Bronzeville is a large neighborhood on the city’s South Side running south of Cermak Road between Lake Michigan and King Drive on the east and the Dan Ryan Expressway on the west; 47th Street was and remains the hub of the neighborhood. During the Great Migration of the 1910s, the population of the area increased dramatically as Black Americans fled the segregated South in search of jobs and an improved quality of life. Residents included Ida B. Wells, Gwendolyn Brooks, Lou Rawls, Louis Armstrong, and many others. A portion of the neighborhood was designated as the Chicago landmark Black Metropolis District in 1998.
Historian Bernard Turner will discuss how Bronzeville became a Black Metropolis and why it is now a National Heritage Area. He will take a look at the places and people who tell the important story of Bronzeville and how it has become an international tourist destination and cultural epicenter.
Bernard Turner is the executive director of the Bronzeville-Black Metropolis National Heritage Area, focused on preserving the history and culture of Bronzeville. Author of several books about Chicago and African American History, including A New View of Bronzeville and Tate and His Historic Dream, Turner also conducts neighborhood tours and step-on guide tours. He also serves on the boards of the Camp Douglas Restoration Foundation and the Bronzeville Trail Task Force.
Our free annual program in honor of Black History Month is co-sponsored by Glessner House, Friends of Historic Second Church, Quinn Chapel A.M.E. Church, and Second Presbyterian Church.
This program will be recorded and a link will be sent to all registrants. The link will remain live for seven days following the program.
The program is free of charge but registration required.