There is always reason to celebrate Black excellence, and in Chicago, doing so is hardly a new tradition.
What is newer is the Chicago Cultural Ball, an event created by Black Chicago entrepreneurs to recognize the people shaping the city’s culture, business and influence. Now in its fifth year, the ball once again brought together more than 700 guests from across the Chicago area whose work reflects achievement, creativity and a commitment to advancing the Black experience.
Created in 2019, the Chicago Cultural Ball honors exceptional individuals making an impact in their respective fields. This year, Eventnoire CEO Jeff Osuji gathered Chicagoans for the signature event in a particularly meaningful setting: the newly opened Obama Presidential Center on Chicago’s South Side, a place dedicated to preserving the legacy of the nation’s first Black president, Barack Obama, and former first lady Michelle Obama.
“Chicago has always been a city that creates culture that the rest of the world embraces,” said Jeff Osuji, founder of Eventnoire and the Chicago Culture Ball. “The Chicago Culture Ball is about making sure we celebrate and give recognition to the people behind that influence.”
The Cultural Ball offers plenty of glamour — attendees arrived in elegant gowns, sharp suits and statement-making fashion — but the evening is about much more than what people wear. At its heart is recognition.
The Chicago Cultural Ball honored legendary blues icon Buddy Guy along with 20 Culture & Arts Award recipients whose influence spans fashion, music, government, business, media, health care, entrepreneurship, education and the arts.
This year’s honorees included:
- Don C., designer, Just Don
- J. Ivy, Grammy Award-winning poet
- State Rep. Kambium Buckner, Illinois House speaker pro tempore
- Kim Lewis, CEO, CurlMix
- Tone Kapone, radio personality, iHeartMedia, Hennessy, The Shade Room
- Suzet McKinney, president and CEO, Chicago Loop Alliance
- Jason Mercer, principal, CAST US — Cleveland Avenue
- Charles Beloved Kuykendoll, CEO, Charles Beloved Products
