Happy Black History Month, Chicago ♥️
As the month comes to a close, we’d like to take a moment to acknowledge that Chicago history IS Black history. From Congress to culture, Black Chicagoans have shaped American society for the better. Join us as we dive into the profound efforts, accomplishments, and contributions of iconic Black people who hailed from and thrived in Chicago.
Origins of Black History in Chicago
Our great city was founded by Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, an explorer, entrepreneur, and pioneer trader who established the first permanent settlement on what would become Chicago soil in the 1770s. In fact, Chicago’s most iconic expressway (LSD) was renamed in 2021 in his honor to Jean Baptiste du Sable Lake Shore Drive, AKA DuSable Lake Shore Drive.
A statue in downtown Chicago, honors Jean-Baptist-Point Du Sable, the city’s founder.
© blvdone/Shutterstock.com
The first ‘Black History Month’ occurred at the Wabash Avenue YMCA in 1915. That same year, Dr. Carter G. Woodson, inspired by the 50-year emancipation celebration during his visit, formed the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (now called the African American Life and History Association) that would later work to create and popularize knowledge about Black history. Their first press release announcing the first ‘Negro History Week’ came in February 1926. February was chosen to encompass the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Fredrick Douglass as both individuals played a prominent role in shaping Black history in America. As curiosity and intrigue was built by these releases, this information became incorporated into schooling and the news. By 1976, Black History Month was officially recognized by the U.S. Government.
Credit: Sun-Times archives
Explore Black History in Chicago
Chicago has always been integral to the development of national civil rights, racial and criminal justice, and thankfully, much of that history is preserved and displayed by Chicago’s robust museum system. If you haven’t taken advantage of a FREE resident day at a city museum, what are you waiting for? Our recommendation: check out the DuSable Black History Museum in Washington Park. This museum honors Black History every single day of the year (as we all should) and it even has an exhibit about Mayor Harold Washington, Chicago’s first Black mayor, that features an animatronic replica of his likeness! Free days are on Wednesday. Check their website for more information.
The interior entrance to the DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center.
photo source unknown
20 Iconic Black Chicagoans You Should Know
Many great activists, athletes, entertainers, musicians, writers, politicians and more have called Chicago home, including several Black pioneers in their respective fields.
- John Tweedle – the favorite photographer of Dr. Martin Luther King who captured some of MLK’s most profound moments.
- Kathryn Magnolia Johnson – a feminist and civil rights activist, who served two hundred thousand African American non-combatant troops in France during the war in 1918. She seized educational opportunities abroad for her race brothers that they could not receive in the states. Upon her return to Chicago, she devoted her life to spreading literacy in African American communities and to provide resources for African American girls to pursue an education.
- Etta Moten Barnett – triple-threat singer, actor and philanthropist; first Black woman to sing at the White House (for President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s birthday in 1934).
- Eldzier Cortor – a member of the Black Chicago Renaissance, regarded as the first Black artist to center nude Black women (you can find his work at the Art Institute!)
- Oscar Stanton De Priest – Chicago’s first Black alderman and first Black man elected to Congress in the 20th century (1929). He served three terms. His home at 4536 S. King Drive is a national landmark.
- Hazel M. Johnson – environmental activist, known as the ‘Mother of Environmental Justice’. There is a bill working through Congress to nationally honor her in the month of April.
- Father John Augustus Tolton – the first publicly known Black Priest in America; began his ministry in Chicago in 1889.
- Bessie Coleman – first Black female pilot in America. There is a drive named in her honor at O’Hare.
- Florence B. Price – first Black female composer to have a full-length work performed by a major orchestra.
- John C. Robinson – also known as the ‘Father of the Tuskegee Airmen’ and the ‘Brown Condor’, was a Black pilot inspired by Bessie Coleman to fight for equality opportunities in aviation for African Americans. His legacy includes opening his own aviation school and program for Black pilots at Tuskegee.
- Mary Wallace – first woman to work as a CTA bus driver (1974).
- Oprah Winfrey – well, does she need an introduction? You get a car, you get a car, you get a car! Jokes aside, Oprah Winfrey, known mononymously as Oprah, is a talk show host, producer, author, and media mogul. Her talk show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, is what she is best known for; it ran in national syndication for 25 years (1986-2011) and was broadcast in Chicago. She was once the world’s only black billionaire, and was the richest African-American of the 20th century.
- Fred Hampton – fierce civil rights activist, leader within the NAACP, and leader of the Chicago branch of the Black Panthers. He established a Free Breakfast program, negotiated a peace pact among rival gangs, and organized rallies. He was tragically drugged by an FBI agent who infiltrated the Black Panther Party in 1969, was assassinated by Chicago Police officers who were dispatched to drugged & sleeping Hampton’s apartment that same night. CPD fired over 99 shots, the Panthers only one.
- Ida B. Wells – journalist, activist, one of the founders of the NAACP, and an early leader in the civil rights movement. Born into slavery, her career centered around combatting prejudice and violence, as well as equality for African American people. She was awarded the Pulitzer Prize 89 years after her death.
- John H. Johnson – founder of Ebony and Jet magazines, as well as his own publishing company in 1942 (Johnson Publishing Company). He was the first African American to appear on the Forbes 400. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1996.
- DJ Frankie Knuckles – also known as the ‘Godfather of House music’, Frankie played an integral role to the development and popularization of House, which is a genre of music that began in Chicago in the early 1980s. He moved to Chicago from NYC in the late 1970s, and became resident DJ of a club called The Warehouse, owned by an old friend, in 1977. The Warehouse became a sanctuary for the city’s black and gay community. As disco faced challenges, Frankie explored new ways to keep the genre alive in Chicago, eventually leading to the development of House. Frankie once dubbed that house is “disco’s revenge”. In 1982, he started his own Chicago club, the Power Plant. He was indicted into the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame in 1996. In 1997, he won a Grammy for ‘Remixer of the Year, Non-classical’. In 2004, the city of Chicago named a stretch of Jefferson Street, where the Warehouse once stood between Jackson Boulevard and Madison Street, “Frankie Knuckles Way”. August 25, 2004 was also declared Frankie Kunckles Day. In 2005, he was inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame.
- Rev. Jesse Jackson – crucial civil rights leader, minister, founder of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, and hero of international relations. His efforts for civil rights in Chicago and beyond are extensive, so we encourage you to learn as much as you can about him. Notably, his 1984 “Our Time Has Come” speech, which is regarded as his best performance, is the first time the LGBTQ community is mentioned in a speech at a national conference. That same year, he was presented the Chicago Medal of Merit, by Gov. Jim Thompson and Mayor Harold Washington. He was the first person to be honored on a U.S. postmark in 1991, and one of only two Americans to ever receive the honor (the other being John Glenn). In 2000, he was given the Presidential Medal of Honor by Bill Clinton. In 2021, he received the Legion d’Honneur from French President Emmanuel Macron, and was given the rank of Commander of the National Order of the Legion of Honor which is the highest of all French military and civilian honors.
- Barack and Michelle Obama – First Black president and First Black First Lady of the United States. Fun fact: Frankie Knuckles Day was the result of Barack!
- Michael Jordan – Chicago Bulls Hall of Famer, basketball legend, and sneaker culture revolutionary.
While Black History may be the focal point of February, we will leave you with this reminder:
Black History is important today, tomorrow, and always.
💜 Karma Club
Sources:
- https://www.fieldmuseum.org/blog/who-was-jean-baptiste-pointe-dusable
- https://www.iit.edu/community-affairs/about/history-bronzeville
- https://www.chipublib.org/blogs/post/the-chicago-origins-of-black-history-month/
- https://blockclubchicago.org/2022/02/24/10-iconic-black-chicagoans-you-should-know-for-black-history-month-and-beyond/
- https://www.chicagotribune.com/2022/02/24/vintage-chicago-tribune-24-incredible-black-chicagoans/
- https://www.chicagotribune.com/2021/10/07/highlights-in-the-life-of-rev-jesse-jackson-minister-civil-rights-advocate-politician-intermediary-social-justice-proponent-and-covid-19-survivor/
- https://chicago.suntimes.com/2019/2/1/18356543/in-honor-of-black-history-month-here-s-a-list-of-chicagoans-you-should-know
- https://www.archives.gov/research/african-americans/individuals/fred-hampton
- Wikipedia 🙂
