Irika Sargent

2 weeks ago | cbsnews.com | Irika Sargent |Edie Kasten

A dynamic mother-daughter duo works together to bring the joy of books to Chicago's South Side and beyond. "It was always my dream to open a bookstore that amplified Black stories, and that's what I was able to do," said Verlean Singletary, co-owner of Da Book Joint in the South Shore neighborhood. From fiction to history, coffee table books to kids' reads, Da Book Joint has it all. If you can't find it, Singletary and her daughter, Courtney Woods, will make sure they get it for you.

1 month ago | cbsnews.com | Irika Sargent

Aris Singleton is at the top of her field as one of the youngest leaders in the beauty industry. Singleton is chief executive officer of the haircare line Thank God It's Natural, or simply TGIN. She is now 31, but became CEO at the age of 28. Singleton has national eyes on her, from an Oprah Daily Award to a place on Black Enterprise's "40 under 40" list. She is among the Chicago Defender's Women of Excellence. In 2023, a collector's edition of Jet Magazine was dedicated just to her.

1 month ago | cbsnews.com | Irika Sargent |Lana Hinshaw-Klann

It's March 14, 3/14, that means it's time to celebrate Pi Day. Some Chicago elementary school students did just that by flexing their math muscles. It might have looked like a dance party was about to kick off Friday at Monument Of Faith Evangelistic Church, but the kids had a lot more than music on their minds.

1 month ago | cbsnews.com | Irika Sargent

Power of spoken-word poetry led Malik Yusef to overcome many struggles Malik Yusef overcame a mountain of challenges that for many might seem insurmountable — disabilities, poverty, violence, gangs — propelled by his love of poetry. That passion set the Chicago spoken word artist on a path to award-winning success, and now, the chance to help others have that success too. For Yusef, the art of spoken word flows with ease.

2 months ago | yahoo.com | Irika Sargent

Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience.Generate Key TakeawaysCHICAGO (CBS) -- Chicago's own Malik Yusef was nominated for a Grammy Award this year for his own spoken word poetry album. Yusef didn't win this time. It also was not Yusef's first time at the Grammys — far from it, with eight Grammy wins and 44 nominations.