History of Black Chicago in Pics

1779

Black man as founder of the city of Chicago! Jean Baptiste Pointe Du Sable (1745-1818)

Here is an artist's recreation of the house of at the junction of the Chicago River and Lake Michigan which was the home of Jean Baptiste Pointe Du Sable.

He was the first person to permanently settle and irrigate Chicago, then a land called Eschikago or 'land of wild onions' by the semi-nomadic Potawatomi tribe.

Du Sable was born on the Island of Haiti. His Father was a French Sea Captain and his mother an ex-slave. Du Sable was educated in France before settling in America with his Native American bride, Catherine. Du Sable went on to be a successful pioneer and entrepreneur establishing the first permanent trading post on the Chicago River in 1779. He was officially recognized in 1968 by the State of Illinois for having been the Founder of Chicago.

Early 1900s

Year 1914 A Basket Weaving Class at the Raymond School on 36th Wabash-
Note the mixed race class. Earliest Black migrants to Chicago often found themselves alongside Jews, Irish, German and Italians.

RACE RIOTS of 1919
original caption: 
Negroes under protection of police leaving wrecked house in Chicago riot zone. 1919

1920s

Brotherhood of  Pullman Railroad Car Workers -1920

Migrants from Alabama arriving in 1920's Chicago

1930s

Social mavens at The American Midwest Horse Show held in Chicago.
THE place to be in 1938

Cornelius Coffey (September 6, 1903 - March 2, 1994) was the first African American to be licensed as both a pilot and aeronautical mechanic. During the 1930's he operated the Coffey School of Aeronautics on Chicago's South Side and many of his 1500 students went on to become Tuskegee Airmen. He also invented a carburetor heater to prevent icing, and a variation of it is still being used.

1940s

Brother standing on the corner of 44th and State in 1941. Photo by Edwin Rosskam.

#bronzeville #southsidechi

Spring in Bronzeville circa 1941

1950s

1950's Rosenwald Apts. 45-47 Michigan

Cool and clean on Maxwell St. -1957

Cabrini Green Public Housing Project 1959
At it's peak it housed 15,000. When erected 50% of residents were employed. By the infamous 1980's, this number was at 10%

Black workers board #3 bus on Michigan Ave-1958

1960s

Robert Taylor Projects- 1962

#GOAT #MuhammadAli flirts with Belinda Boyd at a south side bakery in 1966. 
She eventually became his wife, Ms Khalilah Ali....

BLACK PANTHER BOBBY SEALE on trial in front of Judge Hoffman for conspiracy, inciting to riot and other charges related to the violent confrontations at the 1968 Democratic Convention here in Chicago. The Chicago Seven (originally Chicago Eight, also Conspiracy Eight/Conspiracy Seven) were seven defendants—Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, David Dellinger, Tom Hayden, Rennie Davis, John Froines, and Lee Weiner—charged with conspiracy, inciting to riot, and other charges related to protests that took place in Chicago, Illinois on the occasion of the 1968 Democratic National Convention. Bobby Seale, the eighth man charged, had his trial severed during the proceedings after hurling bitter attacks at Judge Hoffman in court, calling him a "fascist dog", a "honky", a "pig", and a "racist", among other things. Seale had wanted the trial postponed so that his own attorney, Charles Garry, could represent him (as Garry was about to undergo gallbladder surgery). The judge denied the postponement, and refused to allow Seale to represent himself, leading to Seale's verbal onslaught. When Seale refused to be silenced, the judge ordered Seale bound and gagged in the courtroom, citing a precedent from the case of Illinois v. Allen.[9] (This was alluded to in Graham Nash's song, "Chicago", which opened with: "So your brother's bound and gagged, and they've chained him to a chair"). Ultimately, Judge Hoffman severed Seale from the case, sentencing him to four years in prison for contempt of court, one of the longest sentences ever handed down for that offense in the US up to that time.[10

MLK at podium at Soldier Field during 1966 rally for Chicago Freedom Movement. This movement was a call for fairer housing practices in Chicago.

‪#‎blackchicago‬
‪#‎MLK‬

1966- Cabrini Green

Black Panthers-1969
 CAN YOU SPOT THE CONGRESSMAN?
photo courtesy of Archives of Michael James, Rising Up Angry and Heartland Journal. Photo taken outside WTTW at a press conference on the 1 year anniversary of Martin Luther Jr.'s assassination. The groups include the Young Lords Organization, the Black Panther Party, the Young Patriots, and Rising Up Angry. The first three groups (the Young Lords Organization and the Black Panther Party) made up of the Rainbow Coalition and hosted the press conference to call on their communities to quell riots and racial violence.

FBI letter recommending the mailing of an anonymous letter implying a threat so as to instigate animosity between the Chicago chapter of the Black Panthers and the Blackstone Rangers who at that time were an organization very similar to the Panthers themselves

PHOTO – CHICAGO – 4800 W WASHINGTON – STUDENTS FROM AUSTIN HIGH SCHOOL ON PROTEST MARCH TO BOARD OF EDUCATION DOWNTOWN – 1968

Courtesy of John Chuckman 

45TH LAKE PK in 1964

1970s

The Little Dipper at Fun Town Amusement Park on 95th an Stony Island circa 1970

Imagine the limited entertainment options for Black youth in the 60's and 70's and you'll understand FunTown's importance

Circa ~ 1970 on 43rd floor of the Chicago Board of Trade we have Don Cornelius and the SOUUUULLLLL TRAAAAAINN!

Bb King on WCIU broadcast of Don Cornelius' as of yet syndicated SOUL TRAIN, circa 1970

Black Soul Singer Isaac Hayes Performs At The International Amphitheater In Chicago As Part Of The Annual Push 'black Expo' In The Fall Of 1973. The Annual Event Showcases Black Talent Educational Opportunities, Stars, Art And Products To Provide Blacks With An Awareness Of Their Heritage And Capabilities, And Help Them Towards A Better Life, 10/1973 

Foxy Mama on Chicago and Wabash- mid 1970's

Art ensemble of Chicago with_fontella_bass

1980s

Tribune headline on April 13th, 1983
Election of Harold Washington as Mayor of Chicago

 

1984

Mayor Harold Washington introduces Keynote Speaker Oprah Winfey at Illinois Leadership Conference on Drug Abuse at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, 1986.

1990s

South on 63rd Halsted from the El- circa 1992

Sept 19, 1994 cover of Time magazine spotlighting the short life of Robert "Yummy" Sandifer whose murder made national headlines during Chicago's ultra violent 90's.
Sandifer was killed by his own gang who feared he was going to become a police informant because of his having had participated in and witnessed several murders

The Robert Taylor Homes housing project- circa 1995

2000s

Circa 2004
Original caption:
Illinois State Senator Barack Obama, D-Chicago, talks with his daughter Malia, 5, as his wife Michelle holds their other daughter Sasha, 2, in their hotel suite on the evening of the US Senate Democratic primary Tuesday, March 16, 2004 in Chicago. Obama is in a seven-way race in the Democratic state wide primary.