BLACK HISTORY MONTH PRORGRAM AT SITE OF ITS ORIGINS IN CHICAGO AT THE HISTORIC WABASH YMCA

FREE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

CHICAGO, IL, UNITED STATES, January 27, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- In February Black History Month is widely celebrated in the U.S. and around the world. Its origins can be traced to a meeting at the Chicago Wabash Avenue YMCA, where a group of African American leaders, led by historian Carter G. Woodson, founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH) in 1915. Inspired by the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of emancipation in 1926, they established Negro History Week, aimed at promoting the systematic study of Black history and educating the public. Woodson chose the month of February because it included the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglas, both key figures in emancipation. Negro History Week, an observance of the contributions and achievements of Black people throughout history, eventually became Black History Month.

The building where Black History Month was born played a significant role in Chicago’s Great Migration story as interpreted by the Bronzeville Black Metropolis National Heritage Area. The Great Migration commenced around 1916 when six million Black people seeking a better life fled the Jim Crow South to cities in the North like Chicago. The Wabash Avenue YMCA was the first YMCA in the Midwest to serve people of color. During the Great Migration, it became the place where Black people could find housing, job training, and other social services.

This February, the Bronzeville Black Metropolis National Heritage Area, in partnership with The Renaissance Collaborative a social services organization formed in 1992 to restore and preserve the Historic Former Wabash YMCA, with the proceeds of a grant provided by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, are teaming up to create an exhibition encompassing the story of the Great Migration, the building of the Wabash YMCA, and the founding of Black History Week.

On February 28 at 10:00 a.m., Bernard Turner, executive director of the Bronzeville Black Metropolis National Heritage Area, will present an overview of the origins of Black History Month with a preview of what the exhibition and curriculum for students and the public-at-large will entail at the Wabash YMCA located at 3757 South Wabash Avenue. Seniors from the community are invited to visit, to be interviewed, and filmed about their experiences at the Wabash YMCA. These events are the precursor to regularly scheduled tours for students and the public that will begin upon the anticipated completion of The Renaissance Collaborative’s restoration of the Wabash YMCA later this year.

For additional information about Black History Month, the Great Migration, or the Wabash YMCA program on February 28, contact Bernard Turner at bturner@blackmetropolis.org or (773) 425-2807.

Robin Malpass
Robin Malpass & Associates, Inc.
+1 312-508-0228
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