CULTURETECHLENSThe Other Side
The media side of CultureTechLens. CultureTechLens is a free online encyclopedia of Black Chicago and the global Black diaspora, published by a Chicago nonprofit. This is where that encyclopedia speaks in the present tense.
LEAD STORY · IN THE MOMENT
Soul Train Didn’t Start on TV
In ten days the Soul Train Awards tape in Chicago, ten minutes from where Don Cornelius grew up. The train is coming home — because it started here, in a Board of Trade studio, on $400 and a Sears sponsorship. Read the story →
How The Other Side works
- Hear it — culture moves first: a song, a room, a block, a moment everybody is talking about.
- Check the record — we look it up in our own encyclopedia first: 4,111 entities and 2,527 relationships (canonical CSV master).
- Explain it — the history, the people, and the place behind the moment, in plain Chicago voice.
- Cite it — every story ends with its sources and a link into the entry, so you can cite it too.
Latest stories
CASE STUDIES
When brands listen, they win.
The Other Side reads brand and institution moments against the record — what happens when a brand does the work, and what it costs when it doesn’t. Commission the research behind the story: the Research Desk, $750.
The Chicago Blind Spot Quiz
Five things most teams get wrong about Black Chicago. Ninety seconds. Every answer comes with the real number — and the record it stands on.
Work with the record
Read the entry · book a briefing or workshop · license the research · donate. The media side is free to read; the record underneath is what institutions cite.
Cite as: CultureTechLens, “The Other Side,” October 26, 2026. Source: CultureTechLens · “Culture, Clearly Seen.”