ABC7 Chicago celebrates Juneteenth with half-hour special, 'Our Chicago: Freedom Music'
The special airs twice on Sunday, June 18 at 4:30 p.m. and 11 p.m.
CHICAGO (WLS) -- "Our Chicago: Freedom Music" is a dynamic celebration of freedom expressed through the music of Chicago's Black community as part of ABC 7's Juneteenth celebration.
Hosted by Cheryl Burton and Terrell Brown, the special airs twice on Sunday, June 18 at 4:30 p.m. and 11 p.m. It will also be available on ABC 7's connected TV apps on Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV and Roku and abc7chicago.com.
Juneteenth is a celebration and what better way to celebrate than with a historical perspective highlighting Black artists whose original blues, Gospel and house music sound, put Chicago on the map.
This special captures the spirit of Juneteenth with the memorable music rooted in Chicago's Black culture.
Burton and Brown will explore the many musical genres woven into the fabric of Chicago. They visit Chicago's premier blues club, Buddy Guy's Legends, owned and operated by Grammy Award-winning blues legend and Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, Buddy Guy.
They sit down with William Kirk (a descendent of "the father of gospel music" Thomas A. Dorsey) and Rodessa Barrett Porter, a member of the popular gospel trio, The Barrett Sisters. Barrett Porter elaborates on the importance of Gospel and its Chicago beginnings during the great migration.
The son of Muddy Waters, Mud Morganfield, reflects on the impact his father had on Windy City blues.
Farley "Jackmaster" Funk discusses Chicago's claim to fame as the birthplace of house music and its influence, then and now, on other musical genres around the world.
About ABC7/WLS-TV Chicago
ABC7/WLS-TV Chicago is the No. 1 local news source and most-watched television station in Chicago. With top-rated daily newscasts spanning decades and the largest social media presence in the market with more than 2.6 million Facebook followers, ABC7 Eyewitness News provides breaking news, investigative reporting, weather, politics, traffic and sports in the multiplatform space toChicago, the suburbs and northwest Indiana. Named Best News Operation by the Associated Press for four consecutive years, ABC 7 Eyewitness News produces "Chicago Proud," a series of features that spotlights everyday heroes in and around Chicago.The station also produces the highest-rated New Year's Eve special in Chicago, holiday kickoff special "The Magnificent Mile Lights Festival," syndicated to a national audience, as well as the award-winning program series "Our Chicago," which showcases the city's diversity and highlights contributions in the Black, Hispanic, Asian, LGBTQ+ communities, among others.Every Friday, Windy City Weekend, entertains while giving Chicagoans everything they need to know about what's happening in the city. ABC 7 is the only Chicago station producing and broadcasting parades representing Chicago's rich cultural history. In addition to producing town halls focused on current social issues, the station has a long and proud tradition of broadcasting political candidate debates keeping Chicago's electorate informed.ABC7's outreach efforts include annual partnerships with the Red Cross for life-saving blood drives, one of the biggest one-day drives in the country and, most recently, spearheading an effort to raise more than $1.5 million for area food pantries.
