Black Girl in Chicago

Jordan, Jackie, and April....I LOVE Olympians and Paralympians

Dhani Jones Tackles The Globe: I Likey....

 

Tonight NFL football player Dhani Jones debuted his new show on the Travel channel, “Dhani Tackles the Globe.” NFL player and renaissance man travels the globe exploring sports. How much better of an angle can you get than that? After seeing the television ads, the facebook page and all the ads around town, I was READY to check this unique show out.

Also when was the last time an African American hosted a show on the travel channel? Al Roker had a show called “Going Places” but it wasn’t on the Travel Channel. Local PBS channel WTTW airs a show called “Grannies on Safari,” which features two mature African-American women traveling around the world.  Music critic Nelson George does his thing with “Soul Cities” on VH1. It was about time that the Travel Channel added some color to its line up.

I learned through Dhani that sports—just like food—is also an entry point into culture. In this first episode Dhani tries out Muay Thai boxing, the popular martial art/boxing in Thailand. He trains with a local boxing gym for one week before taking on a portly Thai Muay Thai boxer. During this time, he bonds with his Thai comrades, who cheer him on during his final fight.

While the sports was exciting (especially for me as an Olympic sport junkie), it was the physical stature of Dhani that stole the show. I just KNOW a producer said to the camera guy, “don’t you come back to the states without some half naked Dhani shots. I wants chest, arms, legs and behind…everything.”  Yes Dhani spent much of this first episode half naked. For a person like me, who loves traveling and learning about other cultures, it was distracting. While Dhani was going through his prefight rituals, I was entranced by his… well I’m not going to get into details here. Also, I’m really not sure if I learned enough about Thai culture, food and people through this hour long episode (I just know they eat lots of bugs). But if that's what I wanted to do, I probably shouldn't have invited my girlfriend over for wine and girltalk during the show.

I use the Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations show as the ultimate barometer for any travel show. Was the Dhani show as good? Almost. Both shows veer toward a more reality show feel (but you KNOW it’s still scripted).  Bourdain beats Dhani in the personality bucket; Dhani (and the show’s writers) are still trying to find the perfect voice and cadence for his storytelling. Dhani beats Bourdain in the eye candy category. I’m sorry Anthony, but don’t even try to take your shirt off. As for the topic, food vs. sports, both are incredibly interesting.

Will I be watching next week? Heck yeah!

The Red Pump Project

Today I'm celebrating the Red Pump project, an initiative started by Karyn of The Fabulous Giver and Luvvie of Awesomely Luvvie. Bloggers around the country are using their blogs to get the word out about Women and AIDS.

The day is actually National National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. I feel like this day is especially important for African American women, because the statistics tell a sad story. Women represent 27% of all new AIDS diagnoses, and African-American women account for 66% of that group.

I have actually never knowingly met an African American woman who had HIV/AIDS. Have you? Have you reached out to help this cause?

Why did I start Black Girl in Chicago?

 

After months and months of thinking about this blog: I'm finally doing it!! Below is why I decided to start a new blog, based off of my original Black Girl in Paris blog.

I miss blogging
I did not realize how much of a following I had with my Black Girl in Paris blog. It's combination of interviews with black French and my own personal experiences attracted a reader looking for something different and international.  When I would tell people that I lived in Paris for a year, they would ask me if I read this blog by a black girl in Paris…I wanna do something similar for Chicago.

Chicago is hot
Let’s face it. We got Obama. We got Oprah. And we may get Games this year. This city is   on fire.

I finally love Chicago
When I left Chic ago for college in 1998, I just KNEW I wasn’t coming back to live here permanently. The segregation of the city, just really nerved me. For some reason, I felt the city just didn't have the culture, nightlife, and vibrancy of a city like NYC or Paris. 

When I returned in 2003 and found myself as a reporter for the Hyde Park Herald, I got to really know the fabric of Chicago—the neighborhoods. I learned that Chicagoans passionately cared about their schools, their cultural organizations, their parks.

And then with my recent job, I have been able to see how great Chicago is as a whole. We have beaches. We have great restaurants. We have great theatres and cultural or ganizations. We hav e NICE people.

Black Chicago is Hot
We got Obama. We got Oprah. We had Jordan. My African-American friends from NYC say the black community here is extremely organized, successful, and powerful. I’m on a mission to discover what it is about this city that allows people of African descent to do great things.

Welcome to Black Girl in Chicago.