All aboard! Join us for a dynamic, interactive guided tour of
Chicago’s historic Bronzeville community!

Duration: 3.5 HOURS
Price: Adult $50.00; Child (5-14) $25.00

View King Drive Walk of Fame, Johnson Publications, Great Migration Statue & Story, Pilgrim Baptist Church, Chicago Bee Building, Ritz Hotel/home to Earl “Fatha” Hines, Sutherland Hotel and 47th Street Blues & Jazz District. If time permits, a short visit to either African Market Place OR Little Black Pearl Art Workshop.

Please Note: This tour has a minimum passenger requirement. In the unlikely event that this tour must be cancelled, the customer will be refunded.

TOUR HIGHLIGHTS:

• King Drive Walk of Fame
• Ritz Hotel
• 47th Street Blues & Jazz District

Tour Details

Dates Available:

Oct 01, 2007 - May 31, 2008 10:00 AM ----T--

Jun 01, 2008 - Sep 30, 2008 10:00 AM ----T--

Jun 01, 2008 - Sep 30, 2008 11:00 AM ------S

Oct 01, 2008 - May 31, 2009 10:00 AM ----T--

Participants should dress comfortably and
Be prepared for moderate walking and stairs at some facilities.
Individual tour dates are available or book a private group tour.

To book now, visit Grayline.com or call (800) 621-4153

For more information call:
Harold L. Lucas, Tour Facilitator
Black Metropolis Convention & Tourism Council @ 773-373-2842

Letters to the ePublisher

Hello Harold Lucas,

This is Mike Arend. I was part of the Iowa State University tour this past weekend. I spoke to you
about Milwuakee's Bronzeville, KC, Memphis, and Detroit. It'll be great to see what comes of the next couple years in terms of new infill development. Thanks again for the tour. You are definitely knowledgeable about the area and urban politics.

Thanks,

Michael Arend
Senior, Community and Regional Planning
Iowa State University
CRP Club APA Representative

Administrator Jim Wessel, left rear in photo on the stairwell within the Bronzeville Visitor Information Center, coordinated three (3) abbreviated Martin Luther King Day/ "Restoring Bronzeville" tours of the historic Bronzeville community on Sunday, January 14, 2007 on behalf of the University of Chicago Office of Minority Student Affairs. The the whirlwind tour of the historic Bronzeville community attracted 130 students and other interested persons.

Harold L. Lucas president/CEO of Black Metropolis Convention & Tourism Council BMC&TC center in photo, is swamped in this picture by highly intelligent and inquisitive 3rd grade students from the National Teachers Academy, who are involved in a geographic study project about the cultural history of the Bronzeville community. Photo credit: www.bronzevilleonline.com

Mona Shea Brownlee first person right in photo, wrote a grant that enabled 35 students from the Big Buddies Youth Services program at the University of Chicago, to view the historic Bronzeville community, tour the Bronzeville Visitor Information Center and have lunch at the Negro League Cafe on March 6, 2006. Photo credit: www.bronzevilleonline.com

Ferris State University Students Experience Bronzeville with Alderman Dorothy Tillman

Ferris State University students and faculty received an added bonus during a Restoring Bronzeville Tour on Saturday, April 2, 2005, when the tour group met 3rd Ward Alderman Dorothy Tillman (second from the left in photo) in the Afro Centric bookstore. Alderman Tillman was suprised and excited to meet the students from Ferris State and promptly took them all on a worldwind tour of the new business located in the African Marketplace development project on the northeast corner of 47th & Martin Luther King Drive. Harold L. Lucas, in collaboration with The Urban Life Center, facilitated Ferris State University's Bronzeville Tour.

Hi Harold,
Thank you for the great picture (I put it on our website) and the link to ULC you put in the caption.

I've sent your site to the Ferris profs, Scott, and Emily.

Have a great weekend,
Valerie

The Social Eye of the Arts Colloquium!
June 9-11, 2005
Urban Life Center
Make Chicago Your Classroom!
1515 East 52nd Place, 2nd Floor
Chicago, IL 60615
1-800-747-6059
http://www.urbanlifecenter.org/

The Women of Racine Wisconsin visit Bronzeville in Chicago

The Women of Racine Wisconsin had a brief visit with Jimilita Tillman (center in photo)
proprietor of the Spoken Word Cafe'the
Spoken Word Cafe'

We ( women of Racine WI.) would like to thank you Harold Lucas for enlightening us on the Black Metropolis- BronzevilleTour taken with you on June 25, 2004.We read parts of the book BRONZEVILLE by Maren Strange so we knew a little about it but nothing compared to your vast repertoire of knowledge. Your professionalism was outstanding. You were there when we arrived at the Metra Station to pick us up. Our transportation was v. comfortable and lunch was delicious. We were all v. impressed with the success of the restorations to the community and know how important it is to keep the neighborhoods thriving. Mary J. is active with NHS here in Racine so she understands why you're so passionate about Bronzeville and work tirelessly on all of your endeavors there. On Sunday, Herbie Baby had a guest ( I think his name was Radar) on his show talking about the "Great Migration Statue" and it felt good because I knew what he was talking about from your tour. We want to take the tour again in the future. Thanks again for a v. stimulating and informative day.

~ Very Truly Yours, Mary Flowers

I was v. surprised to know about Bronzeville and how big it is in Chicago. It's great that African Americans are trying to maintain it. You are a wonderful guy with all the details that you know and it came from your heart. The music was really great. I haven't heard it for a long time. Thanks Harold.

~ Dorothy E.

I enjoyed the tour and realized you were giving an overall view because of the time frame . I would love more in detail and focus on more highpoints. It was v. enlightening to see what was going on in the community and our people standing up to the establishment.

~ Doris H.

You're an excellent tour facilitator. I would have liked to see the Blues exhibition at the museum and more on the high points instead of riding around so much.

~ Barb F.

Very exciting and educational. You are a v. elegant tour facilitator.

~ Mary J.

Chicago State University's Bronzeville Tour a Success!

At noon, on August 6, 2003, Chicago State University students and their teacher, Professor Luthetis Carrie boarded a Davis Transportation bus for the inaugural tour of the historic Bronzeville community.

Students enrolled in this new urban planning and community development class that focuses on past, present and future developments in the historic Bronzeville community, extend a special thank you and warmest regards to State Senator Barack Obama (D 13th District) for his generous contribution in underwriting the cost of the tour.

State Senator Obama demonstrated his support financially for the student tour and had been scheduled to be present for the launch of the tour of Bronzeville. At the last minute, Obama' hectic schedule complicated by his candidacy for US Senator in Illinois, prevented him from being present at CSU to encourage the students, as they embark on new career paths in the emerging market industries of African American heritage tourism, hospitality and Information Technology.

Kathy Henry, one of the students from the tour offered an open letter of thanks to Senator Obama:

Dear Senator Obama:

On behalf of the students of Chicago State's Black Chicago class, we would like to thank you for underwriting the cost of the tourist trip to Bronzeville. Because you were so generous, we were able to see with our own eyes the many treasures that Bronzeville has to offer. Most people in Chicago look at the Bronzeville area as a blight that is destroying the reputation of Chicago. People only know about the poverty and projects in this area, and Bronzeville is so much more than that. Bronzeville has a history so thick, it literally slaps you in the face as soon as you enter that neighborhood. I lived in this area for three years, from 1989 to 1992, and I will never regret my time spent living in Bronzeville. I used to walk past the old mansions, imagining the exquisite parties that were probably given there. I marveled over the architecture of the buildings and it saddened me to see these buildings abandoned and decaying. The Bronzeville area was once the hope of thousands of poor Black immigrants who came to Chicago with nothing in their pockets but dreams. These immigrants made it possible for a student like myself to dream the impossible, to be able to obtain a college education so I can further myself both financially and intellectually. One day I hope to be a world renowned sociologist, not only studying the urban areas of America but offering a solution. I am from the inner city, and I think the field of sociology needs someone like myself who has not only lived in the ghetto but managed to find the courage within to not let the 'hood pull me under like so many others.

Once again, I would like to thank you for your generosity, Senator Obama and I wish you much success in your career.

Sincerely,

Kathy M. Henry

Trace Ellington center in photo wearing a blue shirt with apron, who is also a direct descendant of Duke Ellington, was a gracious host to a group of students from Chicago State University who visited his new Mood Cafe on East 43rd street in the heart of Bronzeville.

Kathy Henry, a Chicago State student gives her take on Trace Ellington's Mood Cafe:

We live in a society that loves to perpetuate the myth that all young Black men are trifling, uneducated, sperm donors who do not have a serious thought in their minds. Any time you turn on the television or read the newspaper, you see reports of young Black men who are killing and robbing. We seldom hear about anything positive from these young Brothers. Well, I did see something positive, and it was on 43rd Street, a street most people in Chicago associate with abandoned buildings and decay. I was on a tour of the Bronzeville area with members of my Black Chicago class at Chicago State and the tour director, Harold Lucus, told us he was going to take us somewhere special. He did. We met a young fella named Trace Ellington. Trace, along with several other young Black male entrepreneurs, have gotten together and purchased a half block on 43rd street between King Drive and Vicennes Avenue. Trace, who is originally from California, owns a coffee shop named the Mood Cafe. Its exact location is 446 East 43rd Street. This shop offers coffee concoctions named after Lena Horne, Miles Davis and several other jazz artists. His prices are much cheaper than Starbucks, and the atmosphere is friendly and laidback. Although most of us did not purchase anything, he was still the consumate professional, showing us around his establishment. This young cat is only twenty-seven years old and he's doing it! Next door is a barber/beauty shop, and several other businesses are coming soon. Trace and other young Black business people are the future of the Black community of Chicago.

"Thank you again for another eye-opening tour of Bronzeville! The students in our Sociology class at Barat College of DePaul were not only intrigued by the information you gave us, but were stimulated to learn more about the neighborhood. One student, Jonathan Shiu, was even moved to create a new Chinese proverb: 'A picture is worth a thousand words, but a field trip is worth a thousand pictures!'"

- Professor Noreen Caulfield, Barat College

"The most impressive aspect of this trip to the Bronzeville community was the rehabilitation of the neighborhood. The attempt to change the neighborhood to its yesteryear’s splendor might be long in coming, but the community members’ efforts are already visible. The knowledge that their attempt to reconstruct their community out of the ashes of negativity makes this community memorable."

- Karen Ramirez, Barat College student (pictured in orange and red shirt above)

Students and faculty of Ferris State University in collaboration with the Urban Life Center participated in the Grand Opening Celebration of the Afro-Centric Bookstore, during a tour of the historic Bronzeville community on April 5th, 2003. This official "Restoring Bronzeville Tour" was facilitated by the Black Metropolis Convention & Tourism Council.

Dear Harold:

I thought I would take this opportunity to write you about the recent tour that you conducted for our Social Work, Sociology, and Public Administration majors. On behalf of the faculty at Ferris State
University, I would like to offer my sincere appreciation and gratitude to you for taking the time from your busy schedule to provide our students with such a wonderful educational experience. Their personal and visual exposure to the history of Bronzeville and its many challenges and
accomplishments in the city of Chicago was far beyond anything that they could have learned in a traditional classroom.

I must say that your knowledge of the community and the manner in which the tour was conducted was captivating. You held our attention for the full afternoon. I overheard one of my colleagues remark that "this is the best experience" he has had in the "Chicago as a Classroom" trip. I personally was struck by the richness of the cultural traditions and contributions of the Bronzeville community. Moreover it is uniquely important that your organization has continued its tireless efforts to preserve the history of the Black experience in Chicago. This indeed has local as well as universal implications in that so much of our history has been lost and/or distorted over the years.

Thank you again Harold, and I hope to return to Chicago soon with another group of students so that they too will be able to share in this great opportunity and your vast knowledge. And last but not least, please extend my thanks to the Urban Life Center for their organization of the trip. Indeed without their work and connection to your organization we may very well have missed out on this experience. In retrospect, I personally would consider that a tragedy. Take care.

Sincerely,

Gerald E. Matthews, PhD., MSW
Associate Professor
Field Coordinator
Social Work Program
Ferris State University

If your students and/or faculty, faith-based organization, community group or business association is interested in participating in an authentic "Restoring Bronzeville Tour," please call Harold L. Lucas at 773-548-2579 or send a e-mail message to Bronzeville2020@aol.com.