Cecil McDonald Jr.,”For Sabina, Mothership Connection,” 40″ x 30″ mylar and pigment ink, 2020. Chicago.
Part of the 2020 Best of Chicago edition.
Best Monument to Opportunity
“Monument To The Great Northern Migration” in Bronzeville
With data showing many Black Chicagoans are leaving the city in search of better lives elsewhere, it’s easy to forget that years ago the reverse was true. The “Monument to the Great Northern Migration,” from the mid-1990s, is a tribute to the promise the city once held for hundreds of thousands of African Americans who came here from the South following the Civil War and on into the twentieth century. Located in the median of a busy part of King Drive, just south of McCormick Place, the Alison Saar bronze sculpture, created from shoe soles, is of a hatted, forward-focused traveler on foot, briefcase in hand, waving hello from the southern doorstep of his new city. (John Moss)
345 E. Eastgate
Best Neighborhood Cultural Sculpture Garden
Oakland Museum and Garden
A sliver of South Side green space to explore is the outdoor Oakland Museum and Garden. Rugged, abstract wood sculptures loom large on a once-derelict lot. The late Milton Mizenburg Jr., a self-taught artist, hand-chiseled, sawed and painted while inviting conversation with his neighbors. A heritage site, this tended place has a vibrant garden with natural habitat planting to enhance the artworks. The museum partnered with Hyde Park Jazz Festival to host pop-up performances celebrating art and music. Milton Mizenburg III, the late artist’s son, says his father “wanted to bring together the community and apparently it worked.” One of Mizenburg’s mentees and neighbors, Lional Freeman, featured Mizenburg’s sculptures at his annual Sandbox Symphony at Oakwood Beach. (Yetta Starr)
4116 S. Lake Park
Best Stylist and Fashion Influencer
BeBe Jones
Fifteen years in the game and BeBe Jones of Row A Seat 1 remains a force to be reckoned with. One of the city’s most sought-after style mavens and author of the e-book “Everybody Wanna Be A Stylist,” BeBe is a hub of knowledge, style and going hard for fellow Chicago kids. “I’ve been considered an ‘influencer’ by the people, it’s a beautiful thing, I’m grateful! On the flipside, none of that truly holds weight if you don’t know who you are, and I know who I am, along with my life’s purpose,” Jones says. “Yes, we are all influenced by someone, but being your best self is one of the highest forms of self-preservation.” (Kia Smith)
Best Philosopher of Brick, Mortar, Steel and Glass
John Gay (architect)
Growing up in the Morgan Park neighborhood, John Gay was introduced to jazz by his father. Through car rides throughout the city with his mom and siblings, he gained an appreciation for architecture. Those passions are unified at his architectural firm JAQ’d Studio, where the design philosophy is predicated on the aesthetic, organization and improvisation of jazz. John’s work ranges from historic preservation and higher education to residential and commercial. (Chris Cason)
Best New Black Metropolis
The U of C-Downtown Hyde Park Coalition
Not to name drop, but… The Silver Room, Sir & Madame, Virtue, 14 Parish, Hyde Park Cigar, Kilwins, Mikkey’s/Litehouse/Soul Shack, Ja’ Grill, Jojayden Handmade, even the not-Black-owned Sophy Hotel with the Mesler bar, lounge and kitchen fits the description. When the University of Chicago purchased the land and property in its surrounding neighborhood in preparation for Chicago’s Olympic bid for 2016, who knew they were going to turn the newly constructed Downtown Hyde Park into a mini-upscale Black Metropolis by giving Black-owned and Black-operated businesses spaces and opportunities most other neighborhoods in the city would ever consider. (Raymond Alexander)
Best Public Plot to Pit Us Against One Another
Looters v. Protesters
We come in peace. Just not all of us. But somehow, with the help of white Chicago, “white Twitter” and the media, we all get lumped together. Referred to as “y’all.” Heavy emphasis on the “all.” So when the recent “Black Monday” jumped off between the night of August 10 and the morning of August 11, those destructive activities somehow got immediately (and permanently) attached to all of the vocal and social protesting done since May. Leaving one part of Black Chicago to defend and answer for another part of Black Chicago that—during this specific, purposeful and necessary movement— can be two very different Black Chicagos. (Scoop Jackson)
Best Collective to SaveChi
SaveMoney
SaveMoney is as Chicago as mild sauce and footwork. Chance may have become a mononymous rap mascot to the rest of the world, but those who know know that the whole army is filled with microphone warriors. The collective founded by Vic Mensa (whose personal musical journey has been a wild ride), has seen the art of artists including Joey Purp, Tokio and Nico Segal go from street culture to influential, international pop culture while doing philanthropic things in the ‘hood (SaveMoneySaveLife). This city’s been one to watch for soul and R&B for generations, and with the rise of SaveMoney, hip-hop heads keep eyes on Chicago, too. (Jill Hopkins, radio host-producer, The Morning AMp)
Best Muralist
Max Sansing
Whether he was graffiti-writing on public property as a youth to having his work commissioned across the city, Max Sansing’s art is influenced by his South Side upbringing. The Avalon Park native grew up in a household that valued the arts and fell right in line. Known for vibrant murals that combine graffiti, graphic design and portraiture, Sansing’s pieces act as a culture identifier of the communities they are in and are meant to inspire those in those neighborhoods. (Chris Cason)
Best Monument That’s Not Yet a Monument
Muddy Waters’ former home
Muddy Waters’ former home at 4339 S. Lake Park has seen and heard the likes of Little Walter, Willie Dixon, James Cotton and the Rolling Stones. It sat vacant for over forty years after Waters moved to Westmont. While cities like New Orleans and Memphis benefit from the tourism dollars of their blues and jazz legacy, Chicago tears down its historic buildings. Yet the National Trust for Historic Preservation, along with the African American Cultural Action Fund, awarded $50,000 for a proposed museum—The Muddy Waters MOJO Museum. The Landmark Illinois Timuel D. Black, Jr. Grant Fund for Chicago’s South Side has also given $2,500. Plans include restoring the home, dedicating the first floor to a museum and the basement to a jam-session space with a recording studio and lounge—the way it was back in the day when Waters, Jimmy Rogers, Otis Spann and others made music history. (David Witter)
4339 S. Lake Park
Best Next Black Metropolis
The South Loop-South Michigan Avenue Coalition
Taking a page from the new Downtown HP and the revitalization of the West Loop, the South Loop is turning South Michigan Avenue into Chicago’s version of “The Wiz.” Anchored by the SLBE (South Loop Business Exchange), African-American-owned or African-American-centric businesses line the sidewalks just north of where the Chicago Defender once called home. Jamaica Jerk Villa, SuccezZ, Israel Idonije’s RSTR gym, a Harold’s Chicken #88 Meets Beer, Bar 22, Bassline, 22 Thirty 9 event space and even the temporarily closed Marimarshe’ Salon & Spa make up the revitalized Motor Row. Another Black area in Chicago where ain’t nobody bringing no bad news. (Raymond Alexander)
Best Definition of “Chi-Level”
2020 NBA All-Star Weekend
Some cities and places raise the bar and set higher-than-thou standards. But then there’s how Chicago does things when we show the world how things should be done. Perfectly. Beautifully. Above everyone’s standards but ours. On a whole extra level. That Chi-Level. Which was put on full display over the four-day lit-fest. From pop-up stores and events to the merchandise and parties to the Virgil Abloh-inspired reopening of the MLK Boys & Girls Club to Common’s Chi-defining poem/player introduction. It was the best of Black Chi. Our reinforcement to the world of how we on another level. (Scoop Jackson)
Best Neighborhood Criminal Justice Reform Advocate
Esther Franco-Payne, executive director, Cabrini Green Legal Aid
Esther Franco-Payne is the only BIPOC at the head of a legal organization in the state of Illinois. Her role last year in pushing Illinois Senate Bill 1557, which amended the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act, not only brought Governor J.B. Pritzker to her facility to sign the bill, but made Franco-Payne a hero to thousands in the state. She heads a major legal organization without a law degree (Franco-Payne’s background is in social work): that alone tells you how superior she is at what she does. (Bob Arthur III)
Best Best Fuck-a-Pandemic Spot
East Hayes Drive
Even with conscious efforts to socially distance, the strip on East Hayes Drive—between Lake Shore Drive and Cornell Boulevard—became the nightly go-to spot to hold onto any part of a typical Chicago summer. Put another way: If Trump rallies had bbq pits, Hennessy, Newports and Black & Mild wrappers, bongo and African drum players, Chevys and kitted-out Benzs, fifth-generation lawn chairs and “WAP” blasting out of speakers without the Confederate flags, MAGA caps, Kid Rock songs, Putin-driven agendas and “racehorse theory” speeches, and was filled with Black people just enjoying ourselves and our city… Now, if we only come out like this to vote. (Scoop Jackson)
Best Resting Place for Chicago’s African American History
Oak Woods Cemetery
Oak Woods may be a cemetery, but it is also a living monument to Chicago’s Black history and the struggle for civil rights. African American leaders buried there include Harold Washington, Jesse Owens, Ralph Metcalf, Ida B. Wells, Cecil Partee, Eugene Sawyer, Thomas A. Dorsey, Roebuck “Pops” Staples, bluesmen Junior Wells and Little Brother Montgomery, as well as the crypt of still-living Senator Roland Burris. Only yards away from these sites is a mass grave for an estimated 4,000 Confederate war veterans who died in Chicago at Camp Douglas. In another paradoxical pairing, Larry Doby, the American League’s first African American baseball player and Bill Veeck, the progressive owner who hired him, are buried not far from Kennesaw Mountain Landis and Cap Anson. As former Commissioner of Major League Baseball and manager of the Chicago White Stockings, Landis and Anson were driving forces behind keeping Black players out of baseball for almost fifty years. (David Witter)
1065 East 67th
Best Proof That Shit Ain’t No Different on the North Side
Mia Wright’s CPD Encounter
On May 31, Chicago police in Brickyard Mall parking lot pull a Black woman by her hair from a car after shattering the vehicle’s window, drag her to the ground and pin her down with a knee on the back of her neck, she’s called “a f——- savage” by a police sergeant, given no access or phone call to an attorney for six hours, and is officially charged with “disorderly conduct”… for sitting in her car. Mia Wright was released sixteen hours after the incident. No explanations, no apologies. It’s basically the Sandra Bland and George Floyd treatment but without the tragic outcome. But the reminder remains the same. (Scoop Jackson)
Best Black 2020 Rookie Staying True to the City
Ed Howard
Ball and mitt in hand, proudly wearing his White Sox hat, Ed Howard spent his life chasing home plate. The eighteen-year-old shortstop dreamt of playing at Guaranteed Rate Field. Howard, a former Jackie Robinson West star, became a top-tier talent in Illinois. Representing Mount Carmel on Chicago’s South Side, Howard was an elite prospect for the 2020 MLB draft. Dreams changed on June 10 when the Sox passed on their faithful fan. Five picks later, the Chicago Cubs took Howard at No. 16. Despite a new Cubbies hat and moving eleven miles north, Howard finally reached home plate. (Sania Blu)
Best West Side Police Representative
Barbara West, Deputy Superintendent, CPD
She’s basically a West Side kid that done good, regardless of how some in the city feel about her and the people she works for. The first Black female officer in Austin to become a commander rose through the ranks to Mayor Lightfoot’s shortlist to become the city’s superintendent after the Eddie Johnson firing. Now she’s the highest-ranking female of any color on Chicago’s police force. But not for long, since news broke that Deputy Superintendent Barbara West will retire soon. But she will not be done helping the CPD become better. (Bob Arthur III)
Best Proof of Black Youth Trying to Make Change
West Side Teenagers take Chicago Police on Tours of Their ‘Hoods
On September 9, throughout North Lawndale, young Black members of My Block, My Hood, My City’s Explorers Program (as part of Mayor Lightfoot’s police reform plan) took new recruits of CPD’s training academy on a trip, gave them the ins-and-outs, insight and accounts on how things flow in the neighborhood that they live in and that one day the future police officers could be patrolling. Peace talks, peace walks. Major step forward. Whether they heard the kids or not, that’s a whole different point of concern. And contention. (Scoop Jackson)
Part of the 2020 Best of Chicago edition: read the full feature here, or get a copy in print here.
