The Black Metropolis Research Consortium (BMRC)

The Black Metropolis Research Consortium (BMRC) The University of Chicago serves as Host Institution of the BMRC.

The BMRC is dedicated to making accessible its members' holdings of materials that document African American and African Diaspora history and culture in Chicago. The Black Metropolis Research Consortium (BMRC) is an unincorporated Chicago-based association of libraries, universities, and other archival institutions with major holdings of materials that document African American and African diasporic culture, history, and politics, with a specific focus on materials relating to Chicago.

📚We're just ONE week away from the must-attend public talk on the rich history of Black bookstores in Chicago by Sydney ...
08/13/2026

📚We're just ONE week away from the must-attend public talk on the rich history of Black bookstores in Chicago by Sydney Smith (Rutgers U)!

Don’t miss the chance to explore the powerful impact of radical print culture in the Black Metropolis on 8/20 at 6PM at Build Coffee and Books ( 6100 S. Blackstone).

Interest in the talk has been TREMENDOUS☄️ and we can't wait to see everyone there!

🎟️RSVP is kindly REQUESTED https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1997849900834?aff=oddtdtcreator

Join us ONE MORE TIME on the porch this Saturday, August 15th!Only 4 days left to see the exhibition ,"The Ways We Remem...
08/11/2026

Join us ONE MORE TIME on the porch this Saturday, August 15th!
Only 4 days left to see the exhibition ,"The Ways We Remember" celebrating 20 years of the BMRC!

We're closing out the exhibition on the 15th with community-led readings on the back porch from Richard Wright's "Native Son" and Gwendolyn Brooks' "Back Porch Poems."
and then...
and old fashioned basement party with 1960s R &B !

Come say goodbye!

💥We've been so honored to welcome the folks who have stopped by to witness the BMRC 20th Anniversary Exhibition, "The Wa...
08/06/2026

💥We've been so honored to welcome the folks who have stopped by to witness the BMRC 20th Anniversary Exhibition, "The Ways We Remember "!

Former BMRC board member and Black archives extraordinaire, Aisha Haykal ( ) stopped by recently.

We also welcomed journalist, cultural storyteller, and former BMRC research fellow, Arionne Nettles () few days ago!

The Ways We Remember Exhibition closes NEXT WEEK on August 15th! ⌛

📍STOP BY and sit on the porch for a while!

For hours see: https://bmrc.lib.uchicago.edu/events/black-metropolis-research-consortium-20th-anniversary-events/

📣 Join us on August 19 at 2:00 PM for our 2026 Archie Motley Archival Internship Program Final Presentations!Throughout ...
08/04/2026

📣 Join us on August 19 at 2:00 PM for our 2026 Archie Motley Archival Internship Program Final Presentations!

Throughout the summer our Archie Motley Archival Interns, Brian and Carlisle, have been working on archival projects at BMRC member institutions. Each intern will share a brief presentation reflecting on their summer experiences in the archives and contributions to preserving Black history and culture.

We hope you'll join us in celebrating their hard work and accomplishments! ✨

Register to join us on Zoom: https://tinyurl.com/36xzs76f

🚀In honor of our 20th Anniversary, the BMRC is DELIGHTED to launch The Founding of the BMRC Oral History Project which ...
07/27/2026

🚀In honor of our 20th Anniversary, the BMRC is DELIGHTED to launch The Founding of the BMRC Oral History Project which documents the origins and early vision of the Black Metropolis Research Consortium through first-person accounts of the people who built it!

🎧🔊🔊Have a listen to the the people who spearheaded the founding of the BMRC, searched through archives around Chicago looking for Black experiences , and then did the work of arranging and describing them so that we could have better access to them today.
https://bmrc.lib.uchicago.edu/about/the-founding-of-the-bmrc-oral-history-project/

With many thanks to oral historian, Ricky Reyes ( ) for his stewardship of this project!

📚Curious about the history of Black bookstores in Chicago and how they shaped and supported intellectual, cultural and p...
07/23/2026

📚Curious about the history of Black bookstores in Chicago and how they shaped and supported intellectual, cultural and political currents in the city?

🌀Join the us on August 20th at 6PM for a talk with Sydney Smith (Rutgers University) at Build Coffee and Books ( 6100 S. Blackstone) on the history of Black Bookstores and Radical Print Culture in Chicago in the 20th Century!

See you there!💫

🔊The BMRC and our 2025-2026 FOCAS Community Archives interns are at the Archival Education and Research Initiative (AERI...
07/21/2026

🔊The BMRC and our 2025-2026 FOCAS Community Archives interns are at the Archival Education and Research Initiative (AERI) Conference this week on the campus of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. 🌎

We can't wait for our BMRC FOCAS interns to present their papers and posters on the work they have done in our members' archives in the next few days! 🎤

You can learn more about the Mellon Foundation funded BMRC FOCAS program on our website: https://bmrc.lib.uchicago.edu/programs/faculty-organizing-for-community-archives-support-focas-project/

📣The oldest Black church in Chicago is now the NEWEST member of the Black Metropolis Research Consortium! Help ...
07/16/2026

📣The oldest Black church in Chicago is now the NEWEST member of the Black Metropolis
Research Consortium!

Help us give a warm welcome to Quinn Chapel! 🎉🎉
Quinn Chapel, which was a part of the Underground Railroad, has seen a lot of Black Chicago history and even hosted Frederich Douglass.

📂Quinn Chapel's archival collections document the history of the congregation and its work in Black freedom struggles. They include materials spanning the late nineteenth century through the present day, including manuscripts, photographs, scrapbooks, church records, correspondence, ephemera, and audiovisual materials.

The BMRC is happy to partner with Quinn Chapel AME Church in its efforts to make its collection more accessible to the public !

💡In 1968, the West Chicago Suburban Branch of the NAACP, "representing residents of Maywood, Illinois, brought a civil ...
07/13/2026

💡In 1968, the West Chicago Suburban Branch of the NAACP, "representing residents of Maywood, Illinois, brought a civil suit against the Mayor of Maywood and other town leaders, for discrimination based on housing, recreation, and employment due to their race.

The first case of action in the complaint involved the arrest of future Black Panther Fred Hampton." https://catalog.archives.gov/id/401029961?objectPage=12

The records that document that case and later incidents involving Fred Hampton, including his murder are located at the Chicago branch of the National Archives and Records Administration.

⁉️ Did you hear that the government has announced plans to close the National Archives Chicago facility at 7358 S. Pulaski Road ?

We need these records to stay local. Contrary to popular belief, everything is NOT online. We need access to the physical records where they exist.

📞 📲Please consider reaching out to your congressional representatives to ask for positive action to keep the National Archives Chicago branch OPEN!

Image credit: Library of Congress photo of mural: Fred Hampton Jr., Chairman Fred, by artist Rebel Diaz. W. Madison St. at California Ave., Chicago; photo by Camilo Vergara 2012

Address

1100 East 57th Street
Chicago, IL
60637

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+17737022388

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