Photo of the Day: Praying the Air Conditioner Keeps Working!

Photography by:  Joseph O. Holmes, NYC

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Articles of Faith: The Sacred Personalities of Chicago’s African-American Storefront Churches

Photography by:  Dave Jordano

The Storefront Churches of Chicago is an exquisite photographic documentary by photographer Dave Jordano, which is contained in his recently published book, Articles of Faith.  His work is in the permanent collections of the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago; the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; and Northwestern University, among others.  Jordano’s powerful and reverent images in this work capture the small details that make the church spaces unique, familiar and alive; Jordano shows us it’s not only how, but where congregations pray that defines their faith.  Describing this work, Jordano observes that, “There is a long history of small storefront churches in urban areas throughout America.  The great migration of African-Americans to the north during the last century has definitely contributed to this.  Even after Blacks moved north, they still encountered much racial tension and segregation, creating isolation and economic hardship within their communities.  Because of this, many groups couldn’t afford to build a large church, so the idea of reusing small empty storefronts in depressed areas where rents were low became the catalyst for their reuse.  It’s a cultural phenomenon that still resonates today and has become a vital component within the cultural fabric of poor Black urban communities.”

Jordano photographed the churches mostly empty in order to capture interior images that revealed the unique personality of each sacred space.  In this way, the manner in which each pastor adorns and decorates a space is a reflection of their religious ideology, their concept of what is appealing and attractive to others, and of how that space can make others feel comfortable and leave them with feelings of importance and hope.  Perhaps more significantly, he documented these spaces in order to illuminate their positive influences as pillars of community stability and support within poor Black neighborhoods, especially where crime, prostitution and drugs are often right outside the front door.

When these elegantly refined photographs of the sacred rooms are viewed as “portraits,” they resonate with their creators’ personalities.  Seemingly insignificant items such as the ripped and folded-up paper song sheet that a young girl is holding so delicately between her fingers become important documents that signify identity. The hand-written titles are someone’s favorite songs to sing.  It may be only a piece of paper, but its history is profound.  Many of these little churches displayed portraits of the churches’ founders, to pay tribute or memorialize them.  Some of them were photographs, some were paintings on the walls; all of them were signs of respect and testaments to the importance of the here and now, tributes to the day-to-day guiding moral principles of the leader of the church.

Music: Mahalia Jackson/Amazing Grace

Slide Show: Articles of Faith/The Sacred Personalities of Chicago’s African-American Storefront Churches

(Click Image to View Slide Show)

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Jennifer Hudson Returns with a Dramatically Soaring Triumph

In her first public appearance since the tragic October murders of her mother, brother and nephew in Chicago, Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson re-entered the national spotlight and gave a stunning performance of The National Anthem before a huge Super Bowl crowd on Sunday. As she stepped onto the small blue platform with a solemn expression, Hudson initially trembled on her high heels. She began and ended the performance with an audible sigh. But in between, Hudson unleashed her signature crystalline vocals, bringing to The National Anthem a dreamlike, pensive quality that rivaled Whitney Houston’s legendary soul rendition in 1991 during the first Gulf War. Pouring her heart into the music on the largest national stage of the year, Hudson instantly set a new standard.

Jennifer Hudson’s heart has surely been broken by recent events, but her voice remains a rare instrument. If anything, the tragedies in her life gave this performance an emotional inspiration that couldn’t be denied. The result was a grand national diva moment for the ages. Hudson began with feelings of tenuous doubt: Would the world welcome her back? Is she still good enough? In the end, she delivered a dazzling skyward-striving musical call to the heavens. Jennifer Hudson confronted her underlying feelings of almost unspeakable pain, and shared with all of us her capacity to transcend that anguish through a dramatically cathartic musical performance.

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Jennifer Hudson Returns with a Dramatically Soaring Triumph

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Ex-Gov. Blagojevich: Still Crazy After All These Years!

Illinois State Senators stood up one by one in a hushed chamber in Springfield (IL) on Thursday, calling Gov. Rod Blagojevich a liar and a hypocrite who put his ego and his pocketbook ahead of the interests of Illinois. One senator called him “devious, cynical, crass and corrupt.” Another said the evidence of abuse of power was “overwhelming.” A third said he was “without a doubt unfit to govern.”

Subsequently, the Illinois Senate voted 59 to 0 to reject Blagojevich’s theatrical last-minute plea and to remove him from office. The vote to impeach him ended a stormy period of time that had left the nation’s fifth-largest state paralyzed by its governor’s alleged misdeeds and nationally ridiculed for its latest bout of corruption.

Throughout his last day, Mr. Blagojevich was, in turn, furious over the methods of the trial, morose as he said goodbye to staff members at the Governor’s Mansion and brimming with a bizarre gallows humor long before the lawmakers cast their votes. All the while, his office assistant packed his belongings into cardboard boxes, among them, family photographs, a bust of Lincoln and a statue of Elvis.

At another point, he pondered the more practical consequences of losing his job. “I wonder if we’ll have to hitchhike home,” he said. “Maybe we could take the bus.” In the end, he left the Capitol in Springfield through a secret basement corridor full of grunting, clanking pipes, bare walls and puddles.

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Impeachment of Rod Blagojevich: The Illinois Senate Proceedings

Blagojevich’s Last Day: An Audio Slideshow

(Please Click Image Above to View Slideshow)

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