Bronzeville: Chicago’s Harlem (Virtual)

One Book, Everyone Reads 2022

Join us in a conversation about the role that Bronzeville played in shaping the Black Literary Renaissance Movement and how that legacy lives on today.

Historically, Harlem has been recognized as the epicenter of the cultural experience known as the Black Renaissance. What is seldom spoken about is the important role and contributions the Chicago neighborhood of Bronzeville played in the development of the Chicago Black Renaissance Literary Movement. Nestled in this southside mecca are places, spaces, and experiences that shaped such literary and intellectual giants as Horace Cayton, St. Clair Drake, Richard Wright, Zora Neale Hurston, Langston Hughes, Gwendolyn Brooks, and Arna Bontemps.

Presented by cultural curator and preservationist Dr. Angelyn Anderson, whose research focus is education and preservation efforts of historic and cultural capital within the African-American community. Her area of interest is the impact of gentrification on historic and cultural preservation, specifically in Bronzeville and similar communities. Through the Neighborhood Perspectives Project, she continues to study the impact of gentrification on historic and cultural preservation as a way to create conversations and educational opportunities about community history. Dr. Angelyn also serves as the curator of reClaiming Bronzeville™, a space created to catalog and share the powerful stories about Bronzeville as a way to preserve the stories and history of the neighborhood. She resides in Bronzeville, is an authentic taco connoisseur and an avid DIYer.

Once you register for the event, you will immediately receive your Zoom link to log in the evening of the program. 

This program is presented as part of the library’s One Book, Everyone Reads community reading program. Learn more about the series and this year’s selected book, Three Girls from Bronzeville by Dawn Turner, here.

Make sure to join us for our signature author event, a conversation between Dawn Turner and Alex Kotlowitz, on Wednesday, May 11, at 7pm. Register here.

One Book, Everyone Reads is funded by the Friends of the Wilmette Public Library.

Upcoming events