Bronzeville gathering highlights history of Black excellence in Chicago

CHICAGO - Jazz legends Nat King Cole, Ramsey Lewis and Quincy Jones all have roots in Chicago's Bronzeville neighborhood. Their stories of success were publicized by the Chicago Defender. 

On Sunday night, inside Bronzeville Winery, it was an evening of storytelling and wine pairing. The event was hosted by Chicago Defender Charities with 50 guests attending.

The backstory:

It was an intimate conversation reminiscing on Black history specific to Chicago and the importance of unlimited educational tools for students.

Topics included The Great Migration, the period from 1910 to 1970 where millions of Blacks moved from southern states for more opportunity.
 
Storytellers included Chicago Public School Board Member Che "Rhymefest" Smith and Myiti Sengstacke Rice, who is a great grand-niece of Robert Sengstacke Abbott.

What they're saying:

Abbott founded The Chicago Defender and started the Bud Billiken parade. Today, the parade attracts 300,000 in-person spectators, two million viewers on TV and three million more on social media.

"Bud Billiken is a movement. Bud Billiken is more than a march. It's more than getting out there. But we are actually telling the stories of all of us coming together and working hard throughout the year," Sengstacke Rice said. 

Chicago Defender Charities continues to pour into the community through scholarship programs and workforce development.

"To have our history erased from school books, to not be discussed, to be diminished in the way that they are, we need Black publications," former Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx said. "We need parades like the Bud Billiken parade to teach our youth, our history, and the promise that they have for our future."