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Chicago Defender Archives

Finding Aid: Chicago Defender Archives
Repository: The Chicago Defender


Maker: Official Photo U.S.A.A.F. by AAF training command
Owner: Public Domain
Note: Chicago Defender
(l to r) Chicago Defender publisher John H. Sengstacke, his older brother Whittier Sengstacke, and Louis Martin, John Sengstacke's Hampton classmate, a Defender contributor, and later an advisor to President Lyndon B. Johnson, ca. 1940.
Note: Chicago Defender
(l to r) Dorothy Dandridge, Harry Belafonte, and Pearl Bailey, stars of the 1954 film version of Oscar Hammerstein's Carmen Jones, an adaptation of the George Bizet's opera Carmen.
Maker: Irving C. Smith
Owner: Irving C. Smith, or his estate
Note: Chicago Defender
Sammy Davis Jr. and Nat King Cole, ca. 1955.
Note: Chicago Defender
Starting in 1929, the Chicago Defender began hosting an annual Bud Billiken Parade and Picnic on the South Side of Chicago. Duke Ellington was a frequent entertainer at the parade, appearing numerous times over a period of thirty years. This photograph was likely taken on August 1, 1959, when Ellington greeted more than 500,000 spectators as the headline act of the 30th annual parade.
Note: Chicago Defender
(l to r) James Baldwin, Chicago Urban League Executive Director Edwin 'Bill' Berry, Doris Blueitt, and Urban League board member Hank Schwab at a 1963 dinner in Baldwin's honor for the benefit of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE).
Note: Chicago Defender
Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley (4th from left) with leading African American politicians, including Ralph Metcalfe (5th from left), Charles Chew (r) and Alderman Benjamin F. Lewis (3rd from left), who was murdered two days after being re-elected in 1963.
Note: Chicago Defender
The first Greek-lettered sorority established and incorporated by African-American college women, AKA was founded at Howard University in 1908; a second chapter was founded at the University of Chicago in 1913. There are currently more than 900 chapters in the United States, all of which aim to improve social and economic conditions through community service initiatives and programs. This photograph was taken at a demonstration in Chicago, ca. 1970s.
Note: Chicago Defender
Marvin Gaye joins Reverend Jesse Jackson at the Pro Bowl Football game in Los Angeles, ca. 1970. Gaye had recently headlined at Jackson's Black Expo in Chicago (in 1969).
Maker: G.R. Crowder
Owner: Motown Photo
Note: Chicago Defender
A young Jesse Jackson with his family, ca. 1974.
Note: Chicago Defender
Harold Washington, mayor of Chicago, introduces a young Oprah Winfrey as keynote speaker for the Illinois Leadership Conference on Drug Abuse at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, 1986.
Note: Chicago Defender
A candid shot of Chicago mayor Harold Washington, ca. 1985.
Maker: Brian Jackson
Owner: Brian Jackson, or his estate
Note: Chicago Defender
Chicago mayor Harold Washington comforts Friar George Clements at the scene of the famous Holy Angels Church fire in 1986.
Maker: Antonio Dickey
Owner: Antonio Dickey, or his estate
Note: Chicago Defender
Gwendolyn Brooks, likely receiving one of her more than seventy-five honorary degrees, ca. 1980s.
Maker: Roy Lewis
Owner: The Contemporary Forum
Note: Chicago Defender

Images and an overview of the artifacts.