Visit Bronzeville

11/24/2022

Join the Washington Park Chamber of Commerce for a Networking event. RSVP is required!

07/01/2022

Jonathan Jackson declared victory against 16 competitors for the Democratic nomination for Illinois’ 1st Congressional District seat, making him Rep. Bobby Rush’s likely successor in representing the deep-blue South Side district. With all precincts reporting, Jackson, a 56-year-old activist and businessman, received 28.1 percent of the vote, according to unofficial returns. He’s the son of civil rights icon the Rev. Jesse Jackson and brother of disgraced former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. “The South Side is going to Washington D.C. with me. if I win, you win,” Jackson said Tuesday during his watch party at the DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center. “We have enormous challenges, from hospitalization to some of the largest discrepancies in life expectancy between Englewood and Streeterville,” Jackson said. “We are seeing an epidemic of gun violence. We are seeing grocery stores close in Englewood. … We are going to take this to HUD; we are going to take this to the Agriculture Department; we are going to take this all through D.C. until we are heard and our lives matter.”

Rising above a crowded field, Jackson is now the favorite to take over for Rush in Congress, as Democrats have held the 1st District seat since 1934.

04/21/2022

As many of you may know, I’ve been working on this project for some time now and it feels surreal to be sharing this news with you today. Dreams CAN come true.

04/02/2022

GRAND BOULEVARD — Two Bronzeville projects to improve food access and environmental sustainability are moving forward as part of a city program to support developments near public transit. Food Matters and the Overton Center for Excellence were among 11 community projects that received grants in the city’s Equitable Transit Oriented Development pilot program in October. Food Matter received $15,000 and Overton got $20,000. A key part of the city’s program is to reinvest in public transit, but it also aims to spur economic development and bring affordable housing, community centers and cultural venues to areas near train and bus lines.

Food Matters and the Overton Center for Excellence received grants last year as part of the city's equitable transit-oriented development pilot program.

03/24/2022

03/21/2022

Happy Heavenly Birthday to the great Nat King Cole! R.I.P. ஆܔ
Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – Feb 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. He recorded over 100 songs that became hits on the pop charts. His trio was the model for small jazz ensembles that followed. Cole also acted in films and on television and performed on Broadway. He was the first African-American man to host an American television series. He was the father of singer-songwriter Natalie Cole (1950–2015).

Cole was inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame and the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame. He was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1990. He was inducted into the Down Beat Jazz Hall of Fame in 1997 and the Hit Parade Hall of Fame in 2007. A United States postage stamp with Cole's likeness was issued in 1994. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000 and the Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2013. His records sold 50 million copies during his career. His recording of "The Christmas Song" still receives airplay every holiday season, even hitting the Billboard Top 40 in December 2017.

Photo © Elmer Holloway/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images

Jazz Improvisers

03/19/2022

03/14/2022

November 14, 1915 – September 29, 2001 - Mabel Fairbanks was an American figure skater and coach. She was the first African-American inducted into the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame. In October of 2001, she was posthumously inducted into the Women’s Sports Foundation Hall of Fame.
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01/29/2022

Join the conversation with author Dawn Turner as she discusses her new book, Three Girls from Bronzeville with writer and critic, Lee Bey.

01/28/2022

Over the past decade, Woodlawn has experienced some of the strongest development and growth of any community on the South Side, without significant displacement—an accomplishment that suggests a path for balanced growth. Filling a demand for new housing in this lakefront community, KMW Communities, an African American-owned for-profit entity, and other local developers have built and sold homes for as much as $700,000—prices unheard of here not so long ago. At the same time, the Preservation for Affordable Housing, or POAH, and other rental housing developers are balancing the equation by protecting and expanding affordable homeownership and rental options. This includes dozens of homes restored and sold affordably and the more than 700 rental apartments POAH built and rehabbed to replace the former Grove Parc Plaza Apartments, as well as its recent purchase of the 240-unit Island Terrace Apartments located directly across from the OPC.

We see Woodlawn’s experience as a model of how to create the diverse communities that truly provide opportunity for all.

01/25/2022

A former Department of Streets and Sanitation building in Grand Boulevard will become a hub for food entrepreneurs, city officials said Monday. The city-owned property will be handed to developer Urban Equities in a $1 sale, officials said. In exchange, the company plans a $4.6 million investment to turn it into Soul City Kitchens, an incubator drawing on interest in food-related ventures along 51st Street between State Street and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. The single-story building is at 5021 S. Wabash Ave. The lot includes land formerly used to park Streets and Sanitation vehicles. Urban Equities plans to provide commercial cooking facilities, test kitchens and related equipment to be rented to entrepreneurs. There also would be a private dining room and community space for rent.

The city has accepted a developer’s proposal to convert the building at 5021 S. Wabash Ave. into commercial cooking facilities and test kitchens.

11/29/2021

Jesse Owens in London after winning four gold medals at the 1936 Olympics.

09/26/2021

BRONZEVILLE — One of Vincent Price’s fondest memories of his friend, the late Black Star Project founder Phillip Jackson, involves a group of teen boys and a fast food restaurant. During a weekly mentoring session, the boys found themselves dissatisfied with the quality of their lunch, which they’d ordered from a place nearby. When they shared their frustrations with Jackson, he encouraged them to do something about it. The boys made picket signs and protested in front of the store, demanding the owners treat their young patrons better. The demonstration proved successful.

The Black Star Project founder would've turned 71 this week. His legacy will be honored at the festival Saturday.

07/31/2021

BRONZEVILLE — If navigating a city budget can be exasperating for public officials, it can be impenetrable for ordinary residents. To help keep the public informed as the city starts its 2022 budget process, racial justice advocacy group Chicago United For Equity is hosting a Budget Block Party, 2 p.m.-5 p.m July 31st at 221 E. 49th St. Participants will learn what comprises the city budget, and how it’s reviewed and approved. They will also work with neighbors to think about what their communities need, design a budget that centers those priorities, learn how to advocate for city funding, and how to lobby their alderpeople for changes in the city budget plan. The event is at the site of the former Overton Elementary School, which closed in 2013. At Saturday’s event, people can sit in on a “fireside chat” with urban historian Shermann “Dilla” Thomas, hear tunes spun by a local DJ, and learn about ways the former school is being reactivated. You can register for the “Budget Block Party” online or show up anytime within the scheduled time period. For more information, visit https://peoplesbudgetchicago.com or call 773-658-5667.

Participants can learn what does into a city budget, and how to advocate for city dollars for resources and initiatives in their communities.

07/12/2021

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06/29/2021

It seemed a simple act, as the ambassador of France to the United States, Philippe Etienne, pinned the asterisk-shaped, green-enameled medal onto the lapel of Perri Irmer, president and CEO of Chicago’s DuSable Museum of African American History. Considering The Order of Arts and Letters is France’s highest honor in the arts — doled annually to only a few hundred people worldwide — it was so much more. “The Order of Arts and Letters was established in 1957 to recognize eminent artists and writers, as well as people who have contributed significantly to furthering the arts and culture in France and throughout the world,” Etienne said at the small, intimate ceremony of family, friends and luminaries Monday night at the museum in Washington Park.

DuSable Museum of African American History President and CEO Perri Irmer received The Order of Arts and Letters for museum programs highlighting the relationship between African Americans and the French.

06/14/2021

BRONZEVILLE — The Prairie Shores apartment complex in Bronzeville is getting a multimillion-dollar clubhouse for it residents as its new owners work to modernize the more than 60-year-old complex. Local officials and residents were on hand Wednesday morning to celebrate the groundbreaking. Construction is scheduled to be done by spring. The project is part of a longterm modernization plan for Prairie Shores, 2901 S. King Drive, a five-tower apartment complex built in 1957 and bought by Farpoint and Golub Development in 2019. The facility will have an array of amenities, including a two-story fitness center with yoga and Crossfit training, a grab-and-go cafe, a room with lounge seating, a game room with a kitchen area and a co-working lounge with a conference room and private computer rooms. It will house leasing and housing offices for the complex, as well. Representatives from Farpoint, Golub, Ald. Sophia King’s 4th ward office and U.S. Rep. Kam Buckner’s office participated in the groundbreaking for the 17,541-square-foot complex, which Golub Senior Vice President Steve Sise said he hopes will bring together residents.

The facility will house a number of amenities to keep residents engaged, healthy and connected with one another.

06/11/2021

BRONZEVILLE — The restoration of The Forum is one step closer to reality after the City Council approved a zoning change allowing the 19th-century building to return to its roots as a performance venue. The Forum, 318 E. 43rd St., previously was zoned for residential use. The change to commercial zoning boosts an ongoing redevelopment aiming to provide a banquet hall, retail and restaurant space. Efforts to rehab the building have been underway for years, with entrepreneur Bernard Loyd pouring his own money into remediation and repairs. Loyd, who owns Urban Juncture, launched a crowdsourcing campaign late last year to defray some of the cost, raising less than half of the $50,000 goal. It will take at least $20 million to bring The Forum back into operation, Loyd told Block Club in February. The City Council vote will allow Loyd to use a $250,000 state grant to continue rehab work on one crucial part of the structure near the 43rd Street Green Line station. Rehabilitation of the West Annex is expected to be completed by 2022.

Now, the team behind the $20 million rehab is fundraising to bring the storied venue on East 43rd Street back to life.

05/17/2021

On April 22, Angela Ford of The Obsidian Collection closed on a $1.25 million loan to become new owner of Bronzeville’s historic Lu Palmer Mansion. Ford is free to establish a museum there but needs a zoning change from the alderman to rent space or otherwise make money.

05/13/2021

Enjoy Smooth Jazz and Shop with Us Friday May 14, 2021.

04/18/2021

One program to advance minority developers was launched last year by and . The partnership, , aims to identify, mentor and fund entrepreneurs of color who have plans to develop projects in their South and West Side neighborhoods. Funded by and the , the partnership launched its first cohort of emerging developers who are paired with experienced developers from the ULI community. Another initiative that aims to advance minority developers is the , or , launched last year by Leon Walker, attorney Graham Grady and Gwendolyn Hatten Butler, president of real estate investment company Capri Investment Group. The group aims to "source and build a pipeline of community-focused developers from African-American, Latinx and other minority communities to participate in commercial real estate development projects citywide," including projects under the .

We examine the problem of access to capital in development and construction here.

04/09/2021

Race in Chicago: Entrepreneurs Pay it Forward to Young Business Owners. A group of mentors is helping young people start and grow their own businesses in an effort to help rebuild Black communities in Chicago. NBC 5’s Patrick Fazio has the story.

A group of mentors is helping young people start and grow their own businesses in an effort to help rebuild Black communities in Chicago. NBC 5’s Patrick Fazio has the story.

03/21/2021

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03/18/2021

An ordinance introduced by Ald. Sophia King (4th) to restrict “house museums” in residential neighborhoods has drawn outrage from a small but passionate community of existing or planned operators of such museums — including projects honoring Black history icons Emmett Till, Phyllis Wheatley, Lu Palmer and Muddy Waters.

An ordinance introduced by Ald. Sophia King (4th) to restrict "house museums" in residential neighborhoods has drawn outrage from a small but passionate community of existing or planned operators of such museums — including projects honoring Black history icons Emmett Till, Phyllis Wheatley, Lu Pa...

03/15/2021

Ida B. Wells’s great-granddaughter Michelle Duster talks about her book “Ida B. the Queen” and her ancestor’s rise in popularity today.

01/31/2021

WASHINGTON PARK — Chicago’s last standing Phyllis Wheatley Home, which offered shelter and resources to young Black women moving north during the Great Migration, is at risk of being ordered demolished in less than two month. The three-story building at 5128 S. Michigan Ave. was built in 1896. From 1915 to 1967, the Phyllis Wheatley Association — named after the enslaved woman who was the first published Black poet in the United States — operated a settlement home there. Up to 22 young Black women lived there at a time as they sought employment in Chicago and got acquainted with their new city. The 125-year-old structure must have its roof and rear wall replaced, owner Ariajo “JoAnn” Tate said. She’s owned the home for three decades, raising her family there while running the nonprofit Training and Educational Resources for Children, which she founded in the ’90s.

Researchers and residents are calling for the preservation of "a tangible place that holds the heritage and spirit of Black women" as the building's owner — and its longtime resident — seeks funding to restore her crumbling home.