Christen A. Johnson

Sally Lou Loveman, a former audience producer for Oprah Winfrey for more than 20 years, published a book in January called "Speak: Love Your Story. Your Audience is Waiting."

Meet the North Shore woman who likely helped you connect with your ‘Top Oprah Pick.’ Her new book teaches the power of storytelling and finding your audience

February 19, 2020 at 10:43 a.m.

Sally Lou Loveman was just 25 years old and working her dream job at The Oprah Winfrey Show when someone handed her a microphone to "warm up the audience." She...

Oscar Stanton De Priest, the first black member of Congress from a Northern state, and his wife, Jessie, on a visit to San Francisco in 1929.

Flashback: Chicago’s first black alderman sat as the lone African-American voice on the city’s council — and then, Congress

May 26, 2022 at 11:24 a.m.

Oscar Stanton De Priest had presence. Fair-skinned enough to pass for white, and standing at least 6 feet tall with white hair adorning his head, he was distinctly noticeable, "perhaps...

Matthew A. Cherry, left, and Karen Rupert Toliver, winners of the award for best animated short film for "Hair Love", pose in the press room at the Oscars on Sunday, Feb. 9, 2020, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.

Chicago native Matthew Cherry wins Oscar for short animated film ‘Hair Love’

February 10, 2020 at 2:50 p.m.

When Matthew Cherry and Karen Rupert Toliver walked onto the stage at the Dolby Theatre at the 92nd annual Academy Awards, both donning glistening headfulls of locs, it was a...

Molly Pinta, a Buffalo Grove teen known for spearheading Buffalo Grove's inaugural Pride parade this summer, was named a 2020 Human Rights Campaign Foundation youth ambassador.

Buffalo Grove teen, known for bringing the suburb its first Pride parade, named Human Rights Campaign youth ambassador

February 4, 2020 at 11:26 a.m.

Molly Pinta was 12 years old when she began the work to bring Buffalo Grove, her hometown, it's first ever Pride parade last summer. The inaugural event, which was held...

Elijah Powell, then 24, at Kenwood Academy on Dec. 4, 2019. Powell had sickle cell disease and died Jan. 14, 2020.

‘I have sickle cell, but sickle cell doesn’t have me’: While raising awareness, Chicago man, 25, dies from illness

January 31, 2020 at 9:14 a.m.

Elijah Powell was determined to live his life fully, to achieve his goals in spite of his sickle cell diagnosis. He was known for declaring: "I have sickle cell, but...

Naúl Valdez and Lily Flores moved into their newly-constructed Near West Side home in August 2019.

‘It’s a lot tougher nowadays’: Millennial homebuyers challenged with down payments and inventory

January 29, 2020 at 7:04 a.m.

Originally from the western suburbs, Naúl Valdez, 30, and his fiancee, Lily Flores, 30, started their house hunting last year looking for a single-family home with a backyard and a...

Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna, known as Gigi, along with seven others, died in a helicopter crash on Jan. 27, 2020.

Commentary: I can count on one hand how many of my basketball games my father attended. That’s why I loved watching Kobe Bryant be a ‘girl dad.’

January 28, 2020 at 12:07 p.m.

Mr. Daniel was rebounding for me as I got shots up in his St. Louis high school's gym. My mother and I were visiting the area from Atlanta, Georgia. We...

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