Mother Baltimore: Somebody loves you
Whenever I want to feel comforted, I listen to “Somebody Loves You Baby (You Know Who It Is)” by Patti LaBelle. Although the song is meant to be an expression of LaBelle’s adoration for a romantic interest, the single feels deeply spiritual. With her belting voice and high-pitched notes, LaBelle’s vocals on the track connects with the divine. The single can easily pose as a Sunday morning worship ballad in church. And I think that’s why I feel like LaBelle is speaking directly to me when she sings the chorus. Somebody loves me. For me, those lines operate as a sentient form of a warm hug I’d get from my great grandmother.
Somebody loves me.
That’s the message I’d like to send for this week’s newsletter, considering it’s the last one for Black History Month. Somebody loves you. Somebody loves us. Since the start of my coverage of Black communities in the metro-east, that message has remained true.
There’s this unyielding love that those areas have for each other, which often translates into tangible changes for our people — like local lawmakers pushing for criminal justice reform in Illinois or the East St. Louis school district opening a new school to better service students in the area.
Somebody loves you. Somebody loves us.
Have a story tip or just need to talk? Send me an email @dsutgrey@bnd.com or call me: 618-239-2624
Here’s the latest news:
East St. Louis looks to capitalize on Gordon Bush Elementary school’s success
The BND’s education reporter Megan Valley wrote about how an East St. Louis school’s success led to its expansion, with the creation of a new K-8 academy. In the fall, Gordon Bush Elementary school, which currently serves students in kindergarten through the fifth grade, will start serving kindergarten through the sixth grade at its new Younge Academy of Excellence. Each year, the school will expand to the remaining upper grades (seventh and eighth).
More on education in the metro-east:
Is COVID the end of snow days? Some southwest IL schools want to keep remote option open
There aren’t enough candidates to fill school board seats in St. Clair County
A massive criminal justice reform bill is the new law in Illinois. What happens next?
This week, Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed HB 3653, a sweeping criminal justice reform bill. The new legislation, backed by the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus, ends cash bail and expands detainee rights, among other measures. Some provisions won’t be in effect until as late as 2025. BND reporters Kelsey Landis and DeAsia Paige talked to local leaders on their next steps to enforce the new law.
More on HB 3653:
Here’s what southwestern Illinois lawmakers said about the criminal justice reform bill
IL police oppose ‘rushed’ reform bill, but Black leaders say it’s time to take action
Township supervisor will run unopposed in race for mayor of southwest IL’s newest city
Centreville Township Supervisor Curtis McCall Sr. is now the only candidate in the race to become the first mayor of Cahokia Heights, a merger of Alorton, Cahokia and Centreville. The only other potential candidate, Tami Brooks, did not file paperwork to become a write-in candidate as previously planned. The consolidation of the new towns into Cahokia Heights will become official after the April 6 municipal election.
More on Cahokia Heights:
Independent candidate for mayor in southwest Illinois’ newest city removed from ballot
These candidates want to be the first leaders of southwestern Illinois’ newest town
Have you read this?
It’s Andra Day season
(Courtesy: Matt Sayles/Invision/AP)
If you’re interested in learning more about Andra Day and her debut acting role in the new film The United States Vs. Billie Holiday, you should read this lovely profile of the entertainer written by Chicago-based critic Angelica Jade Bastién. Reading this article instantly made me want to watch Day’s portrayal of Billie Holiday. There’s a quote from Day that stuck with me. She mentions how the film might receive backlash because it highlights Holiday’s bisexuality and her drug addiction:
I love seeing the mess of Billie Holiday, because we’re human. Why are we not allowed to explore all of the dynamics of our humanity the way — for I will just not parse words here — the way we see in white characters?
What to watch
Kirk Franklin’s Tiny Desk (Home) Concert
(Courtesy: Chris Pizzello/AP)
If you were raised in the Black church and spent every Wednesday night at Bible study like I did, then this concert will certainly make you smile. And, if you spent your childhood singing Kirk Franklin songs in the church choir like I, a proud alto 1 soprano 2, did, then you may even be tempted to sing along and join the three-part harmony on “Silver and Gold”. But even if you don’t have a religious background, NPR’s latest Tiny Desk Concert that features gospel legend Kirk Franklin will certainly lift your spirits, and, with the abysmal year everyone has experienced, I think all of our spirits could use some uplifting.
The United States Vs. Billie Holiday
The latest film from director Lee Daniels (Precious, The Butler) chronicles how the FBI targeted Billie Holiday in the agency’s racist war on drugs campaign in an attempt to prevent the blues singer, portrayed by Andra Day, from performing her popular single “Strange Fruit”. The United States Vs. Billie Holiday releases today and can be watched on Hulu.
That’s all she wrote!
Talk to y’all in two weeks!
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This story was originally published February 26, 2021 at 12:14 PM.
