Black History Month 2023 Events Planned In Glenview Area

GLENVIEW, IL — Several events are planned in the Glenview area this February to observe Black History Month.

“Black Resistance” is the theme of this year’s observance, which starts Wednesday and continues through the month. Since 1976, every U.S. president has set aside February as a month to celebrate the achievements of African Americans and their role in U.S. history.

Events in February will explore “how African Americans have resisted historic and ongoing oppression, in all forms, especially the racial terrorism of lynching, racial pogroms and police killings” since their arrival on the shores in the 1600s, according to the sponsoring Association for the Study of African American Life and History.

In the Glenview area:

• Glenview Public Library, 1930 Glenview Road, check out the staff-created list of nonfiction books to celebrate the month. In addition, staff chose some picture book biographies.
• North Suburban YMCA, 2705 Techny Road, is highlighting Chicago’s role in the Underground Railroad. The programming will include visual displays throughout the Y’s facility.
• Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center, 9603 Woods Drive, Skokie, new exhibit, "The Negro Motorist Green Book," explores film, photographs, interactives, and oral histories from travelers and "Green Book" business owners; compare "Green Book" sites then and now; and appreciate historical objects from the Smithsonian and from a variety of "Green Book" sites, according to the museum. The exhibit runs through April 23.
• College of Lake County — Black History Month Art Showcase at Grayslake, Lakeshore and Southlake Campuses.
• Northbrook Public Library, 1201 Cedar Lane, Northbrook, at 2:15 p.m. Feb. 1, the library is highlighting just a few of the myriad influential Black American musicians throughout our country's history, spanning different musical genres, according to the library's website. Check out the library's collection to learn more about the artists and their legacy.

The first Black History Month observance was held 97 years ago. Called Negro History Week at the time, it was established by Harvard-trained historian Carter G. Woodson, the son of illiterate former slaves, who believed that the important contributions of Black Americans had been largely overlooked in published accounts of U.S. history.

• Related: 2023 Black History Month: 5 Things To Know

He established the Association for the Study of African American Life and History in 1915 to create a social scientific collection recording and publicizing the accomplishments of Black Americans.