Black-Owned Chicago: Look What We Built

Black Chicagoans aren't waiting for anyone, they're doing it for it themselves. In this episode of Our Block, I'm pulling up across Chicago to meet the people building the spaces this city never handed us. From a caramel cake that tastes like somebody's grandmother made it, to an 85-year-old art center that was funded a dime at a time, to a pie shop built in memory of a father, this is Black Chicago, built by us and for us. Chicago is one of my favorite places in the entire world. I've seen threads of us everywhere, from the diaspora in Portugal to the Gnawa in Morocco, and still, if it weren't for the winter, this is the city I'd choose. This is also where we got to sit down and eat with some of you who crowdfunded this show, $10 and $20 at a time. Subscribe so you don't miss the rest of the season as we travel city to city, pulling up on Black folks doing dope things in their communities. PLACES WE VISITED: 🍰 Brown Sugar Bakery — Stephanie Hart's Southern-style bakery, open since 2002, home of the infamous caramel cake. https://www.brownsugarbakerychicago.com 🎨 South Side Community Art Center — Bronzeville's home for Black artists since 1940, co-founded by Dr. Margaret Burroughs, where Gordon Parks kept a darkroom in the basement. https://sscartcenter.org 🍷 Bronzeville Winery — Eric Williams and Cecilia Cuff's wine bar and restaurant on Cottage Grove, where Chef Brandon Rogers is serving us such inventive food and the wine list centers Black and women winemakers. https://www.bronzevillewinery.com/ 📚 Call & Response Books — Courtney Bledsoe's Black woman-owned bookstore in Hyde Park, normalizing stories by authors of color. https://www.callandresponsechi.com/ 🖼️ Gallery Guichard — Andre and Frances Guichard's gallery on 47th Street, showing artists from across the African diaspora https://www.galleryguichard.com/ 🍽️ Etc. — Chef Lamar Moore's Southern restaurant in the South Loop, where we hosted a dinner for the people who helped bring Our Block to life https://www.etc-chicago.com 🥧 Justice of the Pies — Maya-Camille Broussard's bakery in Avalon Park, named for her late father, a criminal defense attorney. https://www.justiceofthepies.com ALSO AROUND THE CITY: ☕ Monday Coffee — Amanda Harth and Felton Kizer's café in North Lawndale is a vibrant community space and cafe. https://www.mondaycoffee.co/ 🌭 Dave's Red Hots — Chicago's oldest hot dog stand, Black-owned for more than 50 years and run by the Fountain family on the West Side https://www.yelp.com/biz/daves-red-hots-chicago 🍕 Lynn's Chicago Pizza — South Side deep dish from Woodlawn. The storefront has since closed. 🍤 Soulé — Chef Bridgette Flagg's Creole-infused soul food! https://www.soulechicago.com 📕 AMERICAN SOUL: The Black History of Food in the United States (National Geographic) https://www.anelamalik.com/author WHO WE ARE Created & Directed by Michael Johnson Executive Producers: Michael Johnson, Anela Malik & Carl Nicolaou Host: Anela Malik - https://anelamalik.com Director of Photography: Corey Joon Clark - https://cjoonclark.com/ Second Camera: Michael Johnson Production Assistant: Richard T. Nelson III Edited by: Michael Johnson A Production of IDONTNEEDMUCH LLC https://idontneedmuchentertainment.com/ #OurBlock #Chicago #BlackOwned #BlackTravel #FoodTravel #BlackChicago #Bronzeville #SouthSide #BlackBusiness #AmericanSoul CHAPTERS 0:00 – Build it in our community 0:39 – Welcome to Our Block 1:08 – Brown Sugar Bakery 3:45 – South Side Community Art Center 7:15 – Bronzeville Winery 11:23 – Call & Response Books 13:16 – If it weren't for the winter 14:06 – Gallery Guichard 17:34 – Dinner at Etc. 18:56 – Justice of the Pies 22:00 – Summertime Chi