Firmly Planted: A Black Cultural Harvest stood as an event and intergenerational celebration of Black Chicagoans and their storied history. Taking place on March 2, for one memorable day, Black Chicago residents were graciously welcomed to bring forth artifacts symbolizing their lives in the city, thus enriching a collective communal archive. As individuals had their cherished items photographed for digital archiving on the first floor of the Chicago History Museum, the second floor served as an exclusive space dedicated to hosting community partners and cultivating meaningful conversations.
The event was part of the City of Chicago’s Black Cultural Heritage Initiative (BCHI), which was formed in 2022 during Black History Month to collect and preserve lesser-known stories of Black people across the 77 neighborhoods that have played a pivotal role in shaping the city. This initiative operates under the guidance of the Department of Planning and Development’s Historic Preservation Division.
This photo essay highlights six Black Chicagoans and the artifacts they brought to be collectively archived. In this photo essay, for which I took the photographs of each resident, I will tell some of the stories beyond the images of the artifacts.
Latoya Pickens stepped out of the archive collection area with a big smile. I asked her which Chicago artifact she brought and, with a chuckle, she said, “Ebony Magazine and JET.” As she shuffled through the magazines, she added, “I used to use these at my grandma’s house to help me learn to read growing up.”
Lowell Thompson proudly walked around with a book titled African Americans in Chicago. With his two granddaughters, they meandered through the second floor filled with community partners’ tables. I asked if he had an artifact to add to the archive, and he held up the book. “If you want a definitive look at African Americans in Chicago, then you need to read this book.” He shared that this book, written by Thompson, used to be sold here at the Chicago History Museum.
Jordan Campbell is the director of Alt Space Chicago on the West Side in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood. For the archive, he brought his original rendering of Alt Space’s redemptive plastics program, which is a recycling initiative focused on redeeming plastic and providing education around environmental justice and job development. The drawing was featured in Expo Chicago.
Kathleen Clark and her friend were walking out of the archive room when I asked if she could show me an artifact that she brought. She then pulled out a few large pieces of black construction paper. Seated on a bench, she took a moment to decide which one she wanted to be photographed with. Eventually, she chose the one with two pasted images from a newspaper clipping with a headline that read, “Is She Really to Blame?” This news article was about her mom. “She was a dancer for The Black Birds in the 1930s and ran for Miss Bronzeville in 1936, I believe,” she said.
Bobbi Ball was walking around with a bright pink flower ring on her left hand, which caught my eye. The crystal pitcher she held belonged to her mother’s collection. Her mother passed away when she was 15, and she has held onto the collection ever since. “Can you imagine this is how people ate? Look at the light shining off of it!” she said. Bobbi Ball was attending the event with her daughter and granddaughters.
Before the photo was taken, Gail Robinson’s daughter assisted her in fixing her lipstick. They stood there for a few minutes, exchanging glances, and with the final approval from her daughter, Robinson was ready to share a bit of her story. One of the artifacts she brought was a picture from the church her family still attends to this day in Chicago. In the image are her mom and the pastor, both of whom have since passed. Robinson reminisced, “There were times we’d be at church until 11:00 p.m. We just had a good time. It was a fun time!”
