CHICAGO–(ENEWSPF)–August 14, 2015. When the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) celebrates its 100-year birthday in September, members of Roosevelt University’s Black Chicago History Forum will be there to remember.
Founded by Carter G. Woodson (pictured above) in Chicago on Sept. 8, 1915, the national ASALH has been one of the nation’s most important and influential contributors to today’s growing understanding about the life, culture and many accomplishments of African Americans.
In recognition of the group’s influence and impact, the Black Chicago History Forum, which is housed at Roosevelt University and comprised of many Roosevelt alumni, will be participating in a number of centennial celebrations around the city in September.
“The ASALH has been a trailblazer in helping to raise awareness about the important positive contributions that African Americans have brought to our culture and society,” said Christopher Reed, professor emeritus of history at Roosevelt University and a leading scholar on Chicago’s black history. “We are extremely excited about this opportunity to thank ASALH for a century of leadership and education on the significance of the African American experience.”
Activities being planned by the Black History Forum and the Chicago Branch of the ASALH include:
•Installation of a commemorative plaque on the site of the ASALH founding at the Wabash YMCA, 373 S. Wabash Ave beginning at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 9. A photo session will follow beginning at 11 a.m. at the George Cleveland Hall Library, 4801 S. Michigan Ave., which is the location where many early ASALH meetings were held.
•A commemorative lecture entitled “Librarian as Cultural Broker, Vivian Gordon Harsh and the Creation of an Archive” will be delivered by Rutgers University historian Brittney Hall in memory of ASALH and Woodson, who is also the founder of Black History Month, at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 10 at the Carter G. Woodson Library, 9531 S. Halsted St., Chicago.
•A program and panel discussion on “Institution Building in Chicago” will be held beginning at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 11 in the Chicago State University Library, 9501 S. Martin Luther King Dr., Chicago.
•A panel discussion on “The Life and Legacy of Carter G. Woodson and the Importance of Black Institution Building” will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 12 at the Du Sable Museum of African American History, 740 E. 56th Place, Chicago.
Reed and other noted Roosevelt University alumni, including Northwestern University African American women’s scholar Darlene Clark Hine, black Chicago historian Timuel Black and national civil rights leader and political scientist Charles V. Hamilton, will be among those in attendance. For more information on the history of ASALH in Chicago or for more details on the upcoming centennial events, contact Reed at 312-341-3745.
Source: www.roosevelt.edu
