ON CHICAGO'S "MAD MILE".

I just got the photo above from Brianna Riddle, a photog who snapped it a few weeks ago. I was there to make America safe for Colored People. (I dubbed it the Mad Mile years ago when I plied my trade as one the the first...er...ummm..."melanated Mad men".

SOME OF MY BEST FRIENDS ARE COLORED AT CBX!

I just got in under the wire for Chicago Book Expo 5.
It's happening again this year at Columbia College, Sunday,  Nov. 13,
1104 S. Wabash, 12 noon - 5pm.

I squeaked in because they've decided to focus on small presses and publishers this year.
But once they heard about, "Some of My Best Friends Are Colored" they
opened up a spot. I'll have the shirt-pocket version of SOMBFAC and some
individual full-size pages. I'll see you there.

Http://ChicagoBookExpo.org

Meanwhile...back at the studio...

I'm planning to publish my first, "Some of My Best Friends Are Colored" AllMerican Coloring Book on King Day, 2017. I'm working on portraits right now, even as I blog. So, I'll use this blog to post pieces of my progress. But, for those of you who just can't wait, I'm also posting some of  the paintings I've done over the years in my "Chicago Fer Real" and my "Down In Uptown Series". And, if you ask me nicely, I might even unwrap one or two of my "ORIGINAALS Specials".

An Idea Whose Time is Way...Way...Overdue.

It's long past time for the world (and the United States of America in particular) to admit the mistake of thinking the incredible spectrum of the human race can be divided into "black" or "white". I created  "Some of My Best Friends Are Colored" to begin the process. I'm working on an exhibit, a coloring book and other materials that explain how and why we got into our current racial mess...and my ideas on how to get out.

Since I live in Chicago, the consequences of our historic failures are bloodily obvious. I just hope I'm not too late.