Dr. Margena A. Christian's Retirement Celebration
The private event took place on Saturday, June 14, 2025, at Georgios Banquets in Orland Park, IL, from 6:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. where nearly 100 family, friends, and colleagues from EBONY/JET, City Colleges of Chicago, and UIC joined her to celebrate the momentous occasion. The dress was by Mac Duggal and shoes by Manolo Blahnik (before changing into black sequined, low-top women's Converse Chuck Taylor).
Two photo galleries capture the night to remember along with a video by Pixel Related Media, Inc. Check it out below by clicking on the button.
All photos taken in Gallery 1 are by Valerie Goodloe, my former Johnson Publishing Company colleague who worked with me during my time at both JET and at EBONY magazines.
Fun Fact: Goodloe also made history as the first female photographer to be hired as a full-time staff photographer at JET/EBONY thanks to the unwavering support of the late Lerone Bennett Jr.
Gallery 1
All photos taken in Gallery 2 are by photographer Mlewisvisuals.
Gallery 2
Description
The biography of Sylvia Moy, Motown’s first certified female in-house producer and songwriter, and one of the authors behind classic hits like “My Cherie Amour,” “Uptight (Everything’s Alright),” and a slew of other time-honored tunes.
Imagine a world without the music of Stevie Wonder. A world without hits like “I Was Made to Love Her” and “Shoo-Be-Doo-Be-Doo-Da-Day.” That’s the world we would live in had it not been for Sylvia Moy, a woman whose legacy has been carefully tucked away within the annals of music history—until now.
It’s No Wonder examines the groundbreaking career of the pioneer who battled sexism and broke down barriers to become Motown’s first certified female in-house songwriter and producer. As the lone woman in a room full of men, the odds were stacked against Moy from the start. Amidst racial strife at the height of the Civil Rights Movement, most African American women who were allowed into the music industry could only dream of a career as a singer. Nevertheless, the Detroit native found unprecedented success as both a songwriter and producer. In addition to single-handedly saving Stevie Wonder’s early career at Motown, Moy solidified herself as one of the label’s most prolific composers, penning many of Wonder’s classic hits as well as songs for other Motown acts like “Honey Chile,” “It Takes Two,” “This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak For You),” “My Baby Loves Me,” “(We’ve Got) Honey Love,” “Forget Me Not,” “With a Child’s Heart,” and countless others.
Meticulously researched, fiercely feminist, and told with the cooperation of Moy’s estate, It’s No Wonder is a historical corrective that restores Sylvia Moy to her rightful place at the forefront of music history.
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