Block Club Chicago: Illinois Black Panther Party Honored In New Exhibit Ahead Of DNC

WEST LOOP — When the Democratic National Convention came to Chicago in 1968, the Illinois Black Panther Party was just beginning.

That August 56 years ago, Bobby Rush, Bob Brown and Fred Hampton came together to found the party’s Chicago chapter.

Now — ahead of another Democratic National Convention in the Windy City — the Epiphany Center for the Arts, 201 S. Ashland Ave., and the Historical Preservation Society of the Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party are honoring the Illinois chapter’s history of Black political struggle in a new exhibit.

“Preserving the Heritage of the Black Panther Party in Illinois” outlines the history, politics and programs of the Illinois Black Panther Party, which reckoned with racial injustice, police brutality and the woes of capitalism, said curator Leila Wills.

It’s also a testament to the Illinois chapter’s enduring legacy, she said.

“A lot of people don’t know the history of the Black Panther Party. It’s not taught in schools,” Wills said. “And even if it was, the Black Panther Party has been a victim of a smear campaign for 50 years.”

Wills, the daughter of two Illinois Black Panther Party members, said she hopes people “take their time and learn” about the Illinois chapter through photographs provided by the Chicago History Museum — from the party’s founding and community protests to FBI raids and the Rainbow Coalition, a group of the party that crossed racial lines during a polarizing time.

The exhibit opens with a reception 6-9 p.m. Wednesday at the Epiphany Center for the Arts, 201 S. Ashland Ave. It runs through Sept. 28.

RSVP for the opening night reception here.

The Epiphany Center for the Arts in the West Loop neighborhood March 11, 2021. The former church was once a meeting place for the Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party.

Hosting the exhibit at Epiphany is especially significant because the former church was once a meeting place for the Illinois Black Panther Party. Officially known as the Church of the Epiphany, the Black Panthers referred to it as “The People’s Church,” Wills said.

It was designated a landmark for the Illinois Black Panther Party in December thanks to work by the Historical Preservation Society of the Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party, which Wills helped found in 2021 to preserve the Panthers’ history, she said.

“It was already a landmark [from the mid-1990s] because of its beautiful architecture, but [Epiphany] is our first property where we added the Panthers’ history to the already listed property,” Wills said. “That’s our one and only actual [landmarked] location at this moment, so we have a special connection to the center. This exhibit is our first formal [event] that we’re having together.”

Terra cotta and stained glass windows adorn the walls of the Epiphany Hall as sunlight beams through the windows at the Epiphany Center for the Arts in the West Loop neighborhood March 11, 2021.

Rush, the former congressman and Illinois Black Panther Party co-founder, plans to attend Wednesday, he said.

He’s both humbled by and excited about this exhibit because it highlights the historical contributions of the Black Panther Party to the Black community, Chicago and the nation, he said.

“The history and legacy of the Black Panther Party is one of very serious dedication and commitment,” Rush said. “Having this to highlight some of the locations in which we operated from in the early and mid-’60s, I think that children of the future should know that this history is alive and well, even today.”

Rush has known Wills since she was born because of her family’s connections to the Illinois Black Panthers chapter, he said.

“I think Leila [Wills] has done an outstanding job recounting the history of the Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party,” Rush said.

After Hampton’s childhood home was at risk of foreclosure in 2020 and the community transformed it into a community center, Wills said she was inspired to work on the Historical Preservation Society of the Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party, she said.

“I started helping [Fred Hampton Jr.] with that effort, and that’s how it all kicked off,” Wills said. “I was just blown away by how extensive [the Black Panther Party’s] work was in Illinois. … And then, you know, it all clicked, just because of my parents. I contacted all of them, and a lot of them knew me from just the daycare, this Black Panther Party daycare. So that’s how it came together. … And it just grew from there.”

 

In 2023, the preservation society successfully added the Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party to the National Register of Historic Places — despite not having its own office or location — after approval from the state and the National Park Service, Wills said.

It’s the first Black Panther Party chapter to be added to the register.

The preservation society is now developing a Black Panther Party Heritage Trail in Illinois, a project to mark and preserve the history of locations significant to the Illinois Black Panther Party, even ones that have been demolished.

This includes preparing physical markers to be placed at 13 sites so far — 12 in Chicago and one in Peoria. The historical markers are 12 inches tall and 18 inches wide, featuring traditional bronze plaques with information about the location, Wills said.

Find the full list of markers here. The first one will be unveiled Wednesday at the Epiphany Center for the Arts.

Rush hopes people who see the exhibit will learn about the Illinois Chapter of the Black Panthers “from a holistic point of view.”

“The Black Panther Party is not just a figment of contemporary media and government culture,” Rush said. “The Black Panther Party was real. The people in it were real, young people and people who sacrificed their lives … to the cause of freedom and justice and equality.”

More information about the exhibit is available on the Epiphany Center for the Arts website.