Celebrating Samantha Callender

	By Marlena Wadley, Reporter, The Real Chi

The West Side of Chicago holds a special place in my heart and you know what else does? Black women. Today, I celebrate International Women’s Day by highlighting Samantha Callender, the new Delores McCain and Terry Dean Community Narrative Reporter for Austin Weekly.

The Field Foundation earmarked $35,000 toward the Delores McCain and Terry Dean Community Narrative Reporter position’s annual salary with the possibility of renewing the grant for additional years. Growing Community Media, a nonprofit news organization, which publishes Austin Weekly, announced it received a $50,000 grant from the Field Foundation in October. 

Samantha Callender is a Chicago-based journalist who has called the Austin community home for the past five years. Calendar has contributed to many national publications like Essence, The Root, and Cosmopolitan just to name a few.

When she’s not writing, Calendar enjoys all things artistic. You can catch her at local galleries, plays, concerts, and cafes. 

According to AW and GCM’s equity editor Michael Romaine Callender’s position “will help our publication uncover and map the strong networks of people and organizations that create a sense of place on the West Side — from block clubs, Neighborhood Watch groups, Local School Councils and churches to the wizened people on the porch, the sidewalk sages, and the amateur local historians.” 

The community narrative reporter position was named after Delores McCain and Terry Dean, two monumental people who graced the westside with their presence.

Delores McCain was a westside activist who also had ties to the American civil rights movement. She was a contributing reporter and became the paper’s go to reporter with her hard hitting stories. She passed away in 2010 due to complications brought on by leukemia.

Terry Dean served as an editor of Austin Weekly from 2005 to 2010. He was an Austin resident and dedicated his words to honor her community. He died in 2022 at the age of 47.

Both made an enormous impact on their community and will truly be missed.

International Women’s Day is a special day to give women their flowers, praise, and glory. I celebrate today highlighting black women writing journalistic history. And as the kids say these days “We love to see it.”