Friday, April 24, 2015

Why Mahalia Jackson - A positive imaging campaign





 Why Mahalia Jackson

A positive imaging campaign




Chatham neighborhood
Chicago, IL


   Recently a small group of us got together and decided that one of the Chatham community needs is a branding campaign.  Internally, we wanted to reach out to our community and changed how we looked at ourselves; externally, we had to understand how we can present Chatham better to the rest of the city and country.  
   The first goal of our campaign is to project positive role models to the community and especially the younger generation.  In many cases, this generation needs role models to guide them in the right direction. They need examples and interaction. 
   The second goal of the campaign is to project positive images to the rest of the city of successful African Americans. Chatham, these days, is judged by its weaker links and not by its sons and daughters that have launched into successful carriers locally, nationally and internationally.

   We decided to begin by commissioning a large portrait dedicated to the late, great gospel singer, Mahalia Jackson.  It was mounted on the south west side of the
8044 S. Ingleside building.  Ms. Jackson received six Grammy Awards including a Lifetime Achievement Award for her recordings.  She lived in the Chatham community for a period of time and her ties to the neighborhood are still a point of pride for many residents.  Mahalia Jackson's life is an inspiring one which you can read about on her Wikipedia page. You can follow some of our links at the bottom to hear her music.








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