Congrats to Chicago-born comedian and actor Lil Rel Howery… his latest film, “We Grown Now” just won the Jury Best Feature Narrative Award at the Pan African Film Festival. The movie is a coming-of-age drama set in Chicago at Cabrini-Green and also stars Jurnee Smollett and S. Epatha Merkerson. You can see it in theaters on May 10th.
And shout out to Alvin Green, the owner of Al’s Cookie Mixx on the South Side. I saw a great story about his business in the Sun-Times a couple weeks ago. He found inspiration from his 20-year-old-son Aiden, who has autism. He says he knew the struggle of parents with special needs kids, wondering what they’ll do for a living once they leave school… so he started his business to employ his son and other individuals with disabilities. Check out their cookies online, where he says “you mix, we bake, we ship”… just pick your base of vanilla, chocolate or oatmeal and add from their list of mix-ins to make your own customized gourmet cookies.
Support them both and remember to always celebrate your magic! xo