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In May 2019, Victor Love introduced “Groovy Kitchen” at Josephine’s Cooking located in Chicago’s Chatham neighborhood. This is a new concept that showcases the cuisine of Chicago’s top urban chefs. The food was delicious, and the presentation was professional and indicative of being in the presence of top chefs who offered a wide variety of food to satisfy different tastes. One of the featured chefs for the inaugural event was Kara Kersh, founder of Kara K Gourmet Personal Chef & Catering Company. After losing her job of 15 years in public relations, she developed an interest in food writing and discovered a new career in cooking while attending culinary school. Kara started her company in order to make money and be able to balance her family life and career. When she first heard about “Groovy Kitchen”, Kara thought it was a very cool idea considering Black chefs don't get enough shine. She stated, "I feel like we're unsung heroes." Some of the challenges she faces as a business owner include being respected in an industry that is dominated by men, having an excess demand on her time as a chef, and gaining access to resources to promote her business. In the future, Kara would like to open up a restaurant. She also dreams of being a Michelin inspector so she can travel the world to sample foods from different restaurants, rate them, and write about her experiences. I added, "Normally, our biggest goals are seemingly unrealistic, but they are reachable.
Chef Bill Jones, who has been in the culinary industry for 40 years and a chef for 27, is the owner of Off The Plate Catering. He started his business four years ago and came up with the name because "my food is so good that it comes off the plate." He cooks foods that appeal to a wide variety of nationalities, offering healthy, fun food with a modern flair and a newly added vegan menu. Some of the challenges that Bill has successfully confronted include receiving last-minute orders and getting people to understand the value in his work as a caterer. He believes that there has to be a medium where all parties involved can come to an agreement and make adjustments based on that which can be reasonably accomplished according to the client's budget. My response was, "I think that's a major issue for entrepreneurs...for people to see the value in what we do." In the future, Bill would like to find a duplex with living space upstairs and banquet facilitates on the ground floor where he can host pop-up food events with a collaboration of chefs; paint parties with appetizers and wine, etc. Bill started cooking at a young age with his mother and has always been passionate about cooking. He affirmed, "My greatest accomplishment is learning what I was born to do...If you're doing what you love everyday for a living, then you accomplished what you're here for.” As the owner of Prestige Catering Company, Chef Rahim M. Muhammad, also known a Chef Rah, partners with various restaurants throughout the city to highlight his unique culinary skills. Before establishing his catering company last year, he enjoyed a career as a private chef, which allowed him to have creative freedom and build relationships with different types of people all around the city. Rah relies heavily on referrals from reliable sources and said that he has set himself apart from the competition by maintaining a high level of customer service, being knowledgeable of a variety of cooking techniques, and having experience in preparing the foods of different cultures. Besides offering great food, he believes that his purpose is to use food as a channel to serve others and encourage better eating habits. He also supports local farms in order to provide the freshest options. Eventually, he would like to see Prestige at the forefront of the catering industry, and he plans to achieve this through innovation and making information more accessible. Rah decided to participate in “Groovy Kitchen” because he likes the idea of highlighting inner-city chefs and would like to see it grow from its beginnings.
The food was perfectly paired with samples of delicious, natural fruit drinks by Another Day In Paradise, a company founded by Keyy Lang over a year ago. What she started as a desire to find a hobby has turned into a successful business. Keyy came up with the name after a visit to the beach where she saw a variety of birds that reminded her of paradise. She wanted to create something that would make you feel like you could escape to such a place without leaving home. As a business owner who is an African-American woman, Keyy is confronted with the challenge of being taken seriously, despite her being licensed and certified, and having successfully demonstrated her abilities. Still, she believes that her business has flourished in a short period of time because more and more people are looking for health-conscious alternatives. An award-winning designer with five different fashion lines, Keyy is also the owner of Keyy Couture Accessories Inc., which she started four years ago. She mentioned that everything she does is centered around encouraging, empowering, and motivating women to embrace who and whose we are. Her goal is to merge both businesses together and combine accessories, fashion, and beverages under one roof. Keyy is grateful to Victor Love for giving her the opportunity to be a part of the kick-off of “Groovy Kitchen.”
Finally, I had a chance to sit down with Victor Love, whose Mom, Ms. Josephine Wade, has passed him the torch and entrusted him with overseeing the operations of Josephine’s Cooking. He expressed his gratitude for those who contributed to the success of the kick-off of “Groovy Kitchen” and said that he is looking forward to the continued growth of the event. As far as the transformation of Josephine’s, Victor said, “ It’s off the chain. I think It’s been a long time coming. We just didn’t have the resources to do it because the business was slow. To get this blessing has definitely boosted the business.” I can attest that the place is beautiful, and the response from the community is evident. Victor has been an entrepreneur since the age of 19 and has seen his share of challenges, including the lack of support, demise of relationships, broken promises, etc.; yet he feels that he must continue to be a good example. Speaking of his Mom, who designed and built Captain Hard Times (former business name) from the ground up in 1988, Victor said that she was shocked and resistant to the changes at first, but “she realized that something needed to be done to get the business back...There has to be a change in order to grow the business and keep the legacy going.” He is happy to have gained her trust and, along with the new developments, he plans to continue Josephine’s tradition of giving to those who are less fortunate, as well as contribute to the revitalization of Chatham by encouraging other business owners to set up shop in the community. “The other thing is to see my mother live out her latter years with this business back thriving and her being able to reap the benefits of her hard work...without any worry,” said Victor. He is excited about the new menu, staff, and original concepts that are taking place at Josephine’s and, as part of its legacy, would like for it to be known as the place for uplifting the urban chef. Victor concluded with this statement: “That’s why we don’t mind sharing the stage with amazing chefs that come through, even if they own their own restaurant, even if they own their own catering companies, even if they work someplace else. If they are licensed, trained, and cook from their soul and they have a passion for cooking quality food, we wanna showcase them to the community.” Check out what’s new at Josephine’s Cooking located at 436 E 79th St, Chicago, IL 60619. For more information, call (773) 487-2900.
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The Guild Literary Complex (Guild) has partnered with the Rebuild Foundation and the Stony Island Arts Bank to present "Voices of Protest," a series of programming that centers around “artivism,” or the use of art to effect change. “By featuring work that speaks out against, or has itself been subject to, censorship and other types of suppression, Voices of Protest emphasizes the importance of writing as a form of resistance and a means of establishing solidarity with oppressed and persecuted people everywhere.” In May 2019, a panel discussion on the book Of Poetry and Protest: From Emmett Till to Trayvon Martin, which is an anthology of African-American political art and poetry, served as the inaugural event for the series. Before introducing the panel, Andrea Change, who is the President of the Board of Directors for the Guild, spoke about how the idea for "Voices of Protest" started off as a discussion between her and Michael Warr, Founding Director of the Guild, around the process of gathering relevant content for the book, its Chicago connection, and its ties with the Black Arts Movement. The panelists included Angela Jackson, an accomplished playwright, author, and poet, and the recipient of the Chicago Black Arts Alliance Fiction Prize, among other accolades; Dr. Haki Madhubuti, a world-renowned author, educator, poet, institution builder, and founder of Third World Press, which has published quality Black literature for over 50 years; Eugene Redmond, an award-winning poet and educator who has had a significant impact on the world of literature in his hometown of East St. Louis and abroad; and finally Michael Warr who is the co-editor of and a contributor to Of Poetry and Protest: From Emmett Till to Trayvon Martin, and has received a number of awards and other forms of recognition for his poetry. Mr. Warr expressed how thrilled he was about the collaboration between the Guild and Theaster Gates’ Rebuild Foundation, and how much he appreciates the opportunity to engage in relevant face-to-face conversations. He credited the panel of Black literary greats, who are among nearly 50 poets that contributed to the book, for laying the foundation for him as a writer and activist. “They influenced me as truth tellers, as institution builders, as educators, and also as artists who are committed to social justice,” said Mr. Warr. He mentioned that the book, originally published in 2016, is being reprinted due to its overwhelming popularity, which speaks to the fact that it will continue to be relevant and timely as long as the random, unjustified police killings continue to happen. The statistics are alarming, and the title of the introduction from the book says it all: “One day this book will be a relic chronicling a period of insanity and humanity, I hope...” The audience had the privilege of hearing the panelists read poems that they contributed to the anthology, share the poetry of others that was included in the book, and present some of their other works. Angela Jackson read her poem “Fannie (of Fannie Lou Hamer)” and Terrance Hayes’ “Some Luminous Distress (for Betty Shabazz)”, both of which are included in the book. In between readings, Dr. Madhubuti offered valuable advice and gave us a history lesson on Black literature, the Black Arts Movement, etc. He stressed the importance of political and cultural organizations working together, as evidenced by the accomplishments of such organizations as the Guild, which he greatly respects for the work it has done. He also emphasized the relevance of the anthology, as it brings the issue of the never-ending war back to the fore and will not allow us to ignore the fact that we need each other in order to win. We have always been at war, but most of us don’t realize it. “You can’t win a war unless you understand the war that you’re in,” he declared. (continued below)  Before his reading, Eugene Redmond expressed his appreciation for the approach that Michael Warr took in carefully selecting poems for the anthology. The section of Mr. Redmond's poem that was included in the book was part of his response to the shooting death of his friend, writer and poet Henry Dumas, in May 1968. He has been the literary executor of the estate of Dumas for 51 years and credits a great number of top Black writers for helping him to be successful in keeping the legacy of Dumas alive. Mr. Redmond ended with a reading of “Blues for Malcolm X,” written by Al Young, former poet laureate for the state of California; followed by “Milestone: The Birth of an Ancestor,” a poem that he wrote for the funeral of Miles Davis.
Mr. Warr posed a thought-provoking question to panel: “Have things changed at all, or is there some change that we can point to?” It was agreed that not much has changed since the 1960’s, as we are faced with the same issues that were prevalent during that time. Also, it is imperative that the young people who are involved in the Black activist movements of today carefully study the history of the original organizations that came about during the era of the Civil Rights Movement. In essence, “artivism” is a newer term based on to the work that has been done by these organizations. We cannot forget what has happened to us, and we must realize that it is a never-ending story. “Our responsibility as poets is not only to define what has happened...; it is to bring into existence that which is good, just, correct & right in terms of moving toward another way of writing," affirmed Dr. Madhubuti.” The Guild Literary Complex, which started out as a bookstore three decades ago, evolved into an organization that continues to be instrumental in contributing to social justice through literary arts by giving a voice to those who are underrepresented and are otherwise voiceless. Join the Guild for the Of Poetry and Protest exhibition that will be introduced and put on display at the Stony Island Arts Bank at the end of June as part of the Guild’s 30th anniversary celebration and in connection with the presentation on the lawn of the gazebo where Tamir Rice was shot and killed by a police officer. For more information, visit https://guildcomplex.org/voices-of-protest/. |
