Living Black

In the summer of 2020, WGLT embarked on the 23-episode Living Black in Bloomington-Normal series. Now, WGLT is following up on the that award-winning series with a roundtable discussion about what's changed since 2020 — and what hasn't.

Brandon Bell grew up in Normal and now resides in St. Louis.Bell spoke with Ariele Jones for the WGLT series Living Black in Bloomington-Normal. Contact…

Jen Brooks was born and raised in Bloomington. She worked at State Farm for a few years before becoming a language arts teacher. She taught at Peoria…

Brianna Rivera-Thompson was born in Galesburg and was raised in Normal. She attended Unit 5 schools and will receive her master’s degree in speech…

Brandon Lusala's parents immigrated to the United States from what was then the Congo for work. His father worked for State Farm in Bloomington, his…

Joel Johnson is a Normal resident, New Orleans native, an object-oriented developer and owner of Silky Soul Entertainment. He's lived in…

Kevin Graham was born in Springfield and moved to Bloomington at age 3. He says he grew up “on both sides of the tracks," first in the Sunnyside projects…

As journalists, we expect transparency and hold people accountable. That cuts both ways. As our listeners and readers, you should expect nothing less from…

Christie Vellella is a Chicago native who came to Illinois State University in the 70s. She is a retired teacher and social worker in…

Bloomington resident Lloyd Davis is originally from the south suburban city of Chicago Heights. The software developer spoke with Jon Norton for the WGLT…

Kayla Bullock is a historian who was born in, and now lives again in Lincoln, Neb. Her family moved to Bloomington-Normal when she was in elementary…

Elisha Coffrin is an Eastern Illinois University graduate and owner of Coffrin's ATA Martial Arts in Bloomington-Normal along with her husband,…