Success: Landmarking the Black Panther Party in Illinois
National Register of Historic Places
The Thematic Listing of the Black Panther in Illinois was officially listed in the National Register of Historic Places on December 26, 2023. The Historical Preservation Society of the Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party completed the successful landmarking initiative we started in 2020.
The Keeper of the Register signed the groundbreaking Thematic Listing for the Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party on December 21, 2023. Then, on December 29, 2023, the Church of the Epiphany, affectionately known as the People’s Church, was the first property added to the listing. The People’s Church was already a landmark, and we successfully added the Illinois Chapter’s history to the listing.
Thank you for your years of support in making this possible!
We are now developing the Black Panther Party Heritage Trail in Illinois.
Please become a member of the Historical Preservation Society to participate in this vital work, and join our email list to stay connected!
Illinois Deputy Chairman Fred Hampton’s Last Speech was on December 3, 1969, at The People’s Church, 201 S. Ashland. It is now the Epiphany Center for the Arts.
Thank you for helping us confirm all thirteen inaugural historical markers!
These thirteen historical markers are the inaugural sites of our developing Black Panther Party Heritage Trail in Illinois.
News and Updates
In Development: The Black Panther Party Heritage Trail in Illinois
Image by Leila Wills, inspired by the one and only Emory Douglas, Minister of Culture of the Black Panther Party
Locations of the Illinois Chapter
*The locations below are not an exhaustive list.
Offices, Meetings, Community Centers, and more
Citation and Credit: Historical Preservation Society of the Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party, Program Locations
Locations of the Illinois Chapter
Free Breakfast for Children
Citation and Credit: Historical Preservation Society of the Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party, Program Locations
List of Breakfast Program Locations
Carbondale
Mt. Olive Freewill Baptist Church, 409 N. Marion Street
Crispus Attucks School, need address circa 1970
Chicago
North Lawndale: Better Boys Foundation, 1512 S. Pulaski
North Lawndale: Marcy Newberry Association, 1539 S. Springfield
North Lawndale: Brotherhood of Boys Republic, 1510 S. Hamlin
Near West Side: Jackson Boulevard Church, 2413 W. Jackson
Near West Side: St. Andrews Episcopal Church, 48 N. Hoyne
Near West Side: Henry Horner Homes, 124 N. Hoyne
West Jackson Blvd District: People’s Church, 201 S. Ashland, now Epiphany Center for the Arts
Near North Side, Cabrini Green: St. Dominic’s Church, 357 W. Locust
Austin: St. Martin De Pores Church, 5112 W. Washington Blvd
Garfield Park: Fairfax House, 135 S. Central Park, Garfield Park
Bronzeville, Robert Taylor Homes: Trinity Lutheran Church, 4837 S. State St.
Bronzeville, Madden Park: 500 E. 37th Street
Bronzeville: Southside Office, 4233 S. Indiana
Englewood: Our Redeemer Church, 6430 S. Harvard
Englewood: St. Bartholomew, 6720 S. Stewart Ave
Altgeld Gardens: Our Lady of the Gardens Church, 13300 S. Langley
East St. Louis
10 N. 16th Street
St. Louis
St. Stephens Church, 3949 Wilmington Ave., St. Louis, MO
Peoria
Ward Chapel AME Church, 511 N. Richard Allen Drive
Rockford
Fairground Projects, 1015 W Jefferson St, addr needs verification
Sabruke Project, need help with this address
Selavere Court, need help with this address
Fairgrounds Housing Center, 1050 W. Jefferson Street
Grace United Methodist Church, 1451 W. State Street
Saint Elizabeth Community Center, 1536 S. Main Street
BPP Rockford Headquarters, 529 Pierpoint Avenue
Citation and Credit:
Historical Preservation Society of the Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party, Program Locations
Locations of the Illinois Chapter
Illinois Deputy Chairman Fred Hampton
Citation and Credit: Historical Preservation Society of the Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party
Locations of the Illinois Chapter
College Speaking Engagements
Not an exhaustive list. Citation and Credit: Historical Preservation Society of the Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party
Courtesy of Ann Campbell-Kendrick
Wilson Junior College, 6301 S. Halsted, ongoing organizing beginning July 1968
Crane Junior College, 2250 W. Van Buren, November 15, 1968
UIC Circle Campus, 1200 W. Harrison, November 26, 1968
Northern Illinois University, 1425 W Lincoln Hwy, DeKalb, IL 60115, November 26, 1968
Northeastern University, 5500 N. St. Louis, Chicago, IL, December 10, 1968
Roosevelt University, 480 S. Michigan, Chicago, IL, January 8, 1969
UIC Circle Campus, 1200 W. Harrison, Chicago, January __, 1969
YMCA College, 211 W. Wacker, Chicago, January 14, 1969
UIC Champaign, 901 West Illinois Street, Urbana, IL 61801, February 4, 1969
UIC Champaign, 901 West Illinois Street, Urbana, IL, February 8, 1969
UIC Circle Campus, 1200 W. Harrison, Chicago, February 10, 1969
UIC Champaign, 901 West Illinois Street, Urbana, IL, February 17, 1969
UIC Circle Campus, 1200 W. Harrison, Chicago, February 17, 1969
Crane Junior College, 2250 W. Van Buren, February 17, 1969
Crane Junior College, 2250 W. Van Buren, February 18, 1969
Northeastern University, 5500 N. St. Louis, Chicago, IL, February 20, 1969
Chicago State Teachers College, 6800 S. Stewart, Chicago, February 20, 1969
Northern Illinois University, 1425 W Lincoln Hwy, DeKalb, IL 60115, February 25, 1969
Loop City College, 30 E. Lake Street, Chicago, March 7, 1969
Beloit College, Beloit, WI, March 23, 1969
Northern Illinois University, 1425 W Lincoln Hwy, DeKalb, IL 60115, March 23, 1969
Roosevelt University, 480 S. Michigan, Chicago, IL, March 26, 1969
Dominican College, Racine, WI, March 27, 1969
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, April 2, 1969
Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, April 18, 1969
DePaul University, Chicago, May 9, 1969
*Dates and Locations still being compiled*
Chicago City Colleges Southeast Campus, 8600 S. Anthony Avenue, Chicago, IL, December 3, 1969, Last public speech of Chairman Fred Hampton
Citation and Credit: Historical Preservation Society of the Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party, Program Locations
Locations of the Illinois Chapter
Coming Soon: Shootings, Police Raids, Rainbow Coalition Locations
Citation and Credit: Historical Preservation Society of the Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party