Members of Lake County’s African-American community celebrated their heritage and accomplishments Sunday, but also took stock of hurdles still to be overcome, at the Lake County Museum.
More than 150 people attended the museum’s 11th annual “Profiles in Excellence” program, celebrating Black History Month and African-American contributions to Lake County and the world.
Sunday’s event featured an inspirational speech by former Chicago Bulls star Bob Love and an assessment of the civil rights movement by Chicago attorney Thomas Todd, a former president of Operation PUSH and a law professor at Northwestern University.
The event included a panel discussion with Lake County civil rights leaders focusing on local issues, as well as performances by the First Corinthian Church Choir of Waukegan.
Choir member Darius Edwards, 5, of Waukegan, fidgeted in the museum lobby shortly before one of the performances. The youngster took time to answer a question about pride in his culture and what Black History Month meant to him.
“When I think about Black History Month, I think about famous (African-American) people who worked very hard to help us and make things easier for all people,” Edwards said.
“We’ve come a long way and we’ve struggled hard and we still have a long way to go,” Darius’ mother, Fannie, said. “I would like to see us pull together and work together more for the good of everybody.”
James Dorsey, a College of Lake County sociology professor, said the abolitionist movement had strong support throughout Lake County before the Civil War. Several locations, such as the Mother Rudd home in Gurnee and the since-demolished Blodgett Home in Waukegan, were stations on the Underground Railroad.
Recent facts discovered by museum researchers suggest that Lake County may have first been settled by an African-American, Amos Bennett.
In his keynote speech, Todd said the civil rights movement must continue, especially in Lake County. Virtually all of Lake County’s 62,000 African-Americans are in North Chicago, Waukegan and Zion; are more likely to get turned down for home loans at banks; and make up a majority of the Lake County Jail population, he said.
There remains in Lake County “subliminal, subtle and sophisticated discrimination,” Todd said.
“It’s good that the (Lake County) Forest Preserve and the museum can present a program like this to keep that momentum we need to keep us going,” said Angelo Kyle, a Forest Preserve District board member and president of the Lake County Urban League.
