Julieanna L. Richardson’s The History Makers presents “A Night with John W. Rogers Jr.,” founder of Ariel Investments, LLC, the United States’ largest minority-run mutual fund firm, interviewed by Arne Duncan and Don Thompson, president and COO of McDonald’s Corp., on Oct. 2. Co-chairs of the PBS-TV taping at the Art Institute of Chicago include Toni Cook Bush and Dwight Bush, Greg Case, Mellody Hobson, Shirley and Patrick Ryan, Chris and Allison Simmons and Rick Waddell. And among those on the benefit committee: Ellen Alberding and Kelly Welsh, Mercer Cook, Kelly King Dibble and Andrew Dibble, Lisa and Charles Tribbett, Sandra and James Reynolds, Melody Spann-Cooper, Linda Johnson Rice, Janice Cook Roberts and Richard Roberts, Jim Tyree, Steven Rogers, Jeanette Sublet and Langdon Neal, Dana and Andre Rice. Entertainment for the evening will be provided by Faye Raye an the KRC Ensemble. á Havana Hoopla! – Minnie and Sharon Minoso (of Chicago White Sox fame of years back) have signed on as co-honorary chairs of “A Night in Havana,” a gala benefit to raise dollars for the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt on Oct. 29 at the Palmer House Hilton. The evening’s timetable: 5:30 p.m., pre-performance cocktails and dinner; 8 p.m., a performance of Lizt Alfonso Dance Cuba in the Auditorium Theatre; followed by a post performance dessert party in the Theatre’s Main Lobby. Founded in 1991 under the name of “Danza Ibericas, took on the name of its founder, director and choreographer, Lizt Alfonso, the following year. In 2000, the company attained the status of resident ensemble at Havana’s Grand Theater. For their Chicago engagement at the Auditorium Theatre, Lizt Alfonso Dance Cuba will perform a program entitled “Fuerzas y Compas” (Strength & Measure) that exemplifies the beauty and passion of Cuban culture through a combination of flamenco ballet and contemporary dance. Gala donations range from $10,000 for a table of 10 to $500 for a single ticket. Fashion Focus – With the fall season just around the corner, chic and stylish seasonal fashions presented by the Apparel Center and York Furriers will grace the run-way when The Foundation for Jackson Park Hospital Women’s Board hosts its 27th Annual Luncheon on Oct. 3 in the Gold Coast Room of The Drake Hotel, 160 E. Walton Place. The annual event gets underway with cocktails at 11 a.m. in the Imperial Foyer with door prizes, a raffle, cash bar and a fashion accessory booth. According to Dori L. Zollar, founder of the foundation, lunch will be served at noon, followed by the fashion show at 1 p.m. Adding to the glitz and glamour, York Furriers will show their magnificent, colorful fur collection. The afternoon will also be highlighted by the presentation of the Rose Award, recognizing Anne R. Pramaggiore, president and chief operation officer of ComEd, for “outstanding public service.“ Also working for the success of the annual event are board members: Wanda Alcox Smith, Margo Brooks-Pugh, Darleen Burton-Jones, Adell Garrett, Constance Gerace, Camille Givens, Bobbie Jones and Angela Yates. Proceeds will be directed to Community Health Education, which includes a school-based health center at South Shore High School, serving over 1,500 inner-city students, and the hospital’s obstetrics renovation project. For ticket info, call (773) 947-7525. Dollars for Scholars – First lady Michelle Robinson Obama has been invited to Chicago to keynote the 34th Scholarship Awards Anniversary & Dinner of the Ora Higgins’ Youth Foundation and her Higgins’100th birthday celebration on Oct. 2, 1 p.m., at the Lexington House in southwest suburban Hickory Hills. Following dinner, a two-part award ceremonyá will be conducted with the presentation ofá $12,000 in scholarship awards to eight academically qualified students pursuing post-secondary studies at a college or university. Additionally, leadership awards will be presented to three distinguished Chicago area citizens who are making major contributions to the growth and development of today’s urban youth. Historically Speaking – African American Preachers and Politics: The Careys of Chicago will be discussed in depth when Dr. Dennis C. Dickerson of the Department of History at Vanderbilt University (Nashville) addresses the Black Chicago History Forum on Saturday, 2 p.m., at Quinn Chapel AME Church, 24th Street and Wabash Avenue, at a free program. Copies of the book published by the University Press of Mississippi will be available for sale. CBHF, founded by Lerone Bennett Jr., Timuel Black, Charles V. Hamilton and the late Dempsey Travis, is currently headed by Darlene Clark Hine (Northwestern University), president; Robert T. Starks (Northeastern Illinois University), vice president; Robert Howard (Roosevelt University), treasurer; and Christopher R. Reed (Roosevelt University), general secretary. Dr. Dickerson is an ordained minister of the AME Church, distinguished historian and author of Out of the Crucible: Black Steelworkers in Western Pennsylvania, 1875-1980. As Rev. Dickerson, he will deliver the Sunday sermon on the following day at Quinn Chapel. Final Curtain – Surely, you don’t want to miss Jackie Taylor’s phenomenal Black Ensemble Theatre’s production of “Those Sensational Soulful Sixties.” Full of fun, laughter, dance and music and that great, great music! Relive or discover the magic and the excitement of that great music honoring the legends and including Otis Redding, Sam Cooke, The Supremes, Temptations, Four Tops, Aretha Franklin and many, many more with a special salute to Sammy Davis Jr. Black Entertainment Theatre showtimes: this Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. at Kennedy-King College Theater, 740 W. 63rd St. Tickets: $40. Chicago City College students and administrators, $25; group and senior discounts available. Call (773) 769-4451; ticketmaster, (312) 902-1500 or visit www.blackensemble.org. Newsy Names – Milestones: Our deepest condolences to Gwendolyn Kenner Johnson on the passing of her beloved husband Marty. (Funeral arrangements are pending.) … Happy b’day to Rev. Otis Moss III (Trinity United Church of Christ); Rev. Michael G. Sykes (Faith United Protestant Church in Park Forest); Diann Burns, David Miller, Christine Bowden, Antonia Daymond, Valinda D. Jones, Mark Wallace, Deb Davis, Kwame Raoul, Priscella Stratten, Jewel Montgomery, Arshell Qualls, Maurice Rabb, Wanda Norris, Jennifer Schultz, Temple Hemphill, Ron Bonner, Luthetis Carey,á Sandra Gresham Rawls, Phillip Jackson, Martha Brock Leftridge, Monique Caradine and Ouida DeSett Pullin Jones, who celebrated with several gal and guy-pals over Sunday Brunch at Norman Bolden’s newest biz, Norman’s Bistro (yum! yum!), on 43rd and Ellis, down the street from his popular jazz spot, Room 43 … Elder Nannette Banks of Progressive Community Center (The People’s Church), will deliver the Women’s Day sermon on Sunday during the 11 a.m. worship service at Sixth Grace Presbyterian Church … Bishop Arthur M. Brazier, pastor emeritus of Apostolic Church of God, is honorary chair of Plano Child Development Center’s 35th annual “You Are the Apple of Our Eyes” Vision Care Benefit on Oct. 8 at the Condesa Del Mar in Alsip; Natalie Henderson Ray is event chair. Copyright 2010 Chicago Defender
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