Black Panther Party Heritage Trail in Illinois
Site 10
Breakfast Program, Our Lady of the Gardens Church
Photo: Children inside a classroom on May 24, 1973; the exact Altgeld Gardens building is not specified. ST-14001635-0066, Chicago Sun-Times collection, Chicago History Museum
Site 10: Our Lady of the Gardens Church
Our Lady of the Gardens Church is now a Chicago International Charter School (CICS) named after Lloyd Bond. Bond was raised in Altgeld Gardens and became a professor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, an international leader in psychometrics, and was widely recognized for his research on assessing teaching ability, bias in testing, and the cognitive processes underlying standardized test performance. His work was credited with strengthening teaching standards across the country. Photo: Google Maps
Free Breakfast for Children Program
The Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party operated a Free Breakfast for Children Program at Our Lady of the Gardens Church in Altgeld Gardens. The program provided nutritious meals to neighborhood children before school.
Site 10
Name
Our Lady of the Gardens Catholic Church.
Location
13300 S. Langley, Chicago, IL 60827, Altgeld Gardens.
Historical Period of Significance
1969-1974.
Original Structure
Exists, now a charter school.
Panther Activities
Free Breakfast for Children Program
Historical Marker Installation Status
Not yet installed.
PHOTOS
Altgeld Gardens was completed in the 1940s for returning WWII veterans. While white war veterans were being suburbanized, "The Gardens" was an isolated low-rise housing project designed to give blacks a suburban illusion. The Chicago Housing Authority project was built on land used for waste disposal, including millions of pounds of liquid human sludge. Surrounded by landfills, industrial plants, and the Calumet Water Reclamation Plant's open-air sludge beds, the area became known as the "toxic doughnut". Photograph: May 24, 1973, ST-14001635-0071, Chicago Sun-Times collection, Chicago History Museum
Black Panther Field Lieutenant Sam Latson at Chicago's Grant Park on Aug 28 1969, during the one-year anniversary of the 1968 Democratic Convention protest. Rallies were organized by Students for a Democratic Society. Latson, from Altgeld Gardens, was responsible for organizing several offices on the South Side and community relations. ST-19033506-0002, Chicago Sun-Times collection, Chicago History Museum
Sterling Jones was murdered on Christmas Day, 1969, almost three weeks after the assassination of Fred Hampton and Mark Clark. His unsolved murder was felt throughout Altgeld Gardens and inspired a memorial wall in Altgeld Gardens called Up-Top.
(right) Black Panther Field Lieutenant Sam Latson at Chicago's Grant Park on Aug 28 1969, during the one-year anniversary of the 1968 Democratic Convention protest. Rallies were organized by Students for a Democratic Society. Latson, from Altgeld Gardens, was responsible for organizing several offices on the South Side and community relations. ST-19033504-0053, Chicago Sun-Times collection, Chicago History Museum
Historic photo with caption of Our Lady of the Gardens. Photo found on The Four Marks website on WordPress. Primary Photo source: Founder of Parish Is Honored: Priest Will Take New Post Chicago Daily Tribune (1923-1963); Jun 29, 1961; ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Chicago Tribune pg. S_B3
Altgeld Gardens Street Art in 1973. Photo: 1310948669, Getty Images
Chicago Police arrested members of the Illinois Chapter and residents of Altgeld Gardens in 1971. They were charged with Attempted Murder after the police fired multiple shots into an Altgeld unit. They suffered beatings from the police before being taken to jail. Defended by the People's Law Office during trial, all were exonerated.
Children inside a classroom on May 24, 1973; the exact Altgeld Gardens building is not specified. ST-14001635-0063, Chicago Sun-Times collection, Chicago History Museum
Altgeld Gardens Street Art in 1973. Photo: 231770, Getty Images
