Chicago Booth’s African American MBA Association (AAMBAA) took Sunday Brunch to new heights last month in organizing the club’s first annual Chicago Culture Classic. The event was supported by the Giving Something Back club at Booth and Project Love Chicago, a local nonprofit teaching financial literacy to under-resourced youth to instill the principles of wealth creation. The Sunday Brunch included a charity auction, art showcase, and musical performance – all from locally sourced talent.
“The inaugural Chicago Culture Classic served as an amazing opportunity to connect with the city that so generously hosts us during our time at Chicago Booth. Having the opportunity to connect with and support local creatives was the best and most unique part.” – Avery Thread, 2Y and AAMBAA Co-Chair, who helped develop the vision and spearheaded bringing the event to life.
While the Brunch was thoughtfully curated to support and spotlight Black artists, businesses, and causes, it was also a celebration. The guests walked into a lavishly decorated venue with catering from Lizzy J Café, a black-owned restaurant in Lincoln Park. The spread included all the brunch essentials: eggs, sausage, bacon, hash browns, waffles, shrimp & grits, mimosas, and much more.
During Brunch, Jahari TheHippie, a local musical artist, stole our attention when he performed a series of songs. After Jahari left the stage, DJ 1Mo kept the party going, igniting the crowd to the dance floor.
The inspiration for the event was Chicago’s rich culture and boundless creativity from vocal to visual art. Thus, the charity auction was driven by locally sourced art from four artists, who donated their work for the Project Love charity auction. The eye-catching pieces were draped throughout the venue.
The art was not only on the walls as everyone came dressed in their Sunday Best to support charitable causes and celebrate the culture.
In the end, the event raised money for charity, spotlighted Black creatives in the city, and celebrated the deep cultural history in Chicago, planting a seed for a long line of Chicago Culture Classics to come.
Make sure to follow @blackatbooth on Instagram to keep up with other events AAMBAA is putting on.
Here are the pages of the talented artists if you want to keep up with them.
Physical Artists:
– Inspire by Tyler (www.inspirebytyler.com/ | @inspirebytyler)
– Damon Lamar Reed (www.damonlamar.wixsite.com/create | @damonlamarreed)
– S. Rose (www.srosechicago.com | @srosechicago)
– Kalief (www.kaliefskanvas.com | @kaysean_)
Musical Artists:
– Jahari TheHippie (@jahari_thehippie)
– Mo Watkins (@dj_1mo)
