We’ve come full circle. Here it is – 8 PM on Feb. 14 – and we’re sitting in Morgan’s apartment, redesigning the homepage and preparing to announce our anniversary fundraising campaign. A year ago David, Morgan and I were holed up in my bedroom, frantically editing content and building thetriibe.com into the wee hours of the night. At the time: Donald Trump was our new president, the Department of Justice confirmed that Chicago police unfairly targeted minorities and Trump started tweeting about our “top gang thugs.” So we had a personal deadline to meet.

This sense of urgency has burned inside of us since day one. As Black media professionals, we felt a calling to use our skills to give voice to the unheard – our fellow Black Chicagoans whose stories and communities are largely ignored until violence strikes. I come from one of those communities, “Out West,” a region that’s been so poorly represented in the media that natives are prejudged as soon as we utter its name to outsiders.

Thus, on Feb. 15, 2017, thetriibe.com was born.

And today, with more than 60 stories and 130,000 page views, we’re still here and more determined than ever to present Black Chicago’s story holistically.

With that said, we’re celebrating our birthday in a major way:

First, there’s the Block Beat: A collaboration with the Chicago Reader that will highlight Chicago artists and the places and neighborhoods that played a major role in who they are today. The debut episode of the monthly video series features rapper Vic Mensa and Hyde Park Records.

Next, there’s our Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign: We’re raising money to keep thetriibe.com alive. With your help, we can continue to produce ground-breaking content – including two dope feature multimedia projects – by donating here.

And then, there’s The TRiiBE Anniversary Function: If you’re a fan of thetriibe.com, please come out and celebrate our birthday with a night of drinks, performances from local artists featured in The Forecast series and tunes by DJ Nehpets. The TRiiBE Anniversary Function is March 10, 2018 at a private location in the South Loop. Click here to purchase a ticket.

Thank you for all of your support of The TRiiBE so far. We hope you’ll keep rocking with us as we continue building a more united Black Chicago.