Reflective photos of 75 African-American women who have made a mark on American life will be on display at the Chicago Historical Society next Sunday after a gala honoring the subjects Friday.
The traveling exhibit of black and white portraits by Brian Lanker, a Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer, from his book, ”I Dream A World:
Portraits of Black Women Who Changed America” (Stewart, Tabori and Chang, $24.95), was organized by the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and circulated by the American Federation of Arts.
Among the women featured in portraits are Chicago poet Gwendolyn Brooks;
writers Maya Angelou and Alice Walker; politicians Shirley Chisholm and Barbara Jordan; activists Rosa Parks, Marian Wright Edelman, Septima Clark, and Dorothy Height; singers Marian Anderson and Lena Horne; and actresses Cicely Tyson and Ruby Dee
The Historical Society`s invitation-only ”I Dream A World” gala Friday will honor the women. Proceeds from the benefit will go to the Society`s Sojourner Program, which will offer 2,000 teenage African-American girls an opportunity to see the exhibit and discuss with black professional women the meaning of the featured women`s work.
The exhibit will open next Sunday and run through Oct. 27. The Historical Society, at Clark Street and North Avenue, is open from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $3 adults, $2 senior citizens and students and $1 for children ages 6 to 17. For more information: 312-642-4600.
