Evening news anchor Cheryl Burton and morning anchor Hosea Sanders host the Dec. 19 debut episode of “Heart & Soul,” Ch. 7’s quarterly series profiling cultural figures in Chicago’s African American community.
The producer of “Heart & Soul” is Emmy-winning programming producer Rubye Wilson, who produced Harry Porterfield’s long-running, occasional series “People, Places and Things You Should Know.”
Porterfield left the station in July after 24 years there.
A rotating roster of Ch. 7 staffers will act as hosts and contributors for subsequent episodes of the half-hour series, including sports anchor Jim Rose, weekend anchor Karen Jordan, and reporter Charles Thomas, Leah Hope, Evelyn Holmes.
A Ch. 7 announcement described “Heart & Soul” as a “fresh, fast-paced series of specials designed to empower, educate and entertain [that] taps into the energy and essence of what makes the African American culture in Chicago so uniquely vibrant.”
The debut episode features segments on violinist Lee England Jr., who performed with Stevie Wonder; Sherman Wright and Ahmad Islam, founders of Common Ground Marketing, which has grown to an $11 million business in five years; Morris Brent’s Counterpoint Music & Life mentorship program at North Chicago High School; 75th Street businesses The Woodshop Art Gallery and Trinidad Caf?; and Northern Trust Bank executive vice president and head of corporate social responsibility Connie Lindsey.
“Heart & Soul” premieres Saturday, Dec. 19 at 6 p.m., with an encore screening Sunday, Dec. 20 at Noon. It will be available on demand at
