Education

Dates: 1974-2004. Size: 6 linear feet. Accession #1983/02. Chicago Public Library, Woodson Regional Library, Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature. The collection documents the work of the Chicago Chapter of the Black Caucus of the American Library Association. The collection includes founding documents, minutes, correspondence, flyers, financial documents, photographs and memorabilia. [Processed]

Dates: 1931-2011. Size: 2.5 linear feet in 4 boxes and 7 photographs, plus 3 oversize folders. Chicago Public Library, Sulzer Regional Library, Northside Neighborhood History Collection. Amundsen High School was constructed in 1930 on Damen Avenue at Foster Avenue in Winnemac Park on the North Side of Chicago. Originally a junior high school, it was converted to a four-year high school in 1933 and has continued to serve as a high school since that time. The collection contains yearbooks, clippings, programs, the school newspaper, and photographs Photographs from this collection are available in the Library's Northside High Schools Digital Collection. [Finding Aid]

Dates: 1881-1987. Size: 6.5 linear feet in 14 boxes, including 17 photographs. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Special Collections, Neighborhood History Research Collection, part of the Austin Community Collections. This collection documents Austin High School from its earliest days in the 1870s through the federally mandated desegregation attempts of the 1960s and 1970s. The documentation includes histories, news clippings, photographs, programs, student publications and yearbooks. [Finding aid]

Dates: 1951-2006. Size: 3 linear feet. Accession #2009/04. Chicago Public Library, Woodson Regional Library, Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature. Warren Bacon was a prominent Chicago civic leader and member of the Chicago Board of Education. Bacon opposed the policies of Chicago Public Schools superintendent Benjamin Willis. The papers include photographs and documents from Warren’s career and from his wife, Mary, and from their membership in the Great Black Book Club. [Finding aid]

Dates: 1939-1963. Size: 3 linear feet. Accession #1999/01. Chicago Public Library, Woodson Regional Library, Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature. Charles Bishop, retired professor at Malcolm X College, researched early 20th century African American culture as part of his family history investigations. His family history is centered in Louisiana, Mississippi and Chicago. Collection contains theatrical posters, photographs, magazines and research materials. [Partially processed]

Dates: 1918-2010. Size: 336 linear feet. Accession #2003/08. Chicago Public Library, Woodson Regional Library, Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature. Professor emeritus at City Colleges of Chicago, Timuel Black is a prominent historian, author, human rights activist and expert on Chicago’s African American history. During the 1960s, he was president of the Negro American Labor Council, Chicago Chapter  and organizer of Chicago participation in the 1963 March on Washington. Black was active in more than 100 organizations over seven decades. The collection includes extensive organizational files, correspondence, manuscripts, subject files, oral histories, audiovisual materials, photographs and memorabilia. Additional papers relating to the life and work of his children, Timuel Kerrigan Black (1963-1993) and Ermetra Black-Thomas, were accessioned in 2007. Selected items from the collection are available online in the Timuel D. Black Jr. Digital Collection. [Finding aid]

Dates: 1992-2006. Size: 6 linear feet. Accession #2005/02. Chicago Public Library, Woodson Regional Library, Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature. Willie E. Box, educational administrator and author, donated his collection of research materials on African American museums. The papers also include pamphlets and brochures. [Partially processed]

Dates: 1975-2006. Size: 132 linear feet. Accession #2004/02. Chicago Public Library, Woodson Regional Library, Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature. Leroy Bryant served as chair and professor of history and African American studies at Chicago State University, and was active in civil rights work. His collection largely consists of extensive subject research files on a wide range of topics in African American studies. Many of the sources in the files are not widely available. An especially significant collection centers on the history of African Americans in Florida. The papers also include manuscripts, monographs, serials and correspondence. [Partially processed]

Dates: 1866-2007. Size: 32 linear feet. Accession #1983/03. Chicago Public Library, Woodson Regional Library, Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature. Horace Cayton was a nationally prominent black sociologist, co-author of Black Metropolis and director of Chicago’s Parkway Community House. Collection consists of correspondence, published and unpublished manuscripts, photographs, subject research files, memorabilia and oral history recordings. In the last years of his life, Cayton conducted research, including interviews, on the life of noted black author Richard Wright. Housed with Cayton’s papers is his personal library, with many author-inscribed books. Selected items from this collection are available in the Library's Chicago Renaissance Digital Collection. [Finding aid]

Dates: 1945-2016. Size: 9 linear feet Accession #: 2016/02.Chicago Public Library, Woodson Regional Library, Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature.  Leland B. Elder, Jr. worked as part of the Chicago Public Library’s Public Information Office (PIO) for over 30 years (1984-2016).  His responsibilities included editing and writing for the various incarnations of the library’s newsletters, marketing, press releases and promoting library programs and services. His papers, which include press releases, event flyers and programs, detail the growth and development of the PIO and the Marketing Department of the Chicago Public Library as well as the evolution of the ethnic heritage committees and the annual library programs. [Finding aid]

Dates: 1874-1959. Size: 7.5 linear feet in 10 boxes including 66 photographs. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Special Collections, Neighborhood History Research Collection, part of the Englewood Community Collections. The Englewood High School Records contains historical sketches, laboratory notebooks, photographs, programs, publications and yearbooks that chronicle school history and student activities [Finding aid]

Dates: 1920-1994. Size: 7 linear feet. Accession #1996/01. Chicago Public Library, Woodson Regional Library, Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature. Charles Evans was professor of African and African American literature at the City Colleges of Chicago. As an activist in the civil rights and Black Arts movements, Evans developed new curricula for teaching literature of peoples of African descent. He was also active in the union representing City Colleges teachers. His papers include his poetry, literary criticism manuscripts, correspondence, research notes on Richard Wright and other authors, curricula, union records and memorabilia. [Finding aid]

Dates: 1925-1987. Size: 5 linear feet in 10 boxes (including 28 photographs), plus 1 oversize folder. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Special Collections, Neighborhood History Research Collection, part of the Calumet Region Community Collections. Collection consists primarily of yearbooks dating from 1925 to 1965 (partial run). [Finding aid]

Date: 1939. Size: .5 linear feet in 1 box. Chicago Public Library, Sulzer Regional Library, Northside Neighborhood History Collection. This collection is comprised of the type-written pages of Histories of the Public Schools in Chicago by Charles S. Winslow, which provides a one-page outline of basic information about each Chicago Public School. It was written around 1939. [Finding aid]

Dates: 1946-1999. Size: 9 linear feet. Accession #1996/09. Chicago Public Library, Woodson Regional Library, Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature. Noted as the oldest African American private, non-sectarian school in Chicago, Howalton School (1947-1986) was established as an early alternative school stressing creativity, the arts and the humanities. Its founders were sharply critical of the failings of Chicago’s public schools in the African American community. The archives consist of correspondence, manuscripts, handbooks, brochures, promotional literature, financial statements, programs, photographs, newspaper clippings and memorabilia. [Finding aid]

Dates: 1945-1994. Size: 27 linear feet. Accession #1994/03. Chicago Public Library, Woodson Regional Library, Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature. Mildred Johnson was an educator, poet, children’s book author, principal of Howalton School (1982-1985) and director of Say! Children’s Theater. Her papers include correspondence, posters, plaques and awards, newspaper clipping files, books, photographs and memorabilia. [Partially processed]

Dates: 1977-2023, undated. Size: .25 linear feet in 1 box. Chicago Public Library, Sulzer Regional Library, Northside Neighborhood History Collection. Grandmaster Ho B. Kim founded the Young Tigers Taekwondo Club in 1998 in Wilmette, Illinois and still teaches there as of 2023. This collection contains photographs from his career teaching taekwondo. [Finding Aid] [검색 안내]

Dates: 1905-1966. Size: 2.5 linear feet. Chicago Public Library, Sulzer Regional Library, Northside Neighborhood History Collection. Helen G. Kinsella was a teacher in Chicago for over 50 years, including 30 years teaching drama and public speaking at Lake View High School. This collection documents her career and work. It includes photographs of dramatic productions and student activities at Lake View High School. Selected photographs from this collection are available in the Library's Northside High Schools Digital Collection. [Finding Aid]

Dates: 1963-1971. Size: 2 linear feet in 2 boxes. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Special Collections. The archive of Chicago’s Nicholas Senn High School student Barbara Kuck contains 78 alternative publications from 1968 and 1971, including 22 issues, drafts and notes related to The Paper which she edited and published. [Finding Aid]

Dates: 1874-2002. Size: 15 linear feet in 24 boxes, includes 85 photographs, 11 oversize folders, and 1 volume. Chicago Public Library, Sulzer Regional Library, Northside Neighborhood History Collection. Lake View High School, located at the corner of Ashland Avenue and Irving Park Road, was the first high school in Lake View Township. The history of the school is documented in this collection, which includes early annual reports, newspaper clippings, and programs and ephemera from school events. The collection also includes a run of the school’s Red and White yearbook, Lake Re View newspaper, and photographs. Selected photographs from this collection are available in the Library's Northside High School Digital Collection.  [Finding Aid]

Dates: 1912-2007. Size: 6.75 linear feet in 12 boxes, plus 1 oversize folder. Chicago Public Library, Sulzer Regional Library, Northside Neighborhood History Collection. In 1934 Lane Technical High School moved from a building at Sedgwick and Division streets to its campus at Addison Street and Western Avenue. This small collection contains files about the school after it moved. [Finding aid]

Dates: 1969-1996, undated. Size: 2 linear feet. Accession #1994/01. Chicago Public Library, Woodson Regional Library, Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature. Learning Logic Foundation, headed by Calvin Pearce, was a non-profit think tank created to promote educational discussion and experimental programs between senior citizens and school-age youth. The collection includes correspondence, bylaws, board meeting minutes and neighborhood gang violence reports. [Finding aid]  

Dates: 1962-2005. Size: 2 linear feet; 137 photographs; 521 slides. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Special Collections, Chicago Theater Collection. The Loop Players are part of the drama department at Loop College (now Harold Washington College). The collection contains programs  promotional material and photographs from their theatrical productions as well as programs and promotional material for the Annual Harold Washington Oratorical Festival. [Processed]

Dates: 1907-1953. Size: 3.5 linear feet. Accession #2003/02. Chicago Public Library, Woodson Regional Library, Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature. Geraldine Lane Mardis’ grandfather Alexander Lane graduated from Rush Medical College in 1895 and served as an Illinois state legislator. Her family vacationed at Idlewild, Mich., beginning in the 1920s. While a student at University of Chicago, Mardis was the subject of a racially motivated controversy. Her papers include correspondence, newspapers clippings, Idlewild and Chicago photographs, and memorabilia. [Finding aid]

Dates: 1859-2003. Size: 15 linear feet. Accession #2003/10. Chicago Public Library, Woodson Regional Library, Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature. Madeline Stratton Morris’ papers document her work as an educator, author and activist in the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History. As a Chicago schoolteacher during World War II, she developed the first “Negro History” curriculum to be adopted by a U.S. public school system. Later, she was the author of black history books for young people. Her papers include correspondence, her original curriculum guide, manuscripts of published and unpublished works, photographs, programs and memorabilia. [Finding aid]

Dates: 1968-1996. Size: 36 linear feet. Accession #1996/04. Chicago Public Library, Woodson Regional Library, Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature. Prexy Nesbitt was a leader in organizing Chicago’s support for southern African liberation and against apartheid. He wrote extensively on southern Africa and collected materials on liberation movements there. His papers include manuscripts, programs, rare serials and subject research files. [Partially processed]

Dates: 1920-2006. Size: 150 linear feet. Accession #1994/02. Chicago Public Library, Woodson Regional Library, Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature. Patricia Liddell Researchers is an African American genealogical society co-founded by Adlean Harris and Thelma Eldridge. The PLR’s initial donation of 2 linear feet has grown exponentially along with the surge in interest in genealogy. The PLR archive includes over 10,000 funeral programs, surname indexes, organizational files, program materials, conference workshops, meeting records, genealogical serials and a wide variety of national genealogical information. [Finding aid]

Dates: 1902-2006. Size: 7.5 linear feet. Accession #1997/03. Chicago Public Library, Woodson Regional Library, Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature. The papers, donated by Brian Abrams, Robert DeCuir and Isaac Washington, include rare serials, Masonic proceedings, lodge materials, directories, programs, annual reports, bylaws, amendments and memorial services. [Finding Aid]

Dates: 1867-1914, undated (Bulk dates, 1904-1914). Size: 2.25 linear feet in 5 boxes. Chicago Public Library, Sulzer Regional Library, Northside Neighborhood History Collection. This collection contains school notebooks belonging to Clara, Elsie, and Walter Rupp, who studied at Blaine School and Lake View High School in the 1900s and 1910s. It also contains a few volumes of reference material, such as dictionaries and instructional guides, and a few novels. [Finding Aid]

Dates: 1916-2014. Size: 6 linear feet in 8 boxes, including 50 photographs. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Special Collections, Neighborhood History Research Collection. The Scottsdale Homeowners Association was established in 1952 by residents of Scottsdale, a newly formed neighborhood on the Southwest Side of Chicago. This collection documents association activities through newsletters, meeting minutes, programs, clippings and photographs. [Finding aid]

Dates: 2004-2022. Size: 1 linear foot in 2 boxes. Chicago Public Library, Sulzer Regional Library, Northside Neighborhood History Collection. The Sejong Cultural Society was founded in 2004 to promote Korean culture in the United States through contemporary Korean music and arts. This collection includes event programs and fliers; rules and regulations for writing and music competitions; text of winning sijo and essays; musical scores; bylaws and meeting minutes; and compact discs. [Finding Aid] [검색 안내]

Dates: 1942-1967. Size: 2 linear feet. Accession #1979/02. Chicago Public Library, Woodson Regional Library, Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature. Simeon, one of the 16 teachers who organized Dunbar Trade School (now Dunbar Vocational High School) in 1948, later served as acting director of Dunbar and director of Vocational Education Centers for the Chicago Board of Education. His papers consist of scrapbooks of educational clippings, correspondence, photographs and college transcripts. [Finding aid]

Dates: 1930-2002. Size: 22 linear feet. Accession #1993/03. Chicago Public Library, Woodson Regional Library, Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature. Clementine Skinner was a Chicago Public Schools assistant principal, teacher and librarian. She was active during four decades in the Association for the Study of African American Life and History and served as president of the Chicago branch. She was also active in the YWCA, the NAACP and genealogical organizations. Her papers include manuscripts, monographs, correspondence, organizational records, yearbooks, photographs and memorabilia. [Partially processed]

Dates: 1951-1995. Size: 5 linear feet. Accession #1995/04. Chicago Public Library, Woodson Regional Library, Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature. Eva Lee Stewart was a nurse during Word War II and later a teacher in Cleveland. The collection contains correspondence, diplomas, nursing credentials, Seventh Day Adventist papers, newspaper clippings, diaries, audiotapes, photographs and memorabilia. [Partially processed]

Dates: 1928-1982. Size: 2 linear feet in 3 boxes and 194 photos. Chicago Public Library, Sulzer Regional Library, Northside Neighborhood History Collection. Louis D. Walz directed the Lake View High School Band from 1928 until his retirement in 1961. The collection includes photographs of student musical activities at Lake View High; letters from former students serving in World War II; and programs, clippings, and correspondence related to Walz’s work at Lake View High. Photographs from the collection are available online in the Northside High Schools Digital Collection. [Finding Aid]

Dates: 1958-2011. Size: 67 linear feet. Accession #2000/04. Chicago Public Library, Woodson Regional Library, Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature. Leonard Wash, a writer and an educator at the City Colleges of Chicago, was active in the Black Arts, Black Consciousness and Black Power movements beginning in the mid-1960s. He attended every annual Black Studies Conference at Olive-Harvey College, recording much of the proceedings. His papers document a wide range of movement activity, jazz and literature. They include correspondence, manuscripts, flyers, programs, pamphlets, playbills, serial publications, photographs and memorabilia. [Finding aid]

Dates: 1923-1950 (Bulk dates, 1940-1949). Size: 3.5 linear feet in 6 boxes including 8 photographs. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Special Collections, Neighborhood History Research Collection. The West Side Council of Parents and Teachers formed on April 4, 1923, as an umbrella group to support PTA units in individual elementary schools on Chicago’s West Side. This collection documents the West Side Council from its beginning in 1923 up through its division into West Side Council North and West Side Council South in 1949. [Finding aid]

Dates: 1895-1953. Size: 1.65 linear feet, includes 1 scrapbook. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Special Collections, Neighborhood History Research Collection, part of the Garfield Park Community Collections. Mary Zimmerman’s scrapbook highlights her educational, professional and public achievements. Mary Zimmerman (1869-1953) was one of four original faculty members of John Marshall High School that opened in Chicago’s East Garfield Park neighborhood in 1895. She taught Latin for forty years until her retirement in 1935. Zimmerman was active with the American Friends of the Hebrew University and sought to raise funds for scholarships and programs for the Jerusalem institution that was founded in 1925. [Finding aid]