Greetings.
Welcome to Spring! The month of May marks the blooming of a new Chicago.
The month of May marks the blooming of a new Chicago.
On May 5 the WHO (World Health Organization) declared that the Covid Emergency is officially over. For nearly three years Chicago and the world has been waiting to exhale, and now as the fear of that dreaded disease departs, we are met with the dawning of a brand-new Chicago – and that’s good news for the South Side.
Brandon Johnson was inaugurated as Chicago’s fourth African American mayor and the third Black man to run our city on the 15th day of this month. Mayor Johnson has promised us a stronger, safer, better Chicago, and as you’ll read in this issue, his words and actions, thus far, far appear to be assurances that he will live up to that promise.
A new mayor and a new Congressman, all in the same year! That’s almost too good to be true. But it is true. Along with an article about our new mayor, in this issue we’ll also bring you an article welcoming our new Congressman of the First Congressional District, Jonathan Jackson, and we’ll give you a peek into Congressman Jackson’s first town hall meeting that gave us a real education about the 118th United States Congress, and the role Congressman Jackson is playing in it.
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank outgoing Congressman Bobby Rush for ten years of serving the first district, and especially for fighting for and winning the UChicago Medicine Trauma Center that was so badly needed in our community.
A lot of us have been reminiscing about the good old days, when the Regal Theater brought outstanding Black entertainment to our community.
Jerald Gary isn’t old enough to remember the old Regal, and he was yet a toddler when the new Regal came to the South Side, but he knows the history of the Avalon Theater on the south side and the Regal Theater in Bronzeville, and how important it is to have a Black theater on the South Side. You’ll read in this issue how he’s partnering with a dynamic Black-owned investment company, and a Black-owned Music and Television Company to bring the new Avalon Regal Theater to Chicago’s South Side. Soon, a night out on Chicago’s south side will mean going to see a play or a live performance at the Avalon Regal Theater, followed by an evening of dinner and live jazz at the Quarry Entertainment Center.
One thing the South Side of Chicago truly lacks is industry and the jobs that come with a vibrant industry. Bringing the booming film industry to the South Side is part of what will make Chicago new. We know you’ll enjoy our article on the coming 380,000 square foot film studio to Chicago’s South Shore community and what it will mean in terms of not just jobs, but actual careers for Southsider’s – especially our youth.
Making Chicago new means making Chicago whole and that means being aware of the mental health issues happening in our city. Jennifer Schultz provides an in-depth look at the subject of mental health, educating our readers about its causes, symptoms, and treatments. We’re bringing this important subject to you partly because it’s mental health month, and mostly because our city’s mental health problems greatly concern our new mayor, and we know he’ll be working toward fixing them.
Finally, we proudly pay tribute to the life and works of Useni Eugene Perkins, humanist, poet, playwright, author, educator, and activist. He was also my friend, now ancestor, who leaves behind an impressive body of work to grow and heal us.
