BRIMMING WITH CULTURE, music and the arts, the 18th annual Black Expo Chicago will be held Friday through Sunday at McCormick Place. Get the lowdown on rap music when the female group Xscape takes center stage during the hip-hop conference from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Friday. In addition to more than 500 exhibitor booths, entertainment, fashion shows and a professional career fair, the expo will offer seminars on hot topics such as “Welfare Reform & Expendability of Poor Blacks” (12:30 p.m. Saturday, room 227) and “Leveling the Playing Field: An Examination of Affirmative Action” (11 a.m. Friday, room 229). Guest speakers include Michael Eric Dyson, author of “Race Rules: Navigating the Color Line” (2:30 p.m. Sunday, Room 227). And finally, New Life Performance Company will be featured in a gospel program (5 p.m. Sunday), along with singer Inger Reid and the Soul Children of Chicago.
McCormick Place is at 400 E. 23rd St. Hours for Black Expo Chicago are 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $8 adults; $5 seniors, teens ages 12-17; $3.50 children ages 6-11; free to children 5 and under. For more information, call 312-949-9440.
