Celebrate Black History Month by taking a virtual tour of its founding place, a Bronzeville YMCA
This year, celebrate Black History Month by taking a virtual tour of its founding location, a YMCA in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood. Tours of this historical Chicago landmark are being organized by The Renaissance Collaborative, a Bronzeville social impact organization through their Living Landmark Friendraiser.
Many Chicagoans may be unaware that the roots of Black History Month lead to their own backyard. Carter G. Woodson founded Negro History Week in 1927, at the “Wabash Y” located at 3757 S. Wabash Ave. This celebration became popularized and adopted by Black Americans, and was the precursor for Black History Month, which was made a federal holiday by President Gerald Ford in 1976.
The virtual tour of this historic building can be found at Living Landmark, beginning at the iconic cherry red double doors. Users can then “enter” the five-story structure, where they are offered insights into not just the building, but also its history, with interactive links that reveal photos, fun facts, and news clippings from the last 100 years of the Wabash Y.
The YMCA at Wabash and State opened in 1913, financially supported by Julius Roebuck of Chicago’s Sears, Roebuck and Company. It was a critical welcome point for many Black Americans moving to Chicago during the “Great Migration” who came to the Wabash Y seeking housing, job training and a network of resources in a new and unfamiliar city.
Carter G. Woodson was one of many who moved to Chicago and found a sense of community at the Wabash Y. Here, he decided to start the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, a pioneering group which educated on Black issues in America. It was this Association, under Woodson’s leadership, which would celebrate the first Negro History Week in 1927.
The Wabash Y closed its doors in 1981 due to building deterioration and declining membership rates. However, five years later it was added to the National Registry of Historic Places, and in the 1990s, a $9 million project was announced which was to restore the building to its original condition.
In addition to the free virtual tours throughout February, The Renaissance Collective is culminating their month-long celebration of Black History Month into a livestreamed Facebook event on February 28. The event will feature Dr. Lionel Kimble, professor of history at Chicago
State University, who will speak on the history of the Wabash Y and it’s continued significance in the historical context of 2021.