Chicago, IL

Barack Obama Residence

DESCRIPTION: Soon after Barack Obama became the senator from Illinois, he purchased his Georgian revival mansion on the South Side in 2005; today it goes down in hisotry as the home of the brother who shattered "The" Glass Ceiling en route to become President; the house is also close to the University of Chicago where Obama also taught law

ADDRESS: 5046 South Greenwood Ave  MAP

Jean Baptiste Pointe Du Sable Homesite
DESCRIPTION: In 1779 Jean Baptiste Pointe Du Sable (1745-1818) built the 1st permanent settlement and trading post here; thus, Du Sable is the Founding Father of Chicago; he also developed a friendly relationship with nearby Pottawatomi, Iroquois, and Oneida Indians making it possible for further settlement; his home was a 22 by 40 foot log cabin filled with fine furniture and paintings; although Du Sable began as a fur trader, his enterprises as a miller, cooper, and husbandman grew to the extent that he added two barns, a horse mill, a bakery, dairy and smokehouse; white traders and Native Americans employed by him settled around the establishment he built; a non-descript plaque to the founder of Chicago was recently dedicated; let us hope that more enlightened leaders of Chicago give this man’s accomplishments proper and proportional dignity with a larger monument

ADDRESS: 401 North Michigan Ave   MAP

Johnson Publishing
DESCRIPTION: Founded 1945 by John H Johnson, this site is the home of Ebony and Jet magazines; the distinctive headquarters building that faces Grant Park was designed by African American architect John Moutoussamy; the building includes a famous art collection; ranked as the top 5 industrial company by Black Enterprise magazine

DAYS & HOURS: Mon-Fri 9a-5p

ADDRESS: 820 South Michigan Ave   MAP

PHONE: 312-322-9200

WEBSITE: http://www.johnsonpublishing.com

Historic Michael Jordan Restaurant
DESCRIPTION:When Jordan was the toast of the town, his name and image adorned one of the largest restaurants in town and the crowds of patrons loved it; Jordan often dined in this red-brick building after games; but alas he licensed was his name +image, but did not own his restaurant; he and the owners parted ways on bad terms, but it was good while it lasted in the 1990s

ADDRESS: 500 North LaSalle Street  MAP

Chicago Defender Newspaper Headquarters
DESCRIPTION: Always at the forefront of the civil rights struggle, many sleeping car porters circulated the newspaper widely in the South during Jim Crow, which attracted thousands of migrants to Chicago; John HH Sengstacke (1912-1998), nephew to Abbott, took the newspaper’s mission to the next level; Sengstacke influenced President Franklin D Roosevelt to name the first Black correspondent in White House and hire Blacks in the U.S. Postal Service; President Harry S Truman asked him to serve on the Committee on Equality of Treatment and Opportunity in the Armed Forces which resulted in the desegregation of the military; in the 1940s, Sam Lacy, Paul Robeson and Sengstacke influenced major league baseball and Branch Rickey to hire Jackie Robinson on the Brooklyn Dodgers; in 1956 Sengstacke converted it from a weekly to a daily newspaper

DAYS & HOURS: Mon-Fri 9a-5p

ADDRESS: 2400 South Michigan Ave  MAP

PHONE: 312-225-2400

WEBSITE: http://www.chicagodefender.com

PUSH-Rainbow Coalition Headquarters
DESCRIPTION: People United to Serve Humanity was founded by Rev Jesse L Jackson and other prominent leaders in 1971; the organization is housed in a large former synagogue; this national human rights organization works to enable equal rights and opportunities for all people; each Saturday morning a live radio program with community activists present is broadcast nationwide; PUSH has enjoyed some success in its economic reciprocity efforts and countering corporate discrimination

ADDRESS: 930 East 50th Street  MAP

PHONE: 773-373-3366

Vee Jay Records Building/Record Row
DESCRIPTION: Founded in 1953 by Vivian Carter and Jimmy Bracken (wife & husband), Vee Jay ushered in the R&B music era; it was the largest Black owned record label until the rise of Motown Records; before R&B record companies gravitation to New York and Los Angeles, Vee Jay and Chicago were major parts of the music industry; Chicago’s Record Row extended from 1200 to 2600 S Michigan; it recorded 1950s - 60s hit-makers Jimmy Reed, McGuire Sisters, Jerry Butler, Curtis Mayfield and the Impressions, Dee Clark, Betty Everett, Gene Chandler (Duke of Earl), Dells, Staple Singers, John Lee Hooker and Little Richard; Vee Jay also owned a Jazz label called Abner which recorded Wayne Shorter and Wynton Kelly; Vee Jay suffered a quick decline after its move to LA in 1964

ADDRESS: 1449 South Michigan Ave  MAP
and previously 2129 South Michigan Ave  MAP

Third World Press
DESCRIPTION: Founded in 1967 by acclaimed poet and essayist Don L Lee to publish the works of Black writers; today Lee is known as Haki Madhabuti; Third World Press has enabled/assisted Gwendolyn Brooks, Amiri Baraka, Sonia Sanchez, Haki Madhabuti, Dudley Randall, Mari Evans and many other Black writers to reach the public with an unfiltered voice

DAYS & HOURS: Mon-Fri 9a-5p

ADDRESS: 7822 South Dobson Ave  MAP

PHONE: 773-651-0700

WEBSITE:  http://www.thirdworldpressinc.com

Final Call Newspaper Headquarters
DESCRIPTION: Founded in the 1930s as the Final Call to Islam, evolved into Muhammad Speaks in the 1960s when it boasted a 2.5 million monthly circulation; with a hard-hitting editorial edge from an Black perspective, The Final Call tackles controversial national and international news and issues; earned its place as valuable news source to its readership in North America, Europe, Africa and the Caribbean; the official communication vehicle of the Nation of Islam; published by the Louis Farrakhan

ADDRESS: 734 West 79th Street  MAP

PHONE: 773-723-3318

WEBSITE:  http://www.finalcall.com

Captain Ernest A Griffin Place
DESCRIPTION: Funeral home is located on the former site of Old Camp Douglas where many African Americans were inducted to serve during the Civil War; Capt Griffin was born at this site and his grandfather served in the Fighting 29th US Colored Infantry during the Civil War; mindful of the historic significance of the area, Capt Griffin Place exhibits many weapons, mementos, battle logs and soldier photos

ADDRESS: 3232 South Martin Luther King Drive  MAP

PHONE: 312-642-2420

Supreme Life Insurance Building
DESCRIPTION: Founded in 1919 as Liberty Life by Frank Gillespie, and later renamed Supreme Life; during the depression it was one of the largest African American insurance companies in the nation; Earl B Dickerson, the first African American to graduate from U of Chicago Law School successfully guided the company through the Depression; Black Metropolis Tourism Council now owns the building and plans to renovate it into a tourism office

ADDRESS: 3501 South Martin Luther King Drive  MAP

Grand Terrace Ballroom
DESCRIPTION: First opened in 1921 as the Sunset Cafe, it was the Bronzeville equivalent of Harlem’s Cotton Club; after closing in 1937 the richly adorned club featuring great jazz and high steppin’ showgirls reopened as the Grand Terrace, but was still controlled by Al Capone; in fact Fletcher Henderson, Earl Hines, and a young Count Basie were among the cavalcade of now famous house musicians who worked here; its now a hardware store

ADDRESS: 315-317 East 35th Street  MAP

Eighth Regiment Armory
DESCRIPTION: Another Bronzeville linchpin listed on the National Register of Historic Places; erected 1898, it is the first armory for a regiment trained and commanded entirely by African Americans; the Eighth Regiment was noted for its meritorious service during the Spanish American War and WW I; originally began as a volunteer regiment, the “Fighting Eighth” was incorporated into the 370th US Infantry during WWI

ADDRESS: 3533 Giles Ave  MAP

PHONE: 773-495-9840

Overton Hygienic Building
DESCRIPTION: A former slave and entrepreneur, Anthony Overton built this structure in 1923 which symbolized the heights of achievement in Bronzeville; it included Overton Hygienic - a black cosmetic firm, Victory Life Insurance, Chicago Bee, Half Century Magazine, Douglass National Bank, Theater Owners Booking Association for Black performing acts, and Walter T. Bailey - Chicago’s 1st black architect; in its heyday Overton Hygienic sales extended to Africa and Japan; the building was recently restored to host a number of entrepreneurial activities again

ADDRESS: 3619-3627 South State Street  MAP

Chicago Bee Building
DESCRIPTION: Opened in 1931 it was the last major building erected in Bronzeville; tenants quickly established it as the second hub of economic, social and political activity in the area; Anthony Overton moved his Chicago Bee newspaper here; the attractive building features a green terra cotta facial; the renovated building is a now a library; also home to Center for Cultural Empowerment Through Literacy -a joint venture between De Paul University and Chicago Public Library which has graduated 40 people in the short lifespan of the program

ADDRESS: 3647-3655 South State Street  MAP

PHONE: 773-747-3468 library

Wabash Ave YMCA
DESCRIPTION: Founded in 1911; analogous to Ellis Island for European immigrants to America, the landing point for Black migrants from the South to Chicago; this YMCA was a sterling example of brotherhood was by philanthropist Julius Rosenwald, who erected this building; in the 1910s-1920s the YMCA was filled to capacity while staff provided job training, located homes, and job contacts to new arrivals who gave Bronzeville low cost labor and energy for entrepreneurship

3763 South Wabash Ave  MAP

Chicago Defender Original Site
DESCRIPTION: The newspaper was founded at this site in 1905 by Robert Sengstacke Abbott; the site is a state historic landmark

ADDRESS: 3435 South Indiana Ave  MAP

Ida B. Wells-Barnett Residence
DESCRIPTION: 1862-1931; home of the world renown civil rights and women’s rights advocate and newspaper publisher; Ida’s stinging anti-lynching editorial struck a nerve in her former home town of Memphis, where racist thugs burned down her newspaper and forced her to leave; she also played an early role in the formation of the NAACP

ADDRESS: 3624 South Martin Luther King Drive  MAP

Richard Wright Residence
DESCRIPTION: 1908-1960; he is famous for writing such stirring novels as Native Son and Black Boy, both of which chronicle a slice of Black life in America during the 1930s and 1940s

ADDRESS: 3743 South Indiana Ave  MAP

Andrew “Rube” Foster Historic Marker
DESCRIPTION: 1879-1930; Rube was considered by most historians to be the Father of Negro Leagues Baseball; though he founded the Negro National (Baseball) League in Kansas City in 1920, Rube lived near this corner

ADDRESS: 39th Street at Wentworth Ave  MAP

Dr Daniel Hale Williams Residence
DESCRIPTION: Dr. Williams (1856-1931) led a citywide fundraising drive to build Provident Hospital in 1891-- the nation’s first hospital controlled by and primarily serving African Americans; internationally famous, Dr Williams performed the world’s first successful open heart surgery at the original Provident Hospital site; impressed with his accomplishments, President Grover Cleveland named Dr Williams Surgeon-in-Chief at Freedmen’s Hospital in Washington, DC; site is a National Historic landmark

ADDRESS: 445 East 42nd Street  MAP

Original Checkerboard Lounge
DESCRIPTION: For years it featured the most authentic Delta Blues atmosphere in the city; everyone who’ anyone in the Blues has played here before moving to Hyde Park

ADDRESS:  423 East 43rd Street  MAP

Joe Louis Residence
DESCRIPTION: The “Brown Bomber” moved to Chicago in 1935; a frequent patron of all nearby community establishments, Louis helped make Bronzeville the “Joint” to see and be seen; Joe earned the Heavyweight Boxing title on 22 June 1937 -- that night when the Bronzeville was one big party; Joe held the title for 11 years and 8 months -- that’s still a record

ADDRESS: 4326 South Michigan Ave  MAP

Oscar S. De Priest Residence
DESCRIPTION: De Priest (1871-1951) was the first African American elected to the US Congress from a district north of the Mason/Dixon line; while serving in the congress from 1929-1934 he fought for civil rights legislation and funding for traditional black colleges; a National Historic Landmark since 1965

4536-38 South Martin Luther King Drive  MAP

Savoy Ballroom Site
DESCRIPTION: This is where people used to dance all night on weekends; across the street the Regal Theatre rivaled the Apollo Theatre in its ability to attract the biggest names in Black entertainment before integration; today the Harold Washington Cultural Center, a worthy successor, occupies the site

ADDRESS: southeast corner of 47th Street at Martin Luther King Drive  MAP

Robert S. Abbott Residence
DESCRIPTION: (1870-1940) Abbott founded the Chicago Defender in 1905, he shepherded the newspaper to become the most widely circulated African American paper by 1917; a large reason for its circulation was Abbott’s editorial decision to consistently address acts of racism in the South and convincing Sleeping Car Porters to sell the paper on southern routes; this paper, more than any other, led African Americans from the Mississippi Delta to migrate to Chicago and other northern cities; a National Historic Landmark since 1976

ADDRESS: 4742 South Martin Luther King Drive  MAP

Elam House
DESCRIPTION: Built 1903, this Chicago Landmark designed in a Chateau-style was purchased in 1926 by Melissia Elam; she operated the 32-room dwelling as an elegant boarding house for single African American working women

ADDRESS: 4726 South Martin Luther King Drive  MAP

Wendell Phillips High School
DESCRIPTION: Built 1904, the school was named for Wendell Phillips (1811-1884), the staunch abolitionist who was one of the leading figures in the Abolitionist Movement; though it began as racially mixed school, by 1920 it became Chicago's first predominately African American high school; the school's basketball teams formed the nucleus of a group that later became the Harlem Globetrotters; the school counts Nat "King" Cole, Dinah Washington, John H. Johnson, George E. Johnson, and Alonzo S. Parham, the first African American to attend West Point, as alumni

ADDRESS: 244 East Pershing Road  MAP

Provident Hospital
DESCRIPTION: Continuing the fundraising leadership established by Dr Daniel Hale Williams, John H. Sengstacke Chicago Defender ‘s second publisher, led the fundraising drive for this modern $50 million Medical Center -- sustaining it as the primary health care center for African Americans on the Southside; the original and 2nd locations of Provident Hospital have been torn down

ADDRESS: 500 East 51st Street  MAP

Roberts Hotel and Club
DESCRIPTION: Arguably the nation’s largest African American owned club in the 1950’s; Herman Roberts, a black taxicab entrepreneur turned his 55 cab garage into a showplace which featured Sammy Davis, Jr., Dinah Washington, Count Basie and Dick Gregory among others; the saying goes that Roberts expanded into the hotel business to accommodate stars rather than wait for them to arrive from other locations; the building awaits renovation

ADDRESS: 6222 South Martin Luther King Drive  MAP

Elijah Muhammad’s Compound
DESCRIPTION: One factor that drove the Honorable Elijah Muhammad from Detroit back to Chicago occurred in 1942, when at 45 years of age he was arrested for allegedly “evading the draft”; winning his release from prison some years later, he returned to Chicago to lead the Nation of Islam; as the NOI grew the Honorable Elijah Muhammad (1897-1975) built several mansions surrounding the corners of Woodlawn & 49th St, including one for himself; by the early 1960s Readers Digest described the Honorable Elijah Muhammad as the most powerful Black man in America; Muhammad Ali has lived in one of the mansions; The Honorable Louis Farrakhan lives here; no visitors

ADDRESS: 4847 South Woodlawn Ave  MAP

Oak Woods Cemetery
DESCRIPTION: This large cemetery is the final resting place for many famous African Americans, including banker Jesse Binka, 8th Regiment Colonel Franklin Denison, Thomas A Dorsey; Jesse Owens, Harold Washington and Ida B Wells

ADDRESS: East 67th Street at South Cottage Grove Ave  MAP

Mahalia Jackson Residence
DESCRIPTION: 1911-1972; former home of the world’s greatest Gospel singer; aside from signing at her church in Chicago, Mahalia also lent her talents to sing at many gatherings during the Civil Rights Movement

ADDRESS: 8358 South Indiana Ave  MAP

Harold Washington Historic Marker
DESCRIPTION: 1922-1987; near the residence of Chicago’s first and beloved African American mayor; tragically, he suffered a heart attack while in office, just as he began to roll out his agenda for a better, more equitable Chicago

ADDRESS: 5300 South Shore Drive  MAP

Soft Sheen Products
DESCRIPTION: Founded by Edward and Betti Ann Gardner in 1964; they found an opening in the market by targeting African American hair care professionals; the company now calls itself the largest maker of ethnic hair care products in the world; call for weekday tours Mon-Fri 8a-5p

ADDRESS: 1000 East 87th Street  MAP

PHONE: 773-978-0700

Highland Community Bank
DESCRIPTION: Founded 1970; CEO - George R Brokemond; was one of the nation's largest African American banks

ADDRESS: 1701 West 87th Street  MAP

PHONE: 773-881-6800

Seaway National Bank
DESCRIPTION: Founded 1965; CEO -- Walter E Grady; just a hair behind Highland Bank in assets, Seaway is ranked as the 5th largest African American bank

ADDRESS: 645 East 87th Street  MAP

Johnson Products
DESCRIPTION: Founded in 1953 by chemist George Johnson and hairstylist Orville Nelson; in 1954 Johnson spilt from Nelson, then introduced his hit Ultra Wave products; the company moved here in 1960, reached $1 million revenue in 1965, and became the first Black-owned company to list on the NYSE; perhaps it is best known as the sponsor of the Soul Train TV program, purchased by the Carson Corp

ADDRESS: 8522 South Lafayette Ave  MAP

PHONE: 773-483-4100

Oak Park, IL

Dr. Percy Julian Residence
DESCRIPTION: One of America’s most prominent scientists with earned degrees from Depauw, Harvard and Vienna Universities plus 18 honorary degrees; his research led to treatments for arthritis and fire fighting agents; Dr. Julian was honored with a U.S. Postage Stamp in 1991; his home is a National Historic Landmark

ADDRESS: 515 North East Ave  MAP