"No matter how far a person can go the horizon is still way beyond you."
~ Zora Neale Hurston

Geoffrey & Carmen: A Memoir in Four Movements

Carmen-de-Lavallade-Geoffrey-Holder

Geoffrey & Carmen: Memoir in Four Movements DuSable Museum of African American History Opens: February 9, 2013 The DuSable Museum of African American History in association with the California African American Museum (CAAM) will present an exhibition, Geoffrey and Carmen: A Memoir in Four Movements. The exhibition will include more than 90 paintings, sculptures, photographs, [...]

Buried Treasures: Art in African American Museums

Booker_T__Washington

Buried Treasures: Art in African American Museums will draw attention to the rich legacy of art produced by African Americans within the collections of 30 African American museums. The exhibition will display approximately 90 works of art including works on canvas and paper, sculpture and mixed media from many noted 19th and early 20th century [...]

Red, White, Blue & Black: A History of Blacks in the Armed Services | Chicago, IL

africa-american-soldiers-ww2

The call to serve one’s country has always been a special significance in conferring the highest claim of citizenship and patriotic responsibility. The irony however, for the more than 14 million black men and women who have served in the armed forces of the United States, the right to serve, fight and die for America [...]

Spread the Word! The Evolution of Gospel from Chicago to the World | Chicago, IL

mahalia-jackson

This exhibition developed by The DuSable Museum celebrates the rich history and contributions to Gospel Music and is centered primarily on gospel’s Chicago origins. With Chicago being the “home” of Gospel, Spread the Word!: The Evolution of Gospel from Chicago to the World, recognizes some of the greatest Gospel singers of all time, included are [...]

Soul food disappearing in Chicago as Blacks leave

soul_food

Duct tape covers a large crack in the premier booth at Hard Time Josephine’s Cooking, where waitresses still call you “sweetie” and customers come for the steaming shrimp bisque and homemade peach cobbler with just a hint of cinnamon. Not so long ago, an eyesore like this at one of Chicago’s top soul food restaurants [...]

Chicago’s Home of Chicken & Waffles, Chicago, IL

chicagos-home-chickens-waffle

The menu selection offers generous portions of fried chicken, southern fried catfish and grits, omelletes, grilled salmon, lemon pepper grilled catfish, peach cobbler, sweet potato pie and of course, our famous waffles, just to name a few. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served all day and you can even BYOB from 5pm to 9pm ($10 [...]

Macarthur’s | Chicago, IL

Macarthur’s | Chicago, IL

Chicago’s Finest Soul Food Macarthur’s is the tastiest soul food you can get outside of your grandmother’s kitchen! The staff is friendly, the flavors are savory and robust, the meat juicy and the cobbler made to perfection. In his 2006 book “The Audacity of Hope,” President Obama describes MacArthur’s as “one of my favorite restaurants [...]

Chicago Blues Festival | Chicago, IL

chicago blues festival

Now looka here…I did not say I was a millionaire…But I said I have spent more money than a millionaire! Cause if I had’ve kept all my money that I’d already spent, I would’ve been a millionaire a looong time ago… Howlin’ Wolf – “Goin’ Down Slow” The Chicago Blues Festival is an annual event [...]

Army & Lou’s Restaurant | Chicago, IL

Louis Army

One of the oldest black-owned restaurants in the Midwest, Army & Lou’s Restaurant has been a Chicago institution for decades. Since 1945, this establishment as maintained quality service, food, and its original award-winning recipes. Old school dining ambiance with real tablecloths and very simple decor. Sit in some of the same booths Dr. King, Jesse [...]

Edna’s Restaurant | Chicago, IL

Discover Black Heritage Good Eats

A frequent meeting ground for leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. during the Civil Rights Movement, today’s Edna’s Restaurant  serves up some of the most popular soul food in all of Chicago. For lunch or dinner, one can’t go wrong  with  the ribs, catfish, and fried chicken. For sides, go for the biscuits, greens, mac [...]

Victory Monument | Chicago, IL

victory-monument-chicago

Located in Chicago’s Black Metropolis-Bronzeville Historic District, the Victory Monument was built to honor the Eighth Regiment of the Illinois National Guard, an African-American unit that served in France during World War I. The monument features 4 bronze panels and a sculpture of a soldier atop that was added in 1936. Dedicated on Armistice Day [...]

Love at First Site: Bronzeville Online

bronzeville-online

Bronzeville Online is one of the most comprehensive sites dedicated to the historic Bronzeville community (the “Black Metropolis”), the birthplace of Chicago’s version of the Harlem Renaissance and home to many famous African-Americans, including Gwendolyn Brooks, Richard Wright, Louis Armstrong, Bessie Coleman, Ida B Wells, Andrew Foster, and many more.