Darcel Rockett

Darcel Rockett is a features/lifestyle reporter for the Chicago Tribune, focusing on narratives for and about populations/communities who need to be heard.

Mindy Kalchman, DePaul University professor emerita and Inside-Out Prison Exchange instructor, shows her tattoos to detainees during a graduation ceremony for the full university-level data analysis and statistics course on Oct. 24, 2025, at Cook County Jail in Chicago. (Dominic Di Palermo/Chicago Tribune)

Individuals in custody at Cook County Jail lean into DePaul University statistics class

December 2, 2025 at 10:29 a.m.

While college students were just getting started on their semester studies this fall, five young men were celebrating the successful completion of a DePaul University statistics class held at Cook...

Kennedy-King College student Oscar Rosales, 19, picks out food at the Healthy Student Market campus pantry in Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood on Nov. 6, 2025. City Colleges of Chicago's seven main campuses each offer a free market for students to get groceries. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)

Illinois SNAP benefits to return Friday, as communities step up: ‘We have a population that needs us’

November 13, 2025 at 8:02 p.m.

Nearly 2 million people in Illinois will again receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits starting Friday.

DeMorris Burrows rehearses his role as Chairman Fred Hampton in Coalescence Theatre Project's production of “Measure of a Man" at Raven Theatre, 6157 N. Clark Street in Chicago, Oct. 22, 2025. Makeup depicts Hampton’s head wound from when he was killed. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)

‘Measure of a Man’ showcases Black Panther leader Fred Hampton’s Chicago legacy

November 1, 2025 at 2:20 p.m.

In doing her research, playwright India Nicole Burton says she found that "I cannot not write about this guy."

Ignatian Corps. volunteer Derrick Blakely, center, a former reporter for the Chicago Tribune, WBBM-Ch. 2 and WMAQ-Ch. 5, speaks to Road to Success job readiness training program graduate Marcus King, left, and another graduate, on Sept. 19, 2025, at St. Leonard's Ministries in Chicago. (Dominic Di Palermo/Chicago Tribune)

Ignatian Volunteer Corps connects 50-year-old-plus set with a chance to help those in need

October 19, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

Ignatian Volunteer Corps has partnered adults 50 years of age or older — many who are retirees — with organizations supporting people in need.

Puppeteers perform “Blood and Ruin” in Rough House Puppet Arts' annual haunted puppet shows at the Steppenwolf Merle Reskin Garage Theater, in Chicago, on Oct. 10, 2025. Viewers can see six separate shows through slits and holes cut into the walls of cardboard "rooms." "Exquisite Corpse V: Blood & Puppets" runs through Nov. 1, 2025. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)

The creators of this year’s ‘Exquisite Corpse’ want the horror to live in your head

October 17, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

Rough House Theatre’s annual Halloween show is back at Steppenwolf, with puppets, artists and environments telling you stories that you won't understand right away.

DePaul College Prep president Mary Dempsey, a former librarian at the Chicago Public Library and attorney, is being honored by the Chicago Public Library Foundation Awards. Here at DePaul College Prep in Chicago on Sept. 26, 2025. (Dominic Di Palermo/Chicago Tribune)

Chicago Public Library honors Percival Everett, José Olivarez and Mary Dempsey

October 15, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

The 2025 Chicago Public Library Foundation Awards are honoring author Percival Everett, poet José Olivarez and Mary Dempsey, former commissioner of the Chicago Public Library.

Jadah Parker, a lifelong Chicagoan, stands outside her home in the Washington Park neighborhood on Sept. 24, 2025. With federal immigration agents crawling across the city, Parker said it’s nerve-wracking. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)

Donald Trump’s National Guard threat taps into traumas long held by Chicago’s Black community

September 27, 2025 at 10:48 a.m.

The idea of increased patrols across the city weighs heavily on Chicago’s Black communities, whose relationship with law enforcement is rooted in historical tensions and present-day fear.

Artist Theaster Gates gives the inaugural lecture on Sept. 14, 2025, at the Land School, formerly known as St. Laurence Elementary School, which Gates and his nonprofit Rebuild Foundation transformed into an arts incubator in Chicago's Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood. (Nate Swanson/for the Chicago Tribune).

‘A wonderful space for joy’: Former Greater Grand Crossing school reopened as arts incubator

September 19, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

The Rebuild Foundation and artist Theaster Gates hosted the grand opening of arts incubator the Land School this week, revamping a space vacant since 2002.

Director Christopher Wayland goes over a scene with production members during rehearsal of Kimberly Dixon-Mays's play, "Rabbits in their Pockets," at Lifeline Theatre, Sept. 2, 2025, in Chicago. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)

Lifeline Theatre’s ‘Rabbits in Their Pockets’ is inspired by African and Caribbean oral traditions

September 12, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

The play, in part, is about "how we find our Black joy where there seems to be no joy anywhere else," says director Christopher Wayland. We spoke with playwright Kimberly...

From left, M.E.A.N. Girls volunteer Stephanie Williams and London Jackson, 13, try to get Journee McKnight, 13, to smile during an Ice breaker game at the M.E.A.N. Girls Empowerment's opening day event at South Holland Community Center on Sept. 6, 2025. (Troy Stolt/for the Chicago Tribune)

Obama Foundation’s Girls Opportunity Alliance gives $500K to 11 local nonprofits serving girls

September 12, 2025 at 2:59 p.m.

Michelle Obama, former first lady and founder of the Obama Foundation’s Girls Opportunity Alliance, granted $500,000 to 11 Chicago organizations.

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