Sep 20th 2026

Radical Optimism: Celebrating 100 Years of Oscar Brown, Jr.

@ Blanc Gallery

4445 S King Dr, Chicago, IL 60653

Opening Sunday, September 20th, from 2PM - 5PM

On view through Saturday, October 10th

Radical Optimism: Celebrating 100 Years of Oscar Brown, Jr.

This year Chicago celebrates the 100th birthday of Oscar Brown Jr., a man who redefined what it meant to be free, Black, and unapologetically human. Oscar—playwright, composer, poet, musician, activist—didn’t just make art, he made impact. He turned street cries, jazz riffs, and community struggle into radical truth-telling art. He worked with Dr. Martin Luther King and Muhammad Ali, to build a movement that proved there’s “gold in the ghetto.” With Curator Dorian Sylvain, his daughters Maggie and Africa Brown will produce Radical Optimism a centennial exhibit and performance series: a living archive of a revolutionary voice that shaped culture, music, and consciousness.

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