts of truth and integrity, or you can believe surveillance footage. But in yet another incident involving a young black person, you cannot believe both. This time, surveillance video released last week from a Chicago high school contradicts earlier CPD statements that they were provoked to punch and use a…
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Chicago Mayor-Elect Lori Lightfoot Confirms Jussie Smollett's Case 'Doesn't Rank as a Matter of Any Importance'
As we continue to follow along with the soap operatic saga known as Jussie Smollett’s Chicago case, many have expressed a desire for it all to be over. The rollercoaster of plot twists — including the biggest of them all, when all charges were dropped, abruptly — sent everyone in a tailspin, and frankly, it…
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Playing the Gentrification Game: In Ike Holter's Lottery Day, the Audience Wins
Gentrification continues to redistrict the boundaries of traditionally black and brown neighborhoods in urban cities across America—inevitably, pushing longtime residents and their stories to the fringes in favor of glossier, more palatable facades and narratives. Those stories have been the focus of playwright Ike Holter’s stunning seven-play “Rightlynd Saga,” focusing on the inhabitants of Chicago’s…
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#SheMatters: Chicago’s Black Women’s Expo Celebrates 25 Years of Black Girl Magic
“When people talk about black girl magic, we got it going on here in the city of Chicago,” says Merry Green, creator and founder of the city’s Black Women’s Expo, which celebrates its 25th anniversary April 12 through April 14 at the McCormick Place convention center, with BET Her as its title sponsor and the…
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Iconic Johnson Publishing, the Company That Was Once Behind Ebony and Jet Magazines, Files for Bankruptcy
Johnson Publishing Company, the historic African-American media powerhouse responsible for the start of Ebony and Jet magazines, has filed for bankruptcy. The company sold Ebony and Jet three years ago to a private equity firm, so Tuesday’s filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation will not affect the publications, the Chicago Sun Times reports. However, the…