Upcoming Events 
Save the date! We're celebrating 30 seasons of the Community Media Awards on May 1, 2025, with a return at the iconic Chicago Cultural Center. Subscribe to our mailing lists to stay updated.
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Past events
Watch: The 29th Annual Community Media Awards presented by Public Narrative
On Thursday, May 9, 2024, we gathered at the Chicago Cultural Center for our annual Community Media Awards to recognize the 2024 winners of our Studs Terkel Awards, Uplifting Voices Award, Ripple Effect Award, and People's Choice Award. Thank you to our media partner, WTTW, for recording and broadcasting the event.
Watch: The 28th Annual Community Media Awards presented by Public Narrative
On Thursday, May 11, 2023, we gathered at Northeastern Illinois University's Jacob H. Carruthers Center for Inner City Studies for our annual Community Media Awards. Community members, students, educators, community leaders and journalists sat in person for the first time in three years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, as 5-time host and 1994 Studs Terkel Awards winner Cheryl Corley (with the help of some secret admirers of the winners) announced the 2023 winners of our Studs Terkel Awards, Uplifting Voices Award, Ripple Effect Award and the inaugural People's Choice Award. Thank you to our media partner, CAN TV, for recording and broadcasting the event.
Watch: "Power in the Public Narrative: Chicago's Health Equity Zones" Webinar Series
As part of Congo Square Theatre's annual Celebration of Healing initiative, Public Narrative hosted a 6-part webinar that explored the research findings of the Chicago Public Health Department's Chicago Equity Zones, by the way of public health community projects from across the city under the facilitation of the Chicago Consortium for Community Engagement. The webinars took place virtually from noon - 1:30 pm CT Thursdays, March 23 - April 27.
Watch: "The Story of Us: A Public Forum"
At 9:30 a.m., Monday, Mar. 27, 2023, we gathered at The Chicago Community Trust for a deeper dive into "The Story of Us: Community Image in the News and Other Forms of Media," a 2021 report published by Public Narrative highlighting ways in which media impacts the longstanding and many harmful narratives about young men, boys and communities of color in Chicago and beyond.
Watch: "Black, Male and Under Scrutiny"
Recap the latest event of our new free evening conversation series, Unpacking Narratives.
About the conversation: With Blair Jackson, a high school student and budding storyteller, and Jacoby Cochran, a professional public speaker and storyteller mastering his craft — the Chicago South Siders explore how growing up in their respective parts of town influence how they show up in the world today, in their lives, their communities and in their work— amidst harmful narratives and ongoing violence toward Black people, especially young men and boys.
Watch: "Journalism and the Struggle of Activation"
Recap the first event of our new free evening conversation series, Unpacking Narratives.
About the conversation: Through their individual and shared journeys, Kalven and Lacour explore the state of journalism and activism and the struggle to combine them in ways that uphold the highest standards of journalistic rigor while respecting community dignity.
Watch: 27th Annual Community Media Awards 5/12/22
Watch: Intro to Community Media for Health Researchers 3/30/22
Watch: Celebration of Change 9/24/20
Watch: Candid Conversations series
The Together We Heal Initiative, led by the City of Chicago's Office of Equity and Racial Justice, partnered with Public Narrative to invite local healers, neighbors and faith leaders to talk about community-level healing in its four-part Candid Conversation series. These unmoderated virtual conversations encouraged open and honest discussion about Chicago, healing, and racial equity. As invited guests, participants were asked to weigh in with peers on a series of questions exploring community, collective healing and its impact across our city. Click here to watch all five Candid Conversations, featuring our city's storytellers (above), healers, faith leaders, neighbors, and leaders.