8 Places In Chicago To Celebrate Black History Year-Round
By Chicagoist_Guest in Arts & Entertainment on Mar 16, 2016 4:32PM
By Marcie Hill
Black History Month may have technically ended a few weeks ago, but in Chicago, it never has to end. Chicago’s history is black history, so much so that the city was founded by a black man: Jean Baptise Pointe DuSable. (More about him in a minute.)
Ever since DuSable's arrival, watershed moments in black history and Chicago history have often been one and the same. Back in 1891, Dr. Daniel Hale Williams opened the first black-run, non-segregated hospital in the country—Provident Hospital and Training School—on Chicago’s South Side. More recently, Chicago-based Illinois senator Barack Obama became the country’s first black president. Chicago was also the birthplace of African-American newspaper the Chicago Defender in 1905, the birthplace of gospel in the 1930s, and much more.
Below, we’ve rounded up eight great Chicago places to celebrate black history and culture year-round.
For over 40 years, the eta Creative Arts Foundation has been telling the story of African Americans through visual and performing arts. This foundation has honed the gifts of thousands of students, some of whom have gained national and international fame: Kel Mitchell of Kenan & Kel got his start by performing here, as did T'Keyah "Crystal" Keyman of Living Color. The foundation’s forthcoming production, “Migration,” highlights the segregation and discrimination Southern blacks faced when they moved north to Chicago for a better life in the early 1900s.
eta Creative Arts Foundation is located at 7558 S. South Chicago Ave.
The downtown statue of Jean Baptiste Pointe DuSable
Just a few blocks from the Magnificent Mile, you can find a bronze bust of Chicago’s founder in Pioneer Court. DuSable, a black man of Haitian descent, was the first settler in Chicago in 1779. The statue was created by artist Eric Blome in 2009, and donated to the City of Chicago by Haitian-born Lesley Benodin.
The statue is located on North Michigan Avenue, just north of the Chicago River.
Ever since actress and playwright Jackie Taylor founded Black Ensemble Theatre in 1976, its musicals have wowed diverse audiences all over the country. To celebrate the theater’s 40th anniversary season, Taylor and her team are performing their greatest hits this year, including The Other Cinderella, an Afrocentric take on the classic fairytale, and Don’t Make Me Over: In Tribute to Dionne Warwick, which follows the singer’s life and features hits like “I Say a Little Prayer.”
Black Ensemble Theatre Cultural Center is located at 4450 N. Clark St.
DuSable Museum of African American History
Named after the same Chicago’s founder the statue above commemorates, DuSable Museum of African American History is the first African American museum in the United States. Legendary teacher and art historian Dr. Margaret Burroughs opened this institution in 1961 to share, preserve and educate people on the history and accomplishments of Africans and African Americans. Today, the DuSable Mobile Museum also takes learning on the road, bringing an interactive exhibit about Chicago’s “Founding Father” to kids throughout the Chicagoland area.
DuSable Museum is located at 740 E. 56th Place.
Most people think of Soul food as Southern, but it also has its roots in the black community—soul food recipes have been passed down through African American families since the 1600s. Try some classic soul food at cafeteria-style MacArthur’s in Austin, where the team serves fried and baked chicken, greens, macaroni and cheese and peach cobbler. Owned by an African American family—MacArthur Alexander and his niece Sharon McKennie—this is such a good soul food spot, it’s drawn clients like Cornel West and Diddy.
MacArthur’s is located at 5412 W. Madison St.
On Black CouTours’ city tours, international travelers and locals alike explore black heritage sites across Chicago. The company’s most popular tour, the Soul Side of the Windy City, is a 2.5-hour motorcoach trip of Chicago, with pit stops at Oprah’s Blues Museum, a one-time Underground Railroad station, and more. The tour company can also whisk travelers off to other states for black heritage tours of other cities, from Indianapolis to Memphis.
Chef Derek Rylon and his partners made (recent) history in 2012, when they opened Batter & Berries, one of the few black-owned businesses in Lincoln Park. This small, cozy cafe is best known for its flights of French toast, deconstructed options, and the Cluck-N-Gaufre: a chicken-stuffed sweet potato waffle topped with fried chicken, drizzled in nutmeg hot sauce and maple butter. The place is BYOB, and Chef Rylon and his wife are known for greeting customers personally. The lines are long, though— expect to work up an appetite while waiting for a table.
Batter & Berries is located at 2748 N. Lincoln Ave.
The South Shore Opera Company is one of Chicago’s best kept secrets. Formed in 2008 by Dr. Marvin Lynn, the company aims to make opera and musical theater accessible to everyone, all while performing works by under-acknowledged black composers such as William Grant Still. (In 2013, the company put on Still’s Troubled Island, which has a libretto by none other than Langston Hughes.) In the spirit of accessibility, the company complements their regular schedule with two free shows every year,
South Shore Opera Company is located at 7059 S. South Shore Dr.