Curbed Chicago: 10 notable Chicago projects designed by black architects

One of the noted masterpieces by Black architects include the library at Chicago State University. Feel free to check the full list over at Curbed Chicago in the tweet below.

10 notable Chicago projects designed by black architects https://t.co/EjczZajGmL pic.twitter.com/dC3LLToasM

— Curbed Chicago (@curbedchicago) February 20, 2018

Here's an ig post showing the library at Chicago State shared in the Curbed Chicago piece.

Seaway Bank's website is back up...

Click for larger resolution

Down since Friday as of Wednesday the online home of Seaway Bank is back up with a descriptor "Welcome to the State Bank of Texas". Seaway Bank was closed by the FDIC and state authorities with the bank taken over by the Indian-American owned State Bank of Texas.

How appropriate that we start Black History Month talking about Black-owned banks with a column by Mary Mitchell. The loss of Seaway Bank itself as a Black-owned financial institution she says is a wake-up call. She notes the long history of such banks dating back to the Civil War.

Let's start with the situation of the only locally owned Black-owned bank left - Illinois Service Federal:

In recent years, Chicago has lost several black-owned banks, including Highland Community Bank and Covenant Bank, a black-owned bank on the West Side.

When Illinois Service Federal Savings & Loan Association, founded in 1934, threatened to fail, the Nduom family of Ghana stepped up and invested $9 million to rescue it.

Papa Kwesi Nduom, a former Deloitte & Touche partner who chairs the bank’s board of directors, said you cannot take Seaway’s closure in isolation.

 “Many of our banks have been closing in good part because of the housing market prices. All banks were hit, but it hit black banks the most,” Nduom noted in a phone interview.

He listed three reasons for the discrepancy: low level of capital; most vulnerable customers; and the areas where black banks operate have been the slowest to get out of the housing slump.

“The values have not risen like some of the other majority areas. If you are holding a mortgage from our community, you are bound to sustain losses, and when you combine those losses with the low levels of capital that our banks begin with, then you see a swift erosion of capital and inability to continue,” Nduom said.

He pointed out that “big banks were bailed out but small banks did not get any help.”

“Our banks have been left to sink or swim. Only a few have managed to find resources and enhance their capital and to be recapitalized. Seaway tried but could not get people willing to invest their monies to recapitalize or strengthen its capital base,” he added.

And then there's more a new challenge for Black-owned banks in this country. According to this column as of 2016 there had been 24 such banks down from 54 in 2001:

“It took 13 black men to start Illinois Service Federal because the people in the community could not get mortgages from anywhere else,” Nduom reminded me.

“You come to the present where the well-to-do in the community have a variety of places to go to meet their needs. But somehow the places that they go have not included the black banks,” he said. Additionally, he pointed out what black banks have been funding is not the “best portfolio.”

“But somebody’s got to do it and it will not be the big majority bank. It has to be a strong community bank,” he said.

“How do you become a strong community bank? You need the best customers — individuals and businesses — in addition to the marginal ones. You need a variety. That is what our broader community needs to understand. If somebody is going to help the community out, everybody has to help. If people have choices, they must make the choice to help our community,” he said.

 The Seaway Bank name survives but can the business itself survive under new ownership? Will the communities Seaway serves in Crestwood, Maywood, Chatham, Bronzeville, and Roseland continue to use the products & services it provides? Time will tell what the future holds.

Happy Memorial Day

On this occassion we'll honor the Buffalo Soldiers who are members of the US Army's 9th & 10th Cavalries. This unit was active from roughly the end of the Civil War all the way through the second World War. They were given the names by the various Native American tribes of the west as a term of respect comparing their courage with the fighting spirit of the buffalo.

Some of this information and the above painting was retrieved from the Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club of Delaware.

Black World Cinema program for February

Every February Black World Cinema has a program commemorating Black History Month. Normally they screen a film the first Thursday every month. During Black History Month a film is screened every Thursday. We just received this email in time for next month's events:

Black World Cinema is now in it’s 10th year at SMG Chatham 14 Theaters and in February will present the BLACK FUTURE MONTH film series.

Black Future Month will explore AfroFuturism through real science documentary, the science of the imagination in drama, animation, comic books and the experimental ideas of Black Radical Imagination.

The 4 week series will take place at Chatham 14 Theaters, 210 W 87th St, every Thursday at 7pm. General dmission is $6 per ticket. Every week we will feature someone from the science or creative community to engage the audience with lively discussion about the exciting films being screened during February.

Please share this email with friends, educators, film fans and kids(not for the Feb 5 program). If you have marketing ideas for this program, places we should contact, please email floydwebb @ gmail.com with your suggestions. Thanks, hope to see you in February.

Every week I do plan to advertise the week's movies during Black History Month or for BWC Black Future Month. This looks very interesting and hopefully I can catch one of these films if not all of them.

West Chesterfield - a historically Black neighborhood

9351 S. Michigan Ave

The image below is a history of the West Chesterfield neighborhood. It was recieved to this blog in a recent email with this introduction:

The West Chesterfield Community Association encourages communities to get to know their Black Histories as a sense of pride it may instill in neighbors and our youth. We applaud Chatham, Pullman, Riverdale and other communities that are doing this.

The West Chesterfield Neighborhood occupies the area from 87th to 95th State Street to Dr. Martin Luther King Drive. North West Chesterfield occupies census track 4406. The area north of the B&O rail tracks is in the Chatham Community.

Do you know the enclave of West Chesterfield south of the 91st Street and B&O rail tracks occupying Roseland’s census track 4903 is a historically black area?. This is the primary area of our association.

The picture to the left is of the West Chesterfield Cultural Center. The last paragraph at the bottom of the image below shows a history of this bungalow where the neighborhood association hold their monthly neighborhood meetings.

St James Lutheran Church - Black History Month

Pastor William E. Hall, the newly installed senior pastor of St. James Evangelical Lutheran Church at 8000 S. Michigan, post this piece of local Black History on his Facebook page:

Black History Moment:

Rev. Robbin W. Skyles III

This is Rev. Robbin W. Skyles III, who founded St. James Lutheran Church, the first African-American Lutheran Congregation in the State of Illinois.

He was 29yrs old when he founded St. James, and can you guess where... I serve as pastor at the age of 29.

ST JAMES LUTHERAN!

Happy to be apart of Black History.
ST JAMES LUTHERAN!

Happy to be apart of Black History.

 
We hope to get more info to post information this history on our blog.

Just Another Moment In Black History

The following comes from our neighbor Rev. Dr. Marc Robertson 

JUST ANOTHER MOMENT IN BLACK HISTORY 

"Just imagine that I took you on a trip, blind folded to some unfamiliar neighborhood but on a street that looks just like yours. Once we got to that particular block not a soul was insight. I removed the blind fold from your eyes and I asked you, “Is this a white neighborhood or a black neighborhood”? What would be the basis for your conjecture? And whatever your conjecture may be, what does that say about you? And what does that say about US as black people and a black community? 
Today, we live in a society where most everybody wants to be politically correct. People are afraid to speak truth. We just allow anything and everything to go on and no one says a word because of fear of being persecuted or not being liked for standing up for what is right. Some Pastors, the Church and the black community are plagued by a spirit of apathy and God hates apathy, “So because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I am about to spit you out of my mouth” (Revelation 3:16). 
There are things that go on in our neighborhoods that should not be tolerated. Have we lowered our standards? Or do we even have any standards? The standard that we should live by must be the word of God. (1 John 4: 5-6). 
Why is it, that if Mr. Charlie lived on the block, people would respect him, be polite to him, wouldn’t be rude, mean, inconsiderate and obnoxious and would maintain their property value, just for Mr. Charlie? Do we as black people hate ourselves that much that we can’t take pride in what God has given us or even loving your neighbor as yourself? Or have we been so indoctrinated by “Willie Lynch”1, that it has blinded us from what God created us to be? 
History has a way of repeating itself. Look at all our black leaders who fought for us during segregation and for civil rights. Who were the main ones that turned their backs on them? Who stabbed and tried to kill Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.? (1Thessalonians 2:15). I guess some things never change but just imagine if they did? This is just another moment in black history." 
A Luta Continua---The Struggle Continues. I Won’t Give Up! 
Rev. Dr. Marc A. Robertson, B.A. M.A, M.Div, D.Min. 
Community Servant and a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc, since 1981. 

Footnote: 1, Willie Lynch: The Willie Lynch Letter And The Making Of A Slave, 1712.

February is Black History Month

You know, I don't recall if there has ever been a dedicated acknowledgement of Black History Month here on this blog. The audience for this blog and the areas we hope to cover are predominantly Black and hopefully if we ever did BHM themed posts it would be appreciated.

On RAGE's FB page they asked whether or not BHM is still relevant. It's relevant in more ways than one and knowing history is very important.

I've simply come to a conclusion that Black history isn't merely reciting dates, facts, and biographies. Also we're also making history everyday. It's for that reason that I hope to start reading more for BHM.

There are some books on my reading list that would be considered must reads in February. For example, many of us mourned the death of South African President Nelson Mandela last year. How many of us has read his book The Long Walk to Freedom. While it's a book from a different country it's still a relatable story.

There is also Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave written by Frederick Douglass himself. Who here has read this book starting at least in elementary school as I did? If only I was actually willing to read back in those days. And now since it's a public domain book there's really no excuse to not read it at all!

Another book, that I started reading recently but have yet to finish is Up from Slavery by Booker T. Washington. If you don't know who that is he's especially known for founding Tuskegee University, an HBCU located in Alabama. It's another autobiography worth reading about someone who was also born into slavery or at least born immediately after slavery's abolition. This book is also available in the public domain, so again no excuse to not read it.

Of course there are other books worth reading if you're into local focus. Perhaps you could read Jahmal Cole's book - The Torch of Decency - which is about Chicago's Chatham Community. There's also the late Dempsey Travis' book An Autobiography of Black Chicago & An Autobiography of Black Politics. And those aren't the only books worth reading from Dempsey Travis either.

What are you doing to mark Black History Month? Do you have any books to recommend reading for Black History Month? What would you do to make history yourself?

REMINDER: Black History Presentation Whitney Young library

We posted about this on January 19th. It's still coming up February 7th (TONIGHT) at Whitney Young Library - 7901 S. King Dr - to start at 6 PM. An updated flyer was sent to us by event organizer Jahmal Cole.

JEWEL-OSCO Kicks Off "A Taste of Black History

JEWEL-OSCO will get an early start at celebrating Black History Month with a special "A Taste of Black History" VIP Shopping Event.

Thursday
January 24,2013
3pm-7pm
Jewel-Osco
1655 E. 95th Street 
Chicago.
Open to the public, the free event will feature:

• 
  Appearance and autograph signing by Celebrity Chef Josh Marks, runner-up in FOX-TV's "MasterChef" reality cooking show.



• 
  Food sampling from more than 30 of the retailer's African-American food vendor partners, including several Chicago-based companies.



• 
  Live music by band Zzaje



• 
  JEWEL-OSCO will award a total of $10,000 in donations to St. Felicitas Church Food Pantry, Grant A Wish Food Pantry and one other community organization serving the African-American community



• 
  Enter sweepstakes for a chance to win up to $1,000 in JEWEL-OSCO gift cards



• 
  Special saving opportunities.

The purpose of the event is to recognize the contributions and achievements of JEWEL-OSCO's African-American vendor partners and celebrate "Black History Month."

The vendors will visit the following stores

Saturday, February 2nd	Noon – 5 p.m.	87 W. 87th St. (Chicago)
Sunday, February 3rd	Noon – 5 p.m.	7530 S. Stony Island Ave. (Chicago)
Monday, February 4th	Noon – 4 p.m.	3153 W. 183rd St. (Homewood, Ill.)
Saturday, February 9th	Noon – 5 p.m.	2485 W. Howard St. (Evanston, Ill.)
Sunday, February 10th	Noon – 5 p.m.	9400 S. Ashland Ave. (Chicago)
Monday, February 11th	Noon – 4 p.m.	17705 S. Halsted St. (Homewood, Ill.)
Saturday, February 16th	Noon – 5 p.m.	1655 E. 95th St. (Chicago)
Sunday, February 17th	Noon – 5 p.m.	9400 S. Ashland Ave. (Chicago)
Monday, February 18th	Noon – 4 p.m.	87 W. 87th St. (Chicago)
Saturday, February 23rd	Noon – 5 p.m.	7525 W. Lake St. (River Forest, Ill.)
Sunday, February 24th	Noon – 5 p.m.	443 E. 34th St. (Chicago)
Monday, February 25th	Noon – 5 p.m.	11730 S. Marshfield Ave. (Chicago)

EVENT: Black History Presentation Whitney Young library

What:    Black History Month Presentation
When:   Thursday, February 7th @ 6pm
Where:  Whitney Young Library 7901 S. King Dr.
Who:     Role Model Movement

Refer to graphic below for more details.

Burnside Academy history comes alive on Friday.

We blogged about him in January, as he was featured in the Chicago Suntimes about the desegregation effort that Burnside was a part of.

He will now discuss his story live with the current students of Burnside Academy. Kindergaretn - 4th grade will hear him from 8:30 ~ 9:30am.  At 9:35, the 5th - 8th graders will hear him speak.

Contact Burnside Scholastic Academy for details. Burnside is located at 650 E. 91st Place, with a phone number of (773) 535-3300;  Fax of (773) 535-3230;  Email =>  burnside650 (at) yahoo.com  ;  and the website is at http://www.burnsideacademy.net/

Tony Burroughs, outside of the Burnside School 650 E. 91st Place, where 50 years ago the first demonstration against Chicago Public Schools system of segregated and unequal education took place. Friday, January 13, 2012.
Brian Jackson~Sun-Times





Black History Month: R.L. Dukes Oldsmobile

[VIDEO] The video above is an ad from R.L. Dukes Oldsmobile "The Dealmaker" commercial from 1982. They once resided at 78th & State Street back in the day. If you can't visualize this corner, this is where Northern Trust Bank is now!

This blog post at Chicago Now noted the Black-owned car dealerships that had existed in Chicago. This is "The Vociferous Envoy" said about R.L. Dukes Oldsmobile:

His GM counterpart was Rufus L. Dukes, better known as R.L. Dukes, who first had Thomas Beckley Dodge on west 63rd Street back in the 1950's one of the first African American Dealers in the country. He then was better known for R.L. Dukes Oldsmobile on 78th & State in Chatham. He called himself "The Dealmaker" you may remember the TV commercials as late as the 1980's. My grandparents lived at 78th & Wabash at that time and though a small child, I remember riding past the dealership and being a kid who loved cars, marveled at the store and the inventory. Mr. Dukes passed in 1987.

A personal connection with this dealership involved my father. He liked to look at cars often whether old or brand new. He was also a verifiable Oldsmobile man and he'd probably be crushed to know that the brand was discontinued. Anyway he once came home with a car from R.L. Dukes but my mother forced him to take the car back and they did! Although I'm sure he successfully bought a vehicle from that particular dealer at least once before that.

VIDEO: African American Bank

[VIDEO] Seaway Bank was featured on the WCIU program You & Me last Friday. You will see Walter Grady, said to be the longest serving bank CEO in Chicago as well as feedback from bank customers. Duration is about a minute and a half.

Chicago Civil Rights-Era Bank Weathers Financial Storm

EDIT 10/1/12 The video version of this story is available at Seaway Bank's website!

If you saw the Tweet or the status on the Facebook page then you were already aware of this piece on FOX Chicago Friday night. In fact, you probably should have been able to tune in for that segment when it aired.

Anyway, here's some of the history of Seaway. I urge you to watch the video above or read the whole write-up (updated link no video though)!

The banking bias of the mid-60s is what inspired the founders.

The major banks had all left the neighborhood as blacks moved in. Businessman Ernest Collins went to a downtown bank and applied for a $25,000 loan.

"The loan officer informed him, ‘Well you can put up $25,000 and we'll loan you $25,000,” said Walter Grady, president of Seaway.

Grady said Collins turned that disrespect into a business plan.

"You needed a million dollars in order to apply for a charter," Grady recalled.

“I think to begin with, our first cost of a share of stock was 20 bucks or something like that,” Dickens added.

The founders got the charter in 1965, and embarked on a mission to prove black money is green and small money can grow.

While the average account balance may be much smaller than the major banks, loyalty adds up. Seaway’s bottom line has never been in the red in its 45 years of existence. And the deposits now add up to nearly $400 million.

You know I've always admired the history. The bank's founders sold shares door to door. If only I was that bold!

BTW, it was noted that a $20 share of Seaway stock would be worth $1000.

Open Blog- Let us know whats on your mind

If you are planning on attending any great Black History month events or have anything on your mind please post on the blog.

IL Poet Laureate's home to recieve landmark designation

This is the home of poet Gwendolyn Brooks and it may be receive recognition as a landmark along with two places that were homes to black writers. Story from CBS2Chicago:

Some of the most noted African American writers in the world grew up in Chicago. It's a source of pride the historical committee of the Chicago City Council recognized Monday. CBS 2's Dorothy Tucker reports the homes of Lorraine Hansberry, Richard Wright and Gwendolyn Brooks are on the way to becoming designated landmarks.
...
The award -winning play, "A Raisin in the Sun", was written by South Sider, Lorraine Hansberry. It was based on her family' s experience when they moved into an Englewood two flat, which back then, was predominantly white.

Darrell Brewer rents the apartment at 6140 S. Rhodes that the Hansberrys once owned. It was here, according to history, that 7-year-old Lorraine was almost hit by a brick thrown through the window from an angry white mob.

That's a slice of Chicago history some members of the City Council want to preserve. So on Monday, the Committee on Historical Landmark Preservation proposed an ordinance designating the Hansberry home, a Chicago landmark.
...
Another building, at 4831 S. Vincennes, destined for landmark status, is the home of author Richard Wright. It was here he wrote the critically acclaimed novel, "Native Son."
...
The home of Illinois Poet Laureate, Gwendolyn Brooks, is another home on the landmark list. Brooks wrote more than 20 books, many of them when she lived at 7428 S. Evans.

"It just makes me feel so good to know that she was recognized the world over and I lived next door," said former neighbor Norma Jackson.

The vote on the landmark status is expected at a meeting of the city council on Wednesday.

BTW, I wrote about this home earlier so landmark designation for Brooks' home isn't exactly old news. I used Google Streetview to find this house but to no avail. The pic provided above was from a screen shot of a video story from CBS2.

Truth Be Told - a Celebration of Black Heritage presented by ICE Theaters

Screenings every Thursday at 7PM with after screening discussions during February. For schedule and more information http://www.icetheaters.com/blackworldcinema.asp

Young Republicans Plan To Convert Democrats

WBBM-TV:

Young Republicans are on a mission to turn heavily Democratic Chicago into John McCain country. As CBS 2's Mike Parker reports they're fired up for the grand old party.

On Friday night, in the heart of Democrat country – downtown Chicago - young Republicans and members of "Young Professionals for McCain" got together. They were networking, snacking and drinking, and talking about Sarah Palin and her much discussed appearances on ABC News.
...
Friday's gathering seemed to show that Democrat Barack Obama has not completely sewn up the youth vote.

"Obama can effectively speak the language of millennials, people who were born in my generation and that is an issue that must be dealt with," said Nick Schrock, McCain supporter. "The addition of Palin to the ticket does help that."

Organizers of the bash say they think they've got a fighting chance to actually win Chicago.

Noted in the article was that in 1984 Republican Ronald Reagan won only 10 of Chicago's 50 wards. As far as taking Chicago, the Chicago Board of Elections were unable to find a modern presidential election where Republicans had carried the city.

South Side Community Art Center showcases black Chicagoans

A video from Channel 2 about the oldest Black art center and the oldest surviving WPA (Works Progress Administration, New Deal era, existed roughly 1939 to 1943) in the nation. They are collaborating with the Chicago Defender to exhibit some photos from the Defender's archives to honor Chicago's black businesses. The center itself is located at 3831 S. Michigan Avenue.

ADDITION: Their website is here! Their blog added to the blogroll.