For immediate release
Chicago, IL - March 25, 2010
WTTW, America's most-watched public television station, is pleased to announce that legendary singer-songwriter and Chicago native Chaka Khan has agreed to headline the station's May 20 benefit, a special one-night-only performance at the Harris Theater in Millennium Park, and will also appear in the station's upcoming new documentary, DuSable to Obama: Chicago's Black Metropolis, premiering Monday, June 7 at 7:30 pm on WTTW.
Khan and her full band will rock the stage of the Harris Theater in a 60-minute concert open to the public. Individual tickets for the event, which also includes a brief post-concert reception, are available by calling (773) 509-5525. The reception will be followed immediately by an elegant dinner for high-level donors at the Rooftop Terrace adjacent to the Harris Theater.
Multiple Grammy-winner Khan is best known for her memorable hit songs "I'm Every Woman," "Ain't Nobody," "I Feel for You," "Tell Me Something Good," and "Through the Fire," among others. She was raised on Chicago's south side, attending Calumet High School and Kenwood Academy before achieving breakout success with the funk band Rufus. She has collaborated with a wide and diverse variety of prominent artists, and has remained a top-selling solo performer to this day. Khan even has a connection with PBS, for whom she recorded a new version of the theme song for its popular children's series Reading Rainbow.
DuSable to Obama: Chicago's Black Metropolis celebrates the remarkable history of African Americans in Chicago. The program, through interviews, reenactments and archival footage, captures the extraordinary stories of the eminent and unsung, the everyday men and women who have helped to mold the city through politics, culture, and business. The extraordinary list of people interviewed for this special include Khan, entrepreneur and patron of the arts Susan Cayton Woodson, historian Timuel Black, actor/director Harry Lennix, Third World Press founder Haki Madhubuti, Cook County commissioner and performer Jerry "Iceman" Butler, scholar and author Lerone Bennett, spoken word artist J. Ivy, among many others.
DuSable to Obama: Chicago's Black Metropolis is produced and written by Barbara E. Allen and Daniel Andries. Production is made possible, in part, by ComEd. Generous support is also provided by the Sara Lee Foundation; ITW; Mr. & Mrs. John W. Ballantine and The Joyce Foundation.
Individuals and corporations are welcome to join those who have already committed funding to help support the production expenses for DuSable to Obama: Chicago's Black Metropolis. More information about contributing to the production fund is available by calling Joanie Bayhack at (773) 509-5431.
About WTTW
For more than 50 years, audiences have turned to WTTW11 for distinctive programming that informs, inspires, educates, and entertains. It reaches 1.5 million weekly viewers over a four-state area, making it the most-watched public television station in America. Recognized for its award-winning local and national productions, WTTW11 is committed to presenting the very best in cultural, nature, science, public affairs and children's programming across its four distinct television channels: WTTW11, WTTWD, its Spanish-language channel V-me, and WTTW Create. For more information about WTTW programming across all its platforms, please visit our web site at www.wttw.com.
