Five to be honored at eta’s Annual Benefit Gala, Sept. 8

LATIKER DIANE

Diane Latiker, Tio Hardiman, Tim King, Dr. Doriane Miller and the Chicago Music Association/NANM all receive honors at eta Creative Arts Foundation’s Annual Benefit Gala on Sept. 8, featuring fabulous food, dancing, live entertainment and an awards ceremony. General chairs are Les F. Bond Jr., CEO, Attucks Asset Management, and Atty. Anthony Schumann, owner, Grant Schumann, LLC. Coordinating chairs: sisters Gloria Jenkins-Harvey and Lola Jenkins of the Westside Association for Community Action (WACA). Event data: 7 p.m. – midnight at eta Square, 7558 South Chicago Ave. Contribution is only $125. For tickets and info, call (773) 752-3955 or visit www.etacreativearts.org .
“Our honorees this year all exemplify the power within each individual to effect change,” says Phillip Thomas, eta president. “Each is using their particular discipline – music, education, medicine, activism and theater — to make a difference in their communities. Each is an example of what it takes to ‘resurrect spirit and reclaim community,’ the gala’s theme.
Activist Diane Latiker single-handedly took the major step of opening her home to the young people in Roseland, offering them a safe haven and a sanctuary for mentoring. Community organizer Tio Hardiman took an award-winning program proven to reduce violence and expanded it, including piloting a highly specialized violence intervention program that mediates conflict on the “front end” instead of on the “back end.”
Educator Tim King challenged the status quo by creating all-male charter public high schools in Chicago that for two years straight have sent 100 percent of graduating classes to four-year colleges or universities. Dr. Doriane Miller, M.D. successfully used theater to address the issue of depression in youth due to exposure to violence, and solutions for healing. Chicago Music Association, Branch #1 of the National Association of Negro Musicians Inc. is being recognized “for preserving all genres of the music of African Americans.”
Held annually on the first Saturday after Labor Day, the festive gala features a silent auction, fine wine and champagne pull, a scrumptious soulful buffet catered by Fanfares by Faye, an open bar, dancing to live and recorded music, other entertainment including Muntu Dance Theatre, Khalidah’s North African Dance Experience, karaoke, “Land of 100 Dances” and more. The highlight of the evening: the presentation of awards.
Established in April, 1971, eta is the first full cultural arts complex in the African American community. Widely known as one of the city’s leading nonprofit tax-exempt organizations, eta’s mission is to be a major cultural resource institution for the preservation, perpetuation and promulgation of the African American aesthetic nationwide. It provides professional training and performance opportunities for youth and adults, artists and technicians; arts-in-education programs; a visual arts gallery for the display and sale of original artwork, and exposure for the general public to authentic valid projections of African American lifestyles, experiences and aspirations.

All Aboard! – Nautical chic is the attire of the evening for “Rock the Boat,” DuSable Museum’s third annual fall fundraiser on Sept. 16 aboard one of Chicago’s most popular entertainment venues, the four-story Sprint of Chicago cruise ship which is docked at Navy Pier.
The $150 per person benefit, chaired by Pamela Blackman, president of Joy Management, gets underway at 5:30 p.m. as guests pick up their boarding passes to begin a scenic cruise along the shores of Lake Michigan while enjoying a Grand Seafaring Buffet Supper, unlimited cocktails, entertainment and dancing ’til 8 p.m. The ship “drops anchor” dockside at 8 p.m. for a one-hour Coffee & Dessert Buffet.
Others on the event committee include Craig Gilmore (State Farm), Kim McCullough (AT&T), Dee Robinson Reid (Robinson Hill Hospitality Group) and Abe Thompson (Partnership Radio. Also Jerome Butler, Gwen Kenner-Johnson, Patricia Andrews-Keenan, Roderick Hawkins, Musette Henley, Dr. Bonita Carr, Diane Dinkins Carr, Fran Bell, Deborah Olivia Brown, Pam Cordier, Veronica Cunningham, Shirley Evans, Bennie Henry, Sheila King and Georgina Head-Labonne. Museum president/CEO is Dr. Carol Adams. Benefit proceeds will fund DuSable’s exhibition and educational programs. Call Tracey Williams, (773) 420-2750.

Ooops! My Bad! – “An Evening of Jazza-Palooza” hosted free by Rev. Dr. and Mrs. Otis Moss (Monica) and Trinity United Church of Christ is this Friday, Aug. 24, 5 p.m., – not Saturday! (as reported here last edition) – in TUCC’s main parking lot, 94th & Eggleston. (Thanks, Denise!) Gates open at 4 o’clock; live entertainment at 5, beginning with a pre-show poetry jam. Music by Smith Song Stylings, Tracye Smith, Roxanne Stevenson Band, Taylor Moore & Friends, Michael Ross Quintet, Ken Chaney Xperience w/Ari Brown.
Bring lawn seats, picnic eats, soft drinks, family and friends for what promises to be a wonderful evening of contemporary music under the stars! Also kindly bring a canned good in support of Operation Food Share where Trinity donates full Thanksgiving dinners to families in the Chicago area and Benton Harbor, Michigan.

Journalists’ Jam – Mix and mingle, nosh and network with some of our town’s top journalists and communicators this Thursday, 6-8:30 p.m., at the Chicago Chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists’ End-of-Summer Soiree in the swanky setting of the new Chicago Hilton Towers’ 720 South Bar located on the northeast corner of the hotel lobby.
“Hang” with colleagues from the Chicago Defender, CBS-2, ABC-7, NBC-5, Jet and Ebony magazines, WFLD-TV, WBEZ-FM and WGN-TV. You certainly don’t want to miss out on some valuable face time with fellow journalists, especially Jet Mag’s Kyra Kyles, Chicago NABJ prexy. New members are encouraged to join us to make valuable career and social connections. Complimentary hors d?oeuvres and cash bar. See you there!

Newsy Names! – Joan Collaso and the hugely popular Eleven Jazzy Divas are Main Stage attractions Aug. 31, 8-10 p.m., opening night of Labor Day Weekend’s 23rd Annual African Festival of the Arts in Washington Park (enter at 51st and Cottage Grove). Call ahead for half-off discount tickets, (773) 955-2787 or visit www.africanfestivalchicago.org.
Sheryl Lee Ralph, Dreamgirl actress and author, will emcee, and Roy Ayers, legendary jazz and R&B musician featuring Zzaje will be featured when the Chicago chapter of the National Association of Blacks in Human Resources hosts its Presidential Trailblazers Awards Gala on Aug. 28 at the Chicago Renaissance Hotel during its annual conference. Among conference speakers: Andrea Zopp, Chicago Urban League; Dan Duster, 3D Development Group; Tyronne Stoudemire, Aon Hewitt Associates; Pam McElvane, Diversity MBA; and Jim Norman, Kraft.
Trudy Murrell & Friends will be holding forth on Thursday at Dixie Star Restaurant & Marina, 131st and Halsted, featuring Chicago Soulcentric: HG Soul on vocals; Gerey Johnson, guitar; Lamar Jones, bass; Vince Wiley, keyboard; and Khari Parker, drums. Grab your posse, and enjoy the outdoors, drink specials and great food; no cover and plenty of parking.
A celebrated jazz great of all time, Wynton Marsalis, internationally renowned musician, composer, bandleader, educator and his trumpet take centerstage for a unique small ensemble performance on Aug, 28 at Symphony Center. It’s a special contribution to Jazz Week in Chicago. Tickets start at $25; call (312) 294-3000.

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