Pete Rodriguez (Photo by David Aguirre)
During the early 2000s, Pete Rodriguez lived large in a former photography studio above the Cafe Jumping Bean, 1439 W. 18th St. in the heart of Pilsen. The three-story building with an aqua dome top was constructed in 1907.
Pete used the 18-foot skylight as a backdrop to photograph neighbors and Chicago cultural icons, including the late artist Carlos Cortez. Rodriguez was also a former Marine, house painter, contrarian, and colorful activist.
Many called him the “Mayor of 18th Street.”
Rodriguez died of a diabetic coma on July 6 in his upstairs apartment a block [...]
Rosetta Miller-Perry. She made a difference.
During this extended summer holiday week, consider the American spirit of Rosetta Miller-Perry. She was not about loud fireworks. She was about sincere faith. Miller-Perry was the founder of the Tennessee Tribune, an independent Black newspaper in Nashville.
She died on June 26 at the age of 91.
Miller-Perry served in the United States Navy and was one of the first African-American students to graduate from Memphis State University. She launched the Tribune in 1991 to focus on issues such as health, education, and voter registration.
Miller-Perry [...]
Carl Bonafede, sharp-dressed man.
Maybe you saw him during recent summers selling colorful umbrella hats on the streets in front of Wrigley Field. Or perhaps you once bumped into this diminutive character at the Maxwell Street Market. You definitely heard him.
Carl Bonafede was one of Chicago’s most colorful talent scouts, record producers, and pitchmen. He co-produced the Buckinghams 1967 smash “Kind of a Drag” at Chess studios in Chicago. He booked the amazing soul act Baby Huey and the Baby Sitters, who celebrated Curtis Mayfield’s “Mighty Mighty.” He was on board for recording and producing 235 singles released [...]
Chuck Berry digs, Oct. 2025. (D. Hoekstra photo)
A few months ago, I drove by the empty Chuck Berry House on the near north side of St. Louis. The modest red brick home is where Berry wrote hits like “Roll Over Beethoven” in 1956 and “Johnny B. Goode” in 1958. The Berry house is at 3137 Whittier Street in the economically challenged Greater Ville neighborhood.
The Berry house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2008, a rarity since Berry was still alive. Berry and his wife bought the three-room house in 1950 in what then was a middle-class Black neighborhood that included comedian Dick Gregory, [...]
