On August 7, 2024, we marked a significant moment in history with the opening reception for an Epiphany Center for the Arts exhibit dedicated to the Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party. The exhibit, Preserving the Heritage of the Black Panther Party in Illinois, is a powerful testament to the chapter's enduring legacy, capturing its politics and programs.

Mayor Brandon Johnson proclaimed July 29 as Joan Gray African Cultural Day in honor of Muntu Dance Theatre’s 30-year president and executive director Joan Gray.

We haven’t come down from our fantastic voyage on Saturday! We are so grateful for the turnout, the comradery, and all we learned to make it even better in the future. Thank you for sharing this special experience with us!

Legacy and Tradition Young Lords Heritage Festival

Joseph and Bessie Feinberg Foundation Donates $20,000. Historical Preservation Society Receives Largest Donation

Yesterday was the first in-person planning meeting for the Mark Clark Memorial Park in Peoria.

Join us on June 22, 2024, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. for the Place-Based Learning Experience of selected Chicago sites along the Black Panther Party Heritage Trail in Illinois.

A special Sunday service dedicated to Rev.  Coleman will be held on April 21,  11:00 a.m., at Lincoln United Methodist Church, 2242 S. Damen Ave., Chicago. There will be a city-wide memorial honoring Rev. Coleman on May 30.  More details to come.

Sacred Spaces: Help us reach our goal of placing historical markers at significant sites of the Black Panther Party in Chicago.

Franklin Park, 4320 W. 15th Street, is near several significant sites in North Lawndale, the most prominent Black Panther Party area.

Historical Preservation Society Requests Park 574 be Named “People’s Park”

​​It’s important to remember that besides the West and South Sides, a substantial community was on the Near North Side. Besides Cabrini-Green, which housed 15,000 people, African Americans then lived modestly (often in tenements) around Cleveland & Larrabee Streets, Old Town Gardens. 

Historical Markers Fund

Help us raise the remaining funds before March 1st.

We are commemorating, documenting, and preserving the history of the Black Panther Party in Illinois. This is Black History. Join the Historical Preservation Society to be a part of this movement. Your $25 membership fee will go to our Historical Markers Fund.

The first marker will be placed at the Illinois Chapter’s headquarters location at 2350 W. Madison in Chicago.

More good news! Starting today, December 26, 2023, the National Park Service is soliciting electronic comments on the significance of the Black Panther Party’s history in relation to the Church of the Epiphany.

This is the first property to be added to the Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party’s Thematic Listing in the National Register of Historic Places.

Chicago (December 22, 2023)–This morning, an email announcement from the National Park Service listed its approval for a Thematic Listing for the Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party.

Springfield, IL, (October 27, 2023)–The Illinois Historic Sites Advisory Council (IHSAC) unanimously approved the nomination to landmark the Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party (ILBPP). This vote completes state requirements, and the multiple property document is now headed to the National Park Service (NPS).