Lifting As They Climbed

Meet Vivian G. Harsh, the librarian of the Chicago Black Renaissance 📚

In 1909, a 19-year-old Vivian G. Harsh got a job as a junior clerk at her local library branch. This was the beginning of what would become a historic career at Chicago Public Library.

On Chicago’s South Side, residents waited decades for a local public library. When the George Cleveland Hall branch opened in the Bronzeville neighborhood in 1932, with Harsh at its helm, she became CPL's first Black branch manager.

Harsh saw the need for a dedicated archive that documented African American life in the U.S. Traveling throughout the American South, she collected rare books and manuscripts, sometimes using her own money to purchase materials for the branch.

By the late 1930s, word had spread that she was building a one-of-a-kind collection. Visual artists, writers, and activists of the Chicago Black Renaissance—a vibrant cultural and creative movement that emerged from the Great Migration—flocked to the library as a meeting spot.

Harsh gathered some of these influential voices, such as Langston Hughes, Gwendolyn Brooks, Richard Wright, and Arna Bontemps, at her twice-monthly Book Review and Lecture Forum. Members of Chicago’s Bronzeville and nearby communities also took part in these discussions and readings.

Today, the Harsh Readers Circle continues to bring people together to read and discuss Black literature, celebrating its 40th anniversary season in 2026. The program conducts its meetings both in-person and virtually, inviting book lovers from across the globe to participate.



📷 Hall Branch opening day, January 1932. Vivian Harsh, center. Source: Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection, George Cleveland Hall Branch Archives, Photo 084.

Jackie Ormes is seen as one of the earliest African American female cartoonists in comics working on her Torchy Brown strip in the Pittsburgh Courier starting in 1937 until 1940. This strip was mainly syndicated in Black newspapers and featured a Mississippi Teenager’s singing career in the New York Cotton Club. She also wrote for newspapers before and after, and revived her Torchy character in 1950 in Heartbeats lasting into 1954 and confronting racism in the last storyline. She retired from cartooning in 1956 and died in 1985.

BLACK HISTORY MINI DOCS If you have 90 seconds then you have enough time to watch Black History Mini Docs. Legendary Producer and Filmmaker Neema Barnette (Civil Brand, Women thou Art Loosed: On The 7th Day) presents Black History Mini Docs.

Did you Know, the Documentary Invisible Giants was featured on NBC News? The film, born out of the book Lifting As They Climbed, highlights Chicago educators, artists, and organizers who are shaping history in real time.

Catch it this Saturday at the Black Harvest Film Festival. Don’t miss the chance to experience these incredible stories.

Tickets Link Below
November 15th at 6pm

It’s wonderful to see the Chicago Public Library honor the life of trailblazing inventor and beauty pioneer Marjorie Stewart Joyner.

Learn more about Marjorie in Lifting As They Climbed.

We’re excited to share that Invisible Giants has been selected for the Black Harvest Film Festival, screening November 15th at 6:30pm at the Daughters of DuSable special event.

This film honors the journey of Lifting As They Climbed and the individuals whose impact ripples through our communities. Its selection is a celebration of their stories and of the power of Black women's creativity, power, and vision.

Join us at the festival and experience Invisible Giants on the big screen. https://web.saic.edu/blackharvestfest/daughters-of-dusable

https://www.getty.edu/news/eunice-johnson-haute-couture-style/

The Fabulous Fashion of Eunice W. Johnson For the glamorous cofounder of Ebony and Jet, haute couture was about much more than looking good

On this day in 1950, Gwendolyn Elizabeth Brooks made history as the first African American to receive a Pulitzer Prize. ✨

As a groundbreaking poet and writer, she used her voice to capture the beauty, struggles, and resilience of life. Thank you Gwendolyn for leaving behind a legacy that continues to inspire generations. ✍🏾

Excitement is building for today's launch of a three-day professional development workshop hosted in partnership with the Chicago Teachers Union. Educators from across the city will engage with the Lifting As We Teach curriculum, a resource designed to integrate Black women's history into classrooms and center the voices and experiences of Chicago communities.

This workshop is already at full capacity. But this is just the beginning. Stay tuned for future sessions and opportunities to bring Lifting As We Teach to your school or district.

This Thursday, explore the power of public archives! Learn the practical strategies and creative multimedia approaches to document stories, ideas, and how you can harness these resources in your own work.

🗓 Date: Thursday July 24, 2025
📍 Location: Bellwood Library, Bellwood IL
🕒 Time: 6:30 PM
Free & Open to the public. No RSVP required

Today is Ida B. Wells’ birthday, and LATC coauthor Essence McDowell had the honor of spending it with Girls Like Me Project, Inc. on a historical tour through Chicago.

CBS News captured moments from this meaningful day as a powerful group of girls and elders gathered to explore the profound imprints left by Black women doctors, artists, and organizers.

What better way to celebrate the legacy of a trailblazing and fearless woman who fought so relentlessly for us all?

Thank you, Ida, for your enduring light. And thank you, Girls Like Me Project, Inc. for inviting Essence to share her love of these remarkable women with your girls.

Historic bus ride honors Chicago journalist and civil rights leader Ida B. Wells Wednesday is Ida B. Wells' birthday, and a local organization is making sure Chicago girls learn about the trailblazing journalist and civil rights activist.