Bronzeville - Chicago Black History - Tours, Great Migration Information, and More

Visiting the Amelia Earhart School - 2007

Mr. Harold Lucas had a wonderful time visiting the children at Amelia Earhart School. Read below to see photos of his visit as well as student reflections on their Chicago history projects.

Seventh and eighth grade class at Amelia Earhart school performed an reenactment of the 1959 play, "A Raisin in the Sun" by Lorriane Hansberry. This project will be entered in the 2007 Chicago Metro History Fair. Select students will be working with the Bronzeville Visitor Information Center to declare the Hansberry residence at 6140 S. Rhodes as a national historic landmark.

Ishmael Smith

My history fair project is titled, “The Invisible Wall: The Triumph and Tragedy of the Woodlawn Restrictive Covenant." When I first started researching restrictive covenants, I had no knowledge of the negative impact of these covenants. My project focuses on the restrictive covenant in the Woodlawn area and the case of Lee v. Hansberry.

The struggle that African Americans faced for adequate housing following emancipation, WWI and the Great Depression, has stained the city of Chicago. This form of segregation violated the United States Constitution and the rights of just being human.

When Mr. Lucas visited my school, I felt honored and appreciated. When a member of the community reaches out to share knowledge to a group of children on a personal level, this is great wisdom. He impressed me so that I will remember that there is hope and in lies in me.

Education is such a valuable instrument to fight the oppressions of racism, discrimination and segregation. I enjoy learning about the past because it helps to guide my future. A great person once said, “What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?” I won’t let my dream dry up.

My project is “From the Black Belt to the Black Metropolis.” This project entails the story of Blacks moving from the South to the North, and how they tried to find better lives. Instead, what they found is that they were segregated against again. Even though the North wasn’t has separate as the South, people gave African Americans negative connotations. People called Blacks “Darkies” and thought they were unworthy of being as much as other people that were white. They also gave the Black Belt a negative name, by calling it ‘Darkey Town” (referring it to how dark African Americans were and that they’re negative). African Americans were looked down upon.

To change this negative outlook Blacks established their own “City within a City” by creating their own entertainment, business and church community. Many people were fascinated by the “Black Metropolis”, and the good things blacks could do. As a result many people changed their negative outlooks on blacks. They began to see that no matter how dark African Americans are there are excellent performers, owners of businesses and jobs. People stop calling blacks ‘Darkies” and stop calling the place where they live ‘Black Belt and Darkey Town’. In the end, the Black Belt is called the “Black Metropolis.”

On Wednesday March 7, my class received a visit from Mr. Harold Lucas, President of the Bronzeville Visitor’s Information Center. What I learned from Mr. Lucas is there is a huge homicidal rate in the black community. I also learned that African Americans need to go to school and get an education because it is very important because that’s what my ancestors fought for. In addition, I learned that it is very important to pass down history and learn my ancestor’s story. It is important that I learn about my ancestors by going to institutions, exhibits, and reading historical nonfiction books. Mr. Lucas showed us many maps. The maps were of the Homicidal rate, Black Belt, and how we as African Americans need to take a stand get educated and make a brighter future.

These are photos from the students' 2006 Chicago History projects:

Ishmael Smith and Genessa Barron with their 7th grade teacher Stacy Stewart at the 2006 Illinois State History Expo in Springfield. The student's work on the Chicago Defender and Brown v. Board of Education recieved top honors at the
State Competition. They have been researching topics on the Bronzeville area for the last 5 years.

Justin Herron, a 15 year old high school student was awarded a refurbished lap top computer by the www.bronzevilleonline.com Community Technology Center for his work in the CTC as a student Network Analyst. The lap top computers were generously donated to the www.bronzevilleonline.com CTC by MC4West, LLC.

Student Network Analyst

My name is Justin Herron, and I recently received a laptop from my uncle Harold Lucas, to help me improve my skills on working with computers. I was able to get the whole understanding of working with computers through school and at home, which got me interested in working with them on a daily basis.
I want to become someone that uses computers because they help build upon the improvement of technology.

The laptop that was given to me is used as a study tool to put in the position of being able to take on challenges or tasks. It was given to me because I am devoted enough to take the responsibilities of an adult being a teenager. I like "hands-on" training which may be better because then you will know what you have to use.

I want to be a computer technologist or someone that majors in working with computers because I feel that I can provide others with a little. Computers to me, are a thing of the present and future and will be the main source of development in our physical surroundings that need developement.

Parent Resources

Parents and friends, please visit the following links for ways to get involved in your neighborhood's Local School Council. Training and other information is provided:

http://cnln.cps.k12.il.us/lsc/

http://cnln.cps.k12.il.us/lsc/resources.html

Excavating Cultural Policy - A PowerPoint Presentation by Lyn Hughes

~ PowerPoint presentation ~

These are two comments from students who have reviewed the presentation:

Comment # 1: This is a great example of a grass-roots endeavor. People who cared enough about their community and its history organized and made the commitment to put forth the effort to sustain and improve it. My limited knowledge of Bronzeville relates to its historic preservation activities, which is something I value, so this presentation was personally interesting to me as well as educational. When I have more time I plan to look at their website to learn more. Thanks.

Comment # 2: I was unaware of any organization like this. This is a great opportunity to build necessary skills in a much-needed area of society. Access is often such a big piece of the educational puzzle that is missing and this agency helps fill in the gaps and increase opportunities. It is wonderful that there is money available to help fund these educational initiatives. This is a great service that is available for all who would love to learn more and increase their skills.

Dialogue with Overton Elementary School

Dear Ms. Brown:

Spoke with LSC representative Cheryl Colbert today about Overton School and I regret that I have not had time to get over to the school more often this year. But, we need to communicate better when there are other community based student activities like the their involvement in a Raisin in the Sun play. Let me know a day or two in advance and I will get by the school and take some pictures of these kinds of student activities.

We have also accumulated some very nice digital photos from my visits to Overton school and www.bronzevilleonline.com. I would love to create a hyperlink directly to Overton's school's website to display the pictures. That should be a relatively easy task to accomplish.

Lastly, the staff of the Bronzevilleonline.com Visitor Information Center which is under construction and is scheduled to open this summer 2005, is working on curriculum development for grammar and high school classes and we want to utilize Anthony Overton K thru 6 as a pilot school. With a focus on k thru 12, the curriculum will also hopefully be piloted in Dyett and the DuSable Leadership Academy. More information to follow shortly...

Let's stay in closer contact so we don't loose opportunities to publicize the good teaching and student learning going on at Anthony Overton school.

PS The Overton Hygienic building located at 3619-27 South State Street has recently changed ownership and the new owners should provide an opportunity for the faculty, parents, teachers and students at Anthony Overton school to get a more in-depth understanding of the new redevelopment plan. This historically significant landmark building named after Anthony Overton, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places under the thematic 'Black Metropolis Historic District.'

Overton Hygienic Building

Address: 3619-27 S. State St.
Year Built: 1922-23
Architect: Z. Erol Smith
Date Designated a Chicago Landmark: September 9, 1998

Built by noted entrepreneur Anthony Overton as the headquarters for the Overton Hygienic Company, which was one of the nation's foremost producers of African-American cosmetics. This four-story structure also housed several of Overton's other business ventures, including the Victory Life Insurance Company and Douglass National Bank, the first nationally chartered, African-American-owned bank. Offices on the second floor were rented to area physicians, lawyers, music producers, and architects. It is one of nine structures in the Black Metropolis-Bronzeville Historic District.

Harold Lucas is Overton Elementary's Principal for a Day

Tuesday October 28, 2003: Today was year three for Harold L. Lucas, President/CEO Black Metropolis Convention & Tourism Council (BMC&TC), serving as Principal for a Day at the Anthony Overton Elementary School located at 221 East 49th Street in the historic Bronzeville comunity.

Mr. Lucas' day began promptly at 8:30 AM with a faculty breakfast meeting compromised of teachers and the new principal, Ms. Loretta Dent. Mr Lucas came bearing gifts of pens and brochures about the Chicago Neighborhood Learning Network, and gave a 30-minute presentation on the history of Anthony Overton and the future of Bronzeville as an emerging market African American heritage tourism destination.

Mr. Lucas also toured various classrooms and talked with students about who they were in relationship to the historic community they were born in, and who they planned to become in the future. Each student was asked by Mr. Lucas if they had an e-mail address. Most of the students did in fact have e-mail addresses and promised to respond on the BronzevilleOnline website by writing about their personal experiences and career path discussions with the Principal for a Day. Mr. Lucas thoroughly enjoyed his experience and hopes to get invited back next year!

The Chicago Neighborhood Learning Network: An Insider’s View, An Outsider’s Look
By: BronzevilleOnline.com

Executive Directors and critical friends involved in the Chicago Neighborhood Learning Network (CNLN), affiliated Community Technology Centers (CTCs) and staff of Chicago Public Schools/ Office of Schools & Community Relations met at Holy Angels Catholic School on August 7, 2003. The CNLN meeting was convened to organize strategic plans for building a citywide network of CTCs in underserved communities.

The History of CNLN
In 1997, the US Department of Education started the CNLN, a grant program used to create a community-based Electronic Learning Network (ELN) in two low-income Chicago neighborhoods, Bronzeville and West Town. The goal of CNLN is to use community-based organizations, schools, and Community Technology Centers (CTC) to help conquer the digital divide through training programs, technology conferences, and cooperative learning. The goal is that all Chicagoans, regardless of income or economic status, have equal access to technology and can use it to create a better life for themselves.

CNLN affiliated CTCs in Bronzeville include: BronzevilleOnline.com CTC, NIU Center for Inner City Studies CTC, Charles Hayes Family Investment Center CTC, Chicago Urban League computer Lab. CYC Elliott Donnelly Youth Center, Holy Angels School CTC, Price Elementary School and Martin Luther King High school. West Town neighborhood CTC affiliates include: Association House of Chicago CTC, Carpenter Elementary School, Erie Neighborhood House, Holy Trinity High School, Humboldt park vocational Center of Wilber Wright College, Northwest Tower Resource Center, Street Level Youth Media and Wells Community Academy High School. This year, for the first time, the CNLN accepted letters requesting collaborative participation in the Bronzeville Electronic Learning Network from the Renaissance Collaborative Inc., CTC, Teen Cyber Tech Cafe, The Sutherland Community Arts Initiative and the 61st Street Business & Property Owners Association.

Our Objectives
The CNLN objectives have focused on building neighborhood empowerment and civic engagement by increasing access to the Internet and its resources; improving and expanding the learning environment of underserved populations; enabling low-income users to better utilize telecommunications to communicate, collaborate and publish; and, most importantly, enhancing the cultural heritage of Bronzeville and West Town.

These objectives are constantly being worked on. Some are already in place. CNLN has been involved at the grassroots level in the two pilot neighborhoods building human capacity by providing free access to the Internet and computer hardware when available. CNLN has successfully built a Digital Network Infrastructure utilizing flexible learning environments, applying technology to communicate and create relevant content, and creating culturally specific archives in two diverse inner-city ethnic neighborhoods.

On May 29-30, 2003, CNLN community outreach organizers and volunteer staff from affiliated CTCs participated in “The Power of Parents: Parent Empowerment Conference” by providing staff to supervise the CNLN/Schools & Community Relations Information Booth. Over 5,000 parents, teachers, students, private sector sponsors and vendors attended this event. During the course of the two-day conference at Navy Pier, CNLN volunteers passed out numerous brochures, pens and informational flyers advertising free technology training. Attendees were receptive, and we are hopeful that many of them will enroll in the training sessions.

The Parent Involvement Conference forged a new collaboration between CNLN and CPS/Local School Council (LSC) leadership. Parents involved in the CPS/LSC approached the CNLN information booth asking questions about how technology could support LSC Leadership Training & Development and assist in building more effective LSCs. Wanda Taylor, LSC President at Price Elementary, has subsequently become a critical friend and member of the CPS/CNLN/BronzevilleOnline.com Electronic Learning Network. Ms. Taylor is actively organizing online and in real time LSC leadership in other Bronzeville schools towards the formation of a Bronzeville Local School Council Federation.

As parents, teachers and administrators approach the 2003 opening of the Chicago Public Schools on September 2nd, the CNLN Executive Committee is working on a strategic plan that measures best practice benchmarks, establishes program evaluation criteria and supports the continuation, expansion and sustainability of the emerging Chicago Electronic Knowledge Network.

The Future of CNLN
African Americans and Hispanics in low-income communities are using CTCs to look for jobs, entrepreneurship opportunities, and other positives mean for wealth generation and success. The CNLN needs progressive private sector partners, industrial businesses, chambers of commerce and neighborhood business associations to embrace this grassroots human capacity building effort. Their future workforce depends on it.

Building on the success of the established ELC in Bronzeville and West Town, the CNLN Executive Committee supports a comprehensive, incremental approach to increased citizen participation in the planning process to expand the ELN into other low-income neighborhoods like Englewood, Auburn Gresham, Roseland, Pullman, South Chicago, and North Lawndale.

This fall, CNLN affiliates will work collaboratively to develop the technological ability for teleconferencing among various CTCs in different neighborhoods. This will allow for videoconferencing between the different CTCs. In addition to joint meetings, this feature can also be used to connect the computer training students with each other or with advanced training that may not be available in their area. CNLN aims to create a better community, alleviate poverty and improve the quality of life for all Chicagoans.

Unfortunately, CNLN’s long-term future is uncertain. The grant program is scheduled to end this year, though the digital divide problems of Bronzeville and West Town have not. As we plan for Year Seven and beyond, many of the member organizations are facing sustainability issues that may impact their quality of programming. Despite this, we press forward because low-income residents are still being displaced, the gap in technical knowledge is not closing fast enough, and the federal digital divide funds that helped support technology infrastructure at local schools are not being given to those who need it most. It is our hope that we can continue our concerted effort to bridge the digital divide, one community at a time.

For more information on the CNLN,
please visit their Electronic Learning Community, www.cnln-elc.net.