The Chicago Reporter

02/08/2025

Today is National Wear Red Day. Here are some facts about heart disease and stroke:

• Cardiovascular disease kills more women than all forms of cancer combined, and yet only 44% of women recognize that cardiovascular disease is their greatest health threat.

• Cardiovascular disease is the No. 1 killer of new moms and accounts for over one-third of maternal deaths. Black women have some of the highest maternal mortality rates.

• Going through menopause does not cause cardiovascular disease, but the approach of menopause marks a point in midlife when women's cardiovascular risk factors can accelerate, making increased focus on health during this pivotal life stage is crucial.

• Most cardiac and stroke events can be prevented through education and lifestyle changes, such as moving more, eating smart, and managing blood pressure.

• 51.9% of high blood pressure deaths, otherwise known as hypertension or the “silent killer,” are in women, and out of all women, 57.6% of Black females have hypertension — more than any other race or ethnicity.

• While there are an estimated 4.1 million female stroke survivors living today, approximately 57.5% of total stroke deaths are in women.

• Women continue to be underrepresented in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) fields, as well as in research. In fact, women occupy nearly half of all U.S. jobs (48%), but only 27% of jobs in STEM fields. Furthermore, only 38% of participants in clinical cardiovascular trials are women.

For more info, log onto https://www.goredforwomen.org/en/

02/05/2025

❤️🖤💚

Gwendolyn Elizabeth Brooks was born on June 7, 1917. A poet, she was the first African American to receive a Pulitzer Prize.Born in Topeka, Kansas, Brooks graduated from Wilson Junior College in 1936. Critics praised her first book of poems, A Street in Bronzeville (1945), as a moving evocation of life in an urban Black neighborhood. In 1949, Brooks wrote Annie Allen, and was awarded the 1950 Pulitzer Prize in poetry. Since then, she has written a number of selections for readers of all ages. These include Maude Martha (1953), The Bean Eaters (1960), In the Mecca (1968), Riot (1969), Jump Bad (edited): A New Chicago Anthology (1971), Report from Part One: An Autobiography (1972), To Disembark (1981), The Near-Johannesburg Boy and Other Poems (1986), Blacks (1987), and Children Coming Home (1991).Brooks is noted for her adaptation of traditional forms of poetry and for her use of short verse lines and casual rhymes. Brooks was named poet laureate for the state of Illinois in 1968, succeeding Carl Sandburg. In 1985 she was appointed poetry consultant to the Library of Congress. In 1990, Brooks became the first American to receive the Society for Literature Award from the University of Thessalonica in Athens, Greece.
She received the National Book Foundation''s medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters in 1994. Gwen Brooks died December 4, 2000.

02/01/2025

💕Happy February!!💕
The TCR team wishes you a month filled with love, peace, happiness, and pride as we celebrate and honor the accomplishments and rich history of Black people within the Diaspora. ❤️🖤💚

02/01/2025

There are a VERY limited number of seats still available for Monday's State of Our City Town Hall featuring Mayor Brandon Johnson and Jahmal Cole broadcast live on WTTW (Ch.11).

Hit the link below to register now. We hope to see you there!

LINK: https://www.wttw.com/events/2025-02-03-173000/state-our-city-wttw-news-town-hall

01/02/2025

As we conclude our annual Kwanzaa celebration, let us remember that the true meaning of Kwanzaa lies in its principles. If we strive to live these principles daily we will not only have learned valuable lessons from our past, we will have assumed responsibility for our future.

HAPPY KWANZAA!
DAY 7 (January 1): IMANI
Habari Gani! (What’s the News?)
Imani (Faith)

FAITH teaches us to believe with all our hearts in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders, and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.
*******
Imani teaches us to believe in the good and strive constantly to achieve it everywhere and in its most essential, inclusive and expansive forms.
*******
Lighting of the candles:
* Umoja (Unity): The black candle in the center of the kinara is lit first, symbolizing unity, the core principle that supports all others.
* Kujichagulia (Self-Determination): The first red candle is lit on the second day, emphasizing the importance of defining oneself and speaking for oneself.
* Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility): A green candle is lit next, representing the commitment to building and maintaining the community together.
* UJAMAA (Cooperative Economics): On the fourth day, a second red candle, placed next to the first red candle, is lit to symbolize Ujamaa.
* NIA (Purpose): A green candle is lit to lead the reflection on what it means to choose to be committed to the collective vocation of building, developing and defending our community, its culture and history.
* KUUMBA (Creativity): A red candle is lit as we celebrate the creativity inherent in us while balancing between respecting and carrying forward traditions, and embracing new, innovative ideas.
* Imani (Faith): The final green candle is lit as we focus on all that came before, all that is around us now, and all that will come after us. A day of self-reflection that ends with the sharing of gifts.

End the seventh day’s ceremony by blowing out the candles and then saying: “HARAMBEE” repeated seven times.

Sincerely in Unity!

(via Rutgers African-American Alumni Association (RAAAA)

01/02/2025

Muslim Heritage Month in January honors the anniversary of the death of Yarrow Mamout, an African American Muslim former slave (shown below). Captured in a West African slave raid, Mamout overcame great adversity, ultimately purchasing his own freedom and became a famous Washington financier. The national observance spotlights Muslims embracing freedom to pursue the American Dream and celebrates Muslim contributions to American society. https://ow.ly/Klc550UypKe

01/01/2025

Happy New Year from the TCR Family!! May 2025 bring you all that your heart desires and beyond your expectations!! 🥳

01/01/2025

Dec. 31 marks Day 6 of . On the sixth day, we light the third red candle, which represents the principle of Kuumba, or creativity.

Pledge: On this day, we pledge to always do as much as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than how we inherited it.
(via Our Black Union)

01/01/2025

Today is the final day to contribute to our 2024 Year End Appeal!

CRS understands that the spirit of giving truly makes the holiday season special. We are immensely grateful to our Beloved Community for its constant engagement and philanthropy.

Please consider making a gift to help us remain a beacon of light in solidarity with those marginalized. Your altruistic donation, despite size, significantly advances our activism. Every contribution counts.

Make a gift: https://ow.ly/ch3M50UvlJi

We look forward to fostering resilience and raising up in people power together in 2025. Happy Holidays and a prosperous New Year to you and yours!



P.S. Save the date and register for our 2025 Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Faith in Action Assembly “The People’s Inauguration: The Sounds of Freedom” on Monday, January 20: https://ow.ly/G2ri50UvlJh

12/31/2024

December 30th, which marks day five of , we light the second green candle to the right of the black candle. This candle represents the principle of Nia, or purpose.

Pledge: On this day, we pledge to make our collective vocation the building and development of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.

(via Our Black Union)

12/30/2024

Habari gani? Ujamaa!!!!

12/28/2024

Illinois has nearly 300 new laws taking effect on Jan. 1, 2025, covering everything from specialty plates for motorcycles to the creation of a task force on water quality.

12/28/2024

Day 3: Ujima Collective Work and Responsibility

This is the day we light the third candle on the kinara for collective work and responsibility. Pause for a moment of gratitude to those that helped make you who you are today. Your ancestors. Community members. Any and everyone who made a difference big or small in your journey.

(Via Our Black Union)

12/27/2024

Habari Gani? (What’s the news?)

The second day of honors self-determination (kujichagulia): ‘To define ourselves, our common interests and make decisions that are in the best interest of our family and community.’ ❤️🖤💚

(Via Our Black Union)

12/27/2024

Happy Kwanzaa!!!
Dec. 26 marks the beginning of , and on this first day, we light the sole Black candle at the center of our kinara in honor of the principle Umoja, meaning Unity.

On this day, we pledge to strive for and maintain unity in the family, community, nation, and race.

12/27/2024

The weeklong holiday that starts Thursday highlights seven principles — including collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics and creativity — and features citywide celebrations of arts, crafts, storytelling, history and dance.

12/27/2024

Kwanzaa, celebrated from December 26 to January 1, is an African American and pan-African seven-day holiday that celebrates family and community. Professor and chairman of Black Studies at California State University, Long Beach, Dr. Maulana Karenga, created Kwanzaa in 1966 in the midst of the Black Freedom Movement, reflecting concerns for cultural grounding in thought and practice.

The seven principles of Kwanzaa are Umoja (unity), Kujichagulia (self-determination), Ujima (collective work and responsibility), Ujamaa (cooperative economics), Nia (purpose), Kuumba (creativity), and Imani (faith). Some Kwanzaa traditions include wearing traditional African clothing, letting a child light the candle for each of the days, and decorating homes with the symbols of Kwanzaa. Learn more: https://ow.ly/b6nn50UwQru