Chicago Living Legacies: A Black History Month Concert

Join Bronzeville Diva Productions and the Office of Community Affairs and Outreach Programs at Illinois Tech for the second annual Living Legacies Awards and Concert featuring the Frank Russell Band on Friday, February 24, 2023, beginning at 7 p.m.

The honorees are Robert Irving III, Candice Hunter, Dwight McKee, Cheryl Manor Norman, Frank Russell, Mary A. Young, and Kai El’Zabar. The event will be held at the Schulz Auditorium at the Michael Paul Galvin Tower, located at 10 West 35th Street.

Parking is free in Lot D4, located on State Street between 35th and 34th streets. 

Here is a closer look at each of this year’s honorees:

Robert Irving III

Irving is an interdisciplinary artist who served as musical director for Miles Davis. He has created several film scores and produced five Grammy Award-nominated projects. Irving co-founded the Sonic Portraits Entertainment label, which was rebranded as Sonic Portraits Jazz, and recently formed Ri3 Reels Corporation NFP and Chi Worldview Studio LLC to develop and produce documentary films.

Candace Hunter

Hunter, also known as chlee, is a Chicago-based artist who creates collage, paintings, installations, and performance art. Through the use of appropriated materials, she tells stories that are often steeped in history. chlee most recently received the 3Arts Next Level Award (2021), the Tim and Helen Meier Family Foundation Award (2020), the 3Arts Award (2016), and was honored by the Diasporal Rhythms Collective.

Frank Russell

Russell has been playing bass since age 14. Throughout his illustrious career, he has performed or recorded with Ken Chaney, Wallace Roney, Robert Irving III, Freddie Hubbard, Ramsey Lewis, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Peter Erskine, Alphonse Mouzon, and many others. He has also recorded five CDs with Chicago guitarist Henry Johnson and is a past recipient of the Hennessy Best of Chicago Jazz Search with the Ken Chaney Xperience.

Dwight McKee

McKee is the chairman of Star North Communications. He is a social scientist with a specialty in social policy and communication. As a teenager, he was a founding board member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference’s Operation Breadbasket and Operation PUSH.

Cheryl Mainor Norman

Mainor Norman was the first woman publisher of the Chicago Defender newspaper. Mainor Norman is currently the publisher of the Chicago News Weekly newspaper. Mainor Norman has been recognized for her work by the Congressional Black Caucus, the National Medical Association, Daimler Chrysler Financial Services, and other organizations. Her career spent serving the Black press is captured in an exhibit titled “The Power of the Press” at the National Museum of African-American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.

Mary A. Young

Young is a visual artist and textile designer. She provides instruction in textile design, inspiring and guiding artistry at institutions including the University of Chicago Collegiate Scholars Program, South-Side Community Art Center, Hyde Park Art Center, and Arthur Dixon Elementary School.

Kai El’Zabar

Kai is the editor-in-chief of Chicago News Weekly, where she has resumed her column, E NOTES. El’Zabar received the 2019 Charles Mingus Award for Outstanding Community Collaboration, LA and the 2015 Maya Angelou Literary Award for outstanding literary work.

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