By Juanita Bratcher

A coalition of Black leaders consisting of politicians, religious and community leaders chose U.S. Rep. Danny Davis as the consensus candidate to run for mayor in the February 22, 2011 mayoral election.

But while the coalition has unanimously selected Davis as the consensus candidate, there’s doubt that some of the other candidates who announced they will run for mayor will drop out of the race.

Illinois State Senator Rickey Hendon, assistant majority leader, has already dropped out of the race, inasmuch as the coalition has selected a consensus candidate, he said. As of yet, no other candidate has taken Hendon’s lead.

Carol Moseley Braun, former U.S. Senator and Ambassador to New Zealand, was opening up a campaign office this weekend when the coalition announced Davis as their choice. However, prior to that announcement, the coalition had said it was a choice between Braun and State Senator James Meek.

Choosing a consensus Black candidate to run in Chicago’s February 22, 2010 mayoral election is the same strategy that was used back in 1983 when a coalition of grassroots organizations – African American activists – headed by late Journalist Lu Palmer, held a plebiscite at Bethel AME Church on the South Side of Chicago and chose Harold Washington as their consensus candidate.

But even after choosing Washington by a unanimous decision, it wasn’t easy convincing the then Congressman of the 1^st Congressional District to run for the post. Washington had a reputation for staying in the background pushing others to run for political office.

However, Washington reluctantly threw his hat into the mayoral ring, and only after supporters had fulfilled an ultimatum from him to add 50,000 new Black voters to the voter registration roll (they doubled that amount and more), and put in place adequate campaign funding to launch such an endeavor, as noted in the book, “Harold: The Making of a Big City Mayor”, by Juanita Bratcher.

Bratcher, then an investigative reporter for the Chicago Defender, was assigned to the campaign trail of Harold Washington a day after arriving back in the United States after a 10-day assignment in Israel, along with five other American Journalists.

The initial list of candidates being considered for the consensus candidate in1983 consisted of 21 names – Carol Moseley Braun, Rev. Milton Brunson, Roland Burris, Rev. Johnnie Coleman, Dr. Manford Byrd, Margaret Burroughs, Lenora Cartwright, Alderman Danny Davis, Clifford Kelley, Alderman Anna Langford, Ald. Marian Humes, Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Publisher John Johnson, Journalist Lu Palmer, Former State’s Attorney Cecil Partee, A.A. Sammy Rayner, Renault Robinson, U.S. Rep. Gus Savage, Atty. Thomas Todd, Dr. Bobby Wright, and U.S. Rep. Harold Washington.

Of the 21 persons considered in 1983, nine are now deceased, and three of them are now in the running for mayor again – U.S. Rep. Danny Davis, Carol Moseley Braun and Roland Burris.    

Washington had run for mayor in 1977. When the results came in Washington had garnered 11 percent of the vote total – 77,000 votes. But in 1983, in a race with the sitting Mayor Jane Byrne and State’s Attorney Richard M. Daley (now the mayor of Chicago), Washington won the post. He won again when he ran for re-election in 1987, but died in office before the term was up. Eugene Sawyer was elected Interim Mayor by the City Council but lost in his bid for re-election to the post.

At the 2010 public forum to select a consensus candidate, also held at Bethel AME Church, there were eleven candidates vying for mayor that spoke at the forum, including Braun, Burris, Meek, Bill Walls, Davis, Hendon and several others.

I attended the forum. There were two new comers running for mayor at the forum for a consensus candidate – Christopher Cooper, a civil rights attorney, and Timothy King, an educator – that made excellent presentations.

There’s no question, U.S. Rep. Danny Davis is an excellent candidate for mayor. And certainly, some of those who didn’t make the cut have a good track record of public service. But the question remains, what happens next? Will they accept the decision of the coalition and step aside? Or will they still run albeit and ignore the decision made by the coalition?

 Welcome back, Keith!

COMMENTARY 

By Juanita Bratcher 

Whether he’s disliked by his inside colleagues or not (as reported in Chicago Sun-Times’ Bill Zwecker’s column), MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann has a big fan base out there in the universe, and I’m one of those fans. When I heard that Olbermann had been suspended indefinitely from MSNBC, I was baffled and getting ready to pull the plug on the cable network channel altogether, and sacrifice watching my two other favorites in the station’s lineup – Ed Schultz and Rachel Maddow.

 In conversations with friends and professional colleagues, also fans of Keith Olbermann, they also expressed pulling the plug until Olbermann was back on the air.

 Olbermann was suspended by MSNBC chief executive Phil Griffin for making a political donation to three Democratic candidates running for elective office, a violation of NBC’s policy. Olbermann admitted donating $2400 a piece to the campaigns of U.S. Reps. Raul Grijalva and Gabrielle Giffords and Kentucky Senate candidate Jack Conway.

 In Zwecker’s November 8, 2010 column, he said several sources at MSNBC and NBC said “Olbermann is widely disliked at MSNBC, where he’s called ‘an insufferable diva’ and ‘a snob and bully – and those are just the descriptions printable in a family newspaper…’ “

 Reportedly, in an online petition, liberal groups had amassed more than 300,000 signatures calling for Olbermann’s reinstatement.     

While off the air, Olbermann stated on his Twitter page, “Greetings from exile! A quick, overwhelmed, stunned THANK YOU for support that feels like a global hug.”

In a statement Monday, Griffin said Olbermann would be back on the air Tuesday (November 9), and that MSNBC “look forward to having him back on the air…”

Welcome back, Keith!! We (fans) missed that very effective voice of yours, and that excellent investigative journalism/reporting that you give to grateful viewers on a nightly basis.

 William Brown directs John Judd as Ebenezer Scrooge and 10 other new talents

Chicago, IL – Goodman Theatre’s perennial holiday classic A Christmas Carol, consistently included among the Midwest’s top-tier holiday events, returns for the 33rd season.

Renowned Chicago actor John Judd appears for the first time in the legendary role of Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol, “Goodman Theatre’s annual Christmas gift to Chicago” (Daily Herald) for more than three decades. Judd leads a cast of 26 this holiday season—including 10 Chicagoland actors also appearing in A Christmas Carol for the first time. Chicago actor/director William Brown returns for the fifth consecutive year to stage the production hailed as “a joyous present for the entire family” (Chicago Sun-Times) and “ideal family fare, both heartwarming and spectacular in its familiar tale” (Chicago Tribune). A Christmas Carol runs November 19 – December 31, 2010 in the Goodman’s Albert Theatre.

Tickets are $25 – $76 and can be purchased at GoodmanTheatre.org, by phone at 312.443.3800 or at the box office (170 North Dearborn). Harris Bank is the Major Corporate Sponsor of A Christmas Carol. Aon Corporation and Chapman and Cutler LLP are Corporate Sponsor Partners and Chicago Tribune is the Media Sponsor.

“A Christmas Carol at the Goodman has made an astonishing impact on Chicago as the annual holiday tradition for thousands of families, as well as the entry point to theater for a legion of young people,” said Executive Director Roche Schulfer, who was instrumental in originating the production at Goodman Theatre 32 years ago. “We are proud to consistently deliver the definitive holiday theatrical offering in our region—a first-rate, glorious production that has touched the lives of well over a million theatergoers.”

200 Chicagoland children—a record number—auditioned for this year’s production. An all-newly cast Cratchit family includes young performers Cameron Conforti (South Elgin) as Tiny Tim; Megan Delaney (Western Springs) as Belinda; Emma Gordon (Clarendon Hills) as Emily; Peyton Young (Mokena) as Martha; and Grant Mitchell (Elmhurst) as Peter. Other newcomers to the Goodman’s production include Nate Burger (Chicago) as Dick Wilkins; Naren Chaudhry (Oak Park) as Turkey Boy; Aaron Holland (Chicago) as Percy; Eric Parks (Chicago) as Young Scrooge; and Lisa Tejero (Chicago) as Miss Crumb.

Veteran actors returning to the production include Susan Felder (Chicago) as Mrs. Fezziwig; Tim Gittings (Chicago) as Topper; Katie Jeep (Chicago) as Abby; Anish Jethmalani (Chicago) as the Ghost of Jacob Marley; John Lister (Chicago) as Mr. Fezziwig; Michael Perez (Chicago) as Mr. Ortle; Ron Rains (Chicago) as Bob Cratchit; Tiffany Scott (Chicago) as Belle; Christine Sherrill (St. Charles) as Mrs. Cratchit; Susan Shunk (Chicago) as Ghost of Christmas Past; Andy Truschinski (Chicago) as Fred; and Penelope Walker (Chicago) as Ghost of Christmas Present. Also returning to the production are musicians Justin Amolsch (Chicago), Greg Hirte (Chicago) and Malcolm Ruhl (Highland Park).

Based on Charles Dickens’ 1843 novella, A Christmas Carol is the tale of the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge, who is opposed to holiday cheer and indifferent to the sufferings of the poor in Victorian London. Scrooge is visited by four ghosts who offer him the opportunity to sympathize with his fellow man. Dickens’ famous characters include Scrooge’s kind-hearted clerk Bob Cratchit and his family, including Tiny Tim, the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future, the merry-making Fezziwig couple and the Ghost of Jacob Marley.

Throughout its history at the Goodman, over 1 million people have experienced A Christmas Carol and the production has hosted six directors, seven Scrooges, 27 Tiny Tims and nearly 20,000 “Bah, Humbug!”s A Christmas Carol, Chicago’s Premier Holiday Tradition, Returns to Goodman Theatre November 19.

Director William Brown celebrates 18 years with A Christmas Carol at the Goodman, including the last five as director. He recently directed the world premiere of Brett Neveu’s Old Glory at Writers’ Theatre, where he also directed As You Like It, Another Part of The Forest, Our Town, Arms and the Man, Rocket to the Moon, Misalliance, The Glass Menagerie and Incident at Vichy. At American Players Theatre in Spring Green, Wisconsin, he directed last summer’s Comedy of Errors and Hay Fever and, previously, productions of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Night of the Iguana, The Matchmaker, Twelfth Night, The Cherry Orchard, Antony and Cleopatra, All’s Well That Ends Well and Shaw’s You Never Can Tell. At Northlight Theatre he directed Lady Windermere’s Fan, The Chalk Garden and his own musical adaptation of She Stoops to Conquer. He recently directed the Midwest premiere of Curtains for Drury Lane Oakbrook.

For TimeLine Theatre Company in Chicago he directed Steven Dietz’s Halcyon Days and Paragon Springs and Tennessee Williams’ Not About Nightingales. Brown is the Associate Artistic Director of Montana Shakespeare in the Parks, where he most recently directed Romeo and Juliet and Heartbreak House. He received an After Dark Award for his 2006/2007 season and a Jeff Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Henry Kissinger in Nixon’s Nixon at Writers’ Theatre. John Judd (Ebenezer Scrooge) previously appeared at the Goodman in Shining City and Magnolia. An actor hailed as “astonishing” (Chicago Sun-Times) and “remarkable” (Chicago Tribune), his Chicago credits include Last of the Boys, The Dresser, The Butcher of Baraboo and Orson’s Shadow at Steppenwolf Theatre Company; The Price, Crime and Punishment and Othello at Writers’ Theatre; Lettice and Lovage and Gross Indecency at Court Theatre; The Cripple Of Inishmaan and The Lieutenant Of Inishmore at Northlight Theatre; A Number at Next Theatre Company; Come Back, Little Sheba at Shattered Globe Theatre; Execution Of Justice at About Face Theatre; Gagarin Way at A Red Orchid Theatre; and Angels In America at The Journeymen Theater. His off-Broadway credits include Orson’s Shadow and an oak tree at Barrow Street Theatre and Crime and Punishment at 59E59. Regionally and internationally Judd has appeared in Orson’s Shadow in Williamstown, Massachusetts, Westport, Connecticut and Beaver Creek, Colorado; Shining City at Huntington Theatre Company in Boston; American Buffalo at McCarter Theatre Center in Princeton, New Jersey; and Long Day’s Journey into Night at Town Hall Theatre in Galway, Ireland. His film credits include Hoffa, Losing Isaiah, Ride With The Devil, Road To Perdition, Mr. 3000, Batman Begins and Public Enemies. His television credits include Early Edition (CBS), ER (NBC), Prison Break (FOX), Missing Persons (ABC) and numerous pilots.

Tickets to A Christmas Carol ($25 – $76) are currently on sale at GoodmanTheatre.org. Tickets can also be purchased at the box office (170 North Dearborn) or by phone at 312.443.3800. Mezztix are half-price mezzanine tickets available at 12 noon at the box office, and at 10am online (promo code MEZZTIX) day of performance; Mezztix are not available by telephone. 10Tix are $10 rear mezzanine tickets for students available at 12 noon at the box office, and at 10am online on the day of performance; 10Tix are not available by telephone. Valid student I.D. must be presented when picking up the tickets. Limit four per student with I.D. All tickets are subject to availability and handling fees apply. Discounted Group Tickets for 15 persons or more are available at 312.443.3820. The Luxury Package includes access to the Goodman’s exclusive Patrons’ Lounge, complimentary beverages, free parking in the Government Center Parking Garage and an A Christmas Carol commemorative gift, with a donation to Goodman Theatre. For pricing information and details about the Luxury Package, call the box office at 312.443.3800. Purchase Goodman Gift Certificates in any amount at GoodmanTheatre.org. The flexibility of Goodman Gift Certificates allows recipients to choose the production, date and time of their performance.

Atlanta, GA (BlackNews.com) — The Super Bowl Gospel Celebration (SBGC), a National Football League (NFL) sanctioned event, announced today a new two-year sponsorship with Verizon Wireless. The sponsorship includes prominent branding activities for the company throughout the NFL season. Additionally, “The Best Church Choir in America” – Verizon How Sweet the Sound’s winning choir – will perform live at the 2011 Super Bowl Gospel Celebration.

“We are absolutely delighted to have a truly impressive brand like Verizon Wireless as part of our team. Verizon Wireless is a highly respected brand and we are proud to have them on board to help make this the biggest and best Super Bowl Gospel Celebration ever,” said Melanie Few-Harrison, founder and executive producer of Super Bowl Gospel Celebration and president of Results Marketing & Media Inc.

“Verizon Wireless is pleased to team up with the Super Bowl Gospel Celebration and make Verizon How Sweet the Sound’s winning choir a part of this special event,” said Richard Williams, executive director, Multicultural Marketing, Verizon. “Verizon’s How Sweet the Sound has become an integral part of the gospel community and it was a natural progression for these two community-oriented programs to join forces.”

Verizon Wireless’ sponsorship of Super Bowl Gospel Celebration expands on the company’s four-year sponsorship with the NFL by creating another experience for fans during Super Bowl Weekend. Guests at the event will experience branded interactive activities including live music and opportunities to use their mobile devices to enhance their overall NFL and Super Bowl experience. Verizon Wireless is the official wireless service provider of the NFL.

Launched in 1999, the Super Bowl Gospel Celebration is the NFL’s only sanctioned gospel event, and attracts top gospel/contemporary Christian and mainstream artists, as well as marquee NFL players, and features the NFL PLAYERS Choir, which is made up of active and retired players. The 2011 concert will take place on Friday, February 4, 2011 at 7:30 p.m. at Music Hall in Fair Park in Dallas, TX.

Artists who have performed at the Super Bowl Gospel Celebration in the past include music icons Patti LaBelle, Gladys Knight, BeBe and CeCe Winans, Kirk Franklin, Yolanda Adams, Fred Hammond, Jaci Velasquez, Donnie McClurkin, Mary Mary, Marvin Sapp, and many more. NFL greats Donovan McNabb, Ray Lewis, Cris Carter, Kurt Warner, John Elway, Jerry Rice, Tony Dungy, Lovie Smith and others have also participated in the event.

Announcements of this year’s must-see-artists, NFL players, members of the NFL PLAYERS Choir and special guests will be revealed over the next few weeks leading up to the Super Bowl Weekend. You can follow the Super Bowl Gospel Celebration for announcements and updates at www.superbowlgospelcelebration.com, www.twitter.com/SuperBowlGospel or www.facebook.com/SuperBowlGospel. You can also call 404-827-8116 for more information.

Tickets are $35, $55, $75 and $95, and now available at Ticketmaster locations in North Texas and at www.ticketmaster.com. A portion of the event proceeds will go to Pat & Emmitt Smith Charities.

 Are you ready to love your kitchen again? Homeowners seeking professional design advice and premium cabinetry for their kitchen, bath, office, bar area or even their closet can now take advantage of a rare Special Savings Event at kitchen and bath design showrooms featuring Wood-Mode custom and Brookhaven, semi-custom cabinetry. Only until November 12, 2010, significant discounts on your choice of wood species, finish or door/drawer style are being offered.

 “Wood-Mode is such a respected name in the kitchen and bath industry. Wood-Mode kitchens have closed the deal for many a home sale and have stood the test of time in kitchens across North America. I was recently stopped in St. Paul, Minnesota, by a man who purchased a Wood-Mode kitchen from my grandfather in the mid 1970s. This gentleman actually had a photo of the kitchen on his iPhone, he was so proud of it! In fact, he said the kitchen was one of the best investments he’d made in his home, as the finish and quality were still fabulous, even 30 plus years later,” said Karla Krengel, Chief Operating Officer for Chicago-based Krengel & Associates, which represents Wood-Mode and Brookhaven cabinetry dealers throughout the Midwest.

Now you can enjoy the beauty and quality of America’s leading brand of fine custom cabinetry at exceptional savings.

“Our talented design professionals can help you create that special Wood-Mode look for your kitchen, bath, basement bar, media room or any room in your home,” explained Krengel. “Those already familiar with Wood-Mode will recognize the value of this special event. And for a limited time, we’ll make it easier than ever on your budget.”

Krengel said homeowners can tour the latest cabinetry displays “at a Wood-Mode showroom near you and take comfort in knowing that professional designers are specially trained to help solve the unique decorating and storage needs of your lifestyle. Working within your budget requirements, you’ll receive design and installation assistance from design professionals.”

For further information or to locate a Wood-Mode/Brookhaven dealer near you, phone Krengel & Associates at (312) 644-4466 or visit WoodMode.com.

7th Annual FREE Martin Luther King Celebration: January 16 at Nichols Concert Hall

The Music Institute of Chicago (MIC) honors the extraordinary legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. at its seventh annual celebration of the legendary civic leader, featuring the renowned Brotherhood Chorale of the Apostolic Church of God. This free concert takes place Sunday, January 16 at 5 p.m. at Nichols Concert Hall, 1490 Chicago Avenue, Evanston.

The 180-member male choral group, led by conductor Brian C. Rice, will again perform an electrifying program of repertoire offering traditional and contemporary gospel and jazz arrangements. 

Admission is free; all contributions that evening benefit the William Warfield Memorial Scholarship Fund of the Music Institute of Chicago, which annually offers financial assistance to MIC minority students. William Warfield, famed operatic baritone, was a longstanding member of MIC’s board of trustees.

About the Brotherhood Chorale

The nationally recognized Brotherhood Chorale was founded in Chicago in 1969 with less than 30 members. Under the guidance of its current and visionary director, Brian Rice, the Brotherhood Chorale has built an impressive repertoire and grown to approximately 180 members. In addition to performing every fourth Sunday for service, the choir sings outside the church and has been the featured guest of the South Shore Cultural Center and the Chicago Civic Orchestra, among others.

About the Music Institute of Chicago