Chicago History Museum

In 1967, Chicago icon Studs Terkel published "Division Street: America,” a book that featured interviews with 71 “uncelebrated” Chicagoans. The stories in “Division Street” included a closeted gay actor, a civil rights activist, a tavern owner, and more. But what happened to these individuals? Over the last several years, the Museum has worked to digitize Terkel’s interviews. Using these interviews as a start, Pulitzer Prize winner Mary Schmich and her team tracked down the interviewees’ children and grandchildren, resulting in a seven-part podcast called “Division Street Revisited.” Launching on Jan. 27, the podcast will be available on all major podcast platforms.  Watch the trailer below and learn all about it at https://lnkd.in/gi3re_Er. Melissa Harris Chijioke Williams Cate Cahan PRX WBEZ Chicago Chicago Public Library Old Town School of Folk Music M. Harris & Co. Facing History & Ourselves National Endowment for the Humanities MG Strategy + Design Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation

The Chicago History Museum has been reaccredited by the American Alliance of Museums (AAM)! Through a process of self-assessment and review by our peers, AAM accreditation “ensures the integrity and accessibility of museum collections, reinforces the educational and public service roles of museums, and promotes good governance practices and ethical behavior.” Of the nation's 33,000 museums, we are proud to be among the 1,112 that are accredited by AAM.  https://lnkd.in/g5jFN5nq

This week, Museum staff were given the opportunity to go behind the scenes to see the work done by the Research and Access Department in the Abakanowicz Research Center (ARC). During the open house, staff got a glimpse at the wide range of research collection materials available, including photographs, postcards, restaurant menus, building blueprints, and more. Want to visit the ARC? Admission is free and no appointments are needed. Learn more about the research center here: https://lnkd.in/gmBZpKJ6 

In August 1955, 14-year-old Emmett Till was kidnapped and murdered in while visiting family for the summer in Mississippi after he was accused of offending a white woman. Just weeks later, his murderers were put on trial. After just 67 minutes of deliberation, an all-white male jury acquitted them.    Opening on November 23, “Injustice: The Trial for the Murder of Emmett Till” will share his story and legacy through the photographs of the joyful life he led in Chicago, the gut-wrenching images of his funeral, and the courtroom sketches of the trial.    Learn more about the exhibition and find more resources on Emmett Till’s story: https://lnkd.in/g5EJaEZ9    

Ellen Keith has been appointed to the ILA Executive Board, to fill Gretchen Rings’ position after she took a new position at Indiana University. Keith is the Director of Research and Access and Chief Librarian at the Chicago History Museum, where she has been since 2012. Before joining the Museum, she held library positions at Johns Hopkins University, the Illinois Institute of Technology, Columbia College Chicago, and Saint Xavier University. She is an active member of the Chicago Collections Consortium, currently serving as board chair. She received her B.A. in Victorian Studies from Vassar College, her M.L.I.S. from Dominican University, and her M.L.A. from Johns Hopkins University. Ellen will serve a term to end June 30, 2026.

We’re thrilled to share that CHM Research Center team members Erin Matson and Ayah Elkossei will be presenting their True Crime Lib Guide at the Midwest Popular Culture Association this Friday. This research guide is a digital treasure trove crafted by CHM staff to help you go beyond the headlines and explore our holdings on the enigmatic world of Chicago’s criminal underbelly. The guide directs you to CHM’s resources and beyond, including images, documents and first-hand accounts, and published materials. Learn more about the guide from the Museum’s blog. https://lnkd.in/gBMEePFP

CHM is celebrating National Arts in Education Week with our latest exhibition, "Designing for Change: Chicago Protest Art of the 1960s–70s!"   Are you an educator looking to bring the arts into your classroom? Earn PD hours and join us for free seminars on Saturdays October 5 and 19 to learn the important role art played in the Chicago Freedom, Black Power, anti-Vietnam War, women’s liberation, and early gay rights movements. This spring, bring your students to the Museum for an enhanced field trip on Designing for Change on Wednesday, March 5. During this free program, students will enjoy meeting today’s artivists (art + activists) and create their own change-making art. (Save the date! Registration will open November 1.)   Plus, don’t miss our latest pop-up exhibition created by six teens through our summer youth internship program. Drawing inspiration from "Designing for Change," the teens explored social movements of the time, the artwork that amplified them, and created their own works to advocate for contemporary issues. Learn more about arts in education at CHM: https://lnkd.in/gdxQi7Uq #ArtsEdWeek #BecauseOfArts  

CHM is excited to announce that we have received a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. The grant will support and expand “Rethinking the Gilded Age and Progressivisms: Race, Capitalism, and Democracy, 1877–1920,” a seminar-style program for K–12 teachers. Now in its seventh year, the three-week summer institute in Chicago will continue to engage 30 participating educators with readings, discussions, lectures with leading historians, guided excursions, and opportunities to develop classroom materials rooted in their own inquiries. We’re thrilled to continue to give educators a space to contemplate and debate this critical period in US history when radically different perspectives often dominated public discourse. See the press release and full list of awards: https://lnkd.in/gm_ixdyB

Congratulations to the 66 students who represented Illinois at the #NationalHistoryDay® National Contest held June 9‒13 in Washington, DC! Their 36 entries advanced from a statewide pool of nearly 10,000 students who created History Day projects at the classroom level.     Their achievements include seven students placing in the top 10 entries in their category; special prizes such as the U.S. Constitution Award, Equality in History Prize, Asian American History Prize; two entries winning Outstanding Affiliate Awards; and three projects featured in National History Day’s Showcase Events. Visit our website to learn more about the students and their projects: https://lnkd.in/g3GcgeHm      NHD is a nonprofit education organization improving the teaching and learning of history. Learn more about #ChicagoMetroHistoryDay, the Chicago region's affiliate program at https://lnkd.in/gWjj4Nfn 

Congratulations to Illinois students whose projects were selected by #NationalHistoryDay (NHD) to be showcased at cultural institutions in Washington, DC, on Wednesday, June 12. • Karter Fugate and Leonidas Kalantzis-Jimenez's exhibit titled "Remembering Emmett – Till Justice is Served" will be showcased at the National Museum of American History. • Lydia Frost, Millicent Norton, Tejah Rana, and Lisa Tao's documentary titled "The Turn of the Anti-Lynching Movement Through the Work of Ida B. Wells" will be showcased at the National Museum of African American History and Culture. • Henry Everett's paper "Turning the Tide: How The American Railway Union Changed the Federal Strike Policy" will be in the White House Historical Association's showcase. NHD is a nonprofit education organization improving the teaching and learning of history. Learn more about #ChicagoMetroHistoryDay, the Chicago region's affiliate History Day program, at https://lnkd.in/gWjj4Nfn.