A Chicago-based community organization established more than 100 years ago serves more than 7,000 people annually, but the story of its founder has largely been erased.
American History

Jazz is the foundation of Mark Ruffin’s entire career as a music historian, journalist and broadcaster. In this week’s Black Voices Book Club selection, the principles of jazz composition also inspired his fictional takes on topics of race and intolerance.

A commission charged with reviewing Chicago’s more than 500 public monuments as part of a “a racial healing and historical reckoning project” released on Wednesday a list of 41 monuments that are problematic for a variety of reasons, officials announced.

From Harriet Tubman and Rosa Parks to Marsha P. Johnson and Stacey Abrams, Black women continue to be key leaders in our communities. This Black History Month, WTTW News shined a light on Black women during our February community conversation. Watch it now.

A musical journey through Black history explores how African traditions not only influence music genres today, but how they have helped the Black community celebrate and maintain its traditions.

Princeton University professor Dr. Eddie Glaude Jr. talks about his hopes for the nation — and those of writer James Baldwin — in this week’s Black Voices Book Club selection.

“White Fright: The Sexual Panic at the Heart of America’s Racist History” re-examines the Reconstruction era through the 1960s and offers a new perspective on America’s history of white supremacy. Author Jane Dailey joins us as part of our Black Voices Book Club series.

An ancient sand ridge in the Calumet region became a well-worn route used by enslaved people seeking freedom.

With Black history month underway, we take a closer look at how and what we teach our children about Black history with state Rep. La Shawn Ford, a former Chicago Public Schools teacher, and Maureen Tatsuko Loughnane, executive director of the nonprofit Facing History and Ourselves.

Author and journalist Deborah Douglas said that traveling the civil rights trail is an emotional experience, but one that is worth having in person. “I gained a greater appreciation for the African American experience and what my elders were able to accomplish,” she said.

A commission charged with reviewing Chicago’s more than 500 public monuments as part of a “a racial healing and historical reckoning project” has identified 40 that are problematic for a variety of reasons, the group’s co-chair announced Friday.

Vice President Kamala Harris has spent her career breaking barriers. We discuss the significance of Harris holding the second-highest office in the nation, and what challenges may lie ahead.

We kick off the first installment of our Black Voices Book Club series with a new biography on a Black woman whose legend looms large in Chicago. And it’s written by Michelle Duster, her great-granddaughter.

As part of a memorial service planned by the incoming Biden-Harris administration, Chicago’s skyscrapers will go dark for 10 minutes Tuesday night in remembrance of those who have died from COVID-19. Here’s how you can participate.

It’s a New Year’s Eve tradition. Check out our virtual discussion about the history of Watch Night services with Brandis Friedman, host of “Black Voices,” and a panel of guests.

As Donald Trump’s presidency winds down, his administration is ratcheting up the pace of federal executions despite a surge of coronavirus cases in prisons, announcing plans for five starting Thursday.