July Summer Festivals + Chicago Southsider Back in the Day

It’s July!

Chicago is known for our great food and festivals, so you don’t want to miss out on our Chicago Southsider Festival and Events Guide for 2023.

Take a look at the events coming up, so you can plan ahead. And you know how Chicago traffic can be.

Our June guide was a hit, and attracted nearly 1,000 views. Thank you to our contributor, Sunny Rock, for creating this community resource.

Sharing Chicago Southsider Around the World — We did it!

Chicago Southsider has been representing the United States in an international Solutions Journalism Fellowship and the mission is almost complete.

Our fellowship ends in September, so that means we have less than 2 months to fulfill our fellowship obligation.

Solutions Journalism Goal #1:

Our first goal was to increase subscribers so that we can share solutions journalism and the other side of Chicago’s South Side with more people. We currently have a little over 6,300 subscribers and our goal is to have over 7,500 newsletter subscribers. Please share this link with a friend and tell them to join our mission. Thank you!!

Solutions Journalism Goal #2:

Our second goal was to spread solutions journalism content. Here are the solutions journalism stories that we have produced so far:

• Selling vacant lots to help revitalize Englewood. Will this spur economic development? This article was updated in April 2023, and it has attracted 1,205 views. Did you buy a lot in Englewood? Share your story with Chicago Southsider at [email protected].

• Five Black developers transform 11 Woodlawn vacant lots into 30 new homes. Will this reverse decades of disinvestment on Chicago’s South Side? This article was originally published in March 2023, and it has attracted 2,879 views. Are you buying back the block? Share your story.

• Lorraine Hansberry’s family transformed the face of Woodlawn during World War II. Can Black developers reverse decades of disinvestment on Chicago’s South Side? This article was published in May, and has garnered 723 views.

• From Segregation to Integration: How Lorraine Hansberry’s Father Used Real Estate to Transform Chicago’s South Side. This article was published in April and has garnered 392 views.

• Breaking Barriers: Can Arthur J Wilson’s milestone as Illinois’ first Black CPA usher in a new path of opportunities in today’s world? This article was published in July 2023, and has garnered 123 views. We are holding interviews so that we can make updates to this article.

We also share solutions journalism content from other publications so that you can stay in the know.

Solutions Journalism News You Can Use

• Access to Education: About 50 Chicago High School Students Earned Associate Degrees.

• The Mural Movement: A Chicago Mural Becomes a Nationwide Movement

• Free Food in Englewood: What if Donated Food Was Delightful

• Saving Our Community: Can Community Programs Help Slow the Rise in Violence?

Hiring

We are hiring skilled freelance editors, writers, virtual assistant, social media, and advertising managers for this project. We are also looking for contributors who would like to volunteer their time to the mission. Interested? Send an email to [email protected].

Support Charlener in the International Ms Pageant

Next month, I’ll be heading to Orlando to represent Illinois in the International Ms pageant. Thank you all for your support!

You can like the International Ms Illinois Facebook page and read my story to learn more about this journey. We made it to 1K followers thanks to you. Help us make it to 1.1K followers this week.

I want to use this opportunity to speak about my platform, “Dividends Are a Queen’s Best Friend” and share Chicago’s South Side all over the world. Grab your book and let me know what you think. I’m hosting a free dividend investing training on Sunday, July 9th so don’t forget to grab your seat.

If you would like to contribute to the Chicago Southsider, send us an email at [email protected]. We do not get compensated for putting together the event guides YET, so we appreciate all of your support in helping us to produce this community resource.

Chicago Southsider has been around since 2021, and we've been going behind the scenes to showcase the South Side of Chicago.

Follow and like our new Facebook page at Chicago Southsider to make sure you don't miss any updates.

Did You Know...

• Emmett Till's childhood home is in Woodlawn. It's a Chicago landmark.

• Lorraine Hansberry's childhood home is in Woodlawn. It's a private residence.

Did your family live in Chicago during World War II? Share your story with us by sending an email to [email protected].

LIKE our Facebook page to explore hidden gems on Chicago's South Side with us.

Subscriber Update

Help us spread the word about Chicago's South Side by sharing our newsletter with someone else. You can send them this link to subscribe: chicagosouthsider.beehiiv.com/subscribe

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Get in Touch

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