Notice

Masks required in Abakanowicz Research Center; optional for rest of Museum MORE

The Chicago Origins of the National Council of Jewish Women

May is Jewish American Heritage Month. In recognition, CHM curator of religion and community history Rebekah Coffman highlights materials from the Abakonowicz Research Center related to the National Council of Jewish Women. The National Council of Jewish Women is the result of a gathering of Jewish women that took place during the 1893 World’s Columbian More

CHM Resources on Lucy Parsons, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, and Jane Addams

In 1987, Congress officially designated March as Women’s History Month to commemorate, learn about, and reflect on women who have been history makers on their own terms. Chicago has had its fair share of influential women who have shaped not only the city, but the entire nation through their activism and work. In an effort More

Naming Women to Recover Histories

This summer, Lily Mayfield assisted CHM technical services librarian Elizabeth McKinley in the Abakanowicz Research Center. Mayfield writes about her experience discovering the full names of women featured in the Museum’s carte de visite collection. How can one study the past without knowing the names of those who came before? That is the question posed More

Ella G. Berry: Civic and Political Activist

Portrait of Ella G. Berry. Published on in The Story of the Illinois Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs 1900–1922 by Elizabeth Lindsey Davis, 1922. CHM, ICHi-177302A Ella Berry was born Ella Tucker in 1876 in Stanford, Kentucky. Little is known about her father, Dave Tucker, but in 1870, her mother, Matilda Portman, was working as More

Chicago’s Silent Sentinels

In this blog post, CHM curatorial intern Divya Pai recounts the work of Lucy Hyde Ewing and Madeline Upton Watson as part of a series in which we share the stories of local women who made history in anticipation of an exhibition about Chicago women and the vote. The fight for women’s suffrage in Chicago More

The Black Nurses of Provident Hospital

CHM assistant curator Brittany Hutchinson recounts how Provident Hospital, the first African American–owned and operated hospital in the US, created opportunities for Black nurses in Chicago. This blog post is part of a series in which we share the stories of local women who made history in anticipation of CHM’s upcoming online exhibition Democracy Limited: Chicago Women and the Vote. More

Defender of the Oppressed and Vulnerable

In this blog post, CHM curatorial intern Brigid Kennedy recounts the life of Pearl M. Hart as part of a series in which we share the stories of local women who made history in anticipation of an exhibition about Chicago women and the vote. Pearl M. Hart is remembered by her family as being fond More

An Organizer and Advocate for Black Women

In this blog post, CHM curatorial intern Brigid Kennedy recounts the life of Irene McCoy Gaines as part of a series in which we share the stories of local women who made history in anticipation of an exhibition about Chicago women and the vote. Irene McCoy Gaines devoted her career in politics and advocacy to More

A Champion for Chicago’s Teachers

In this blog post, CHM curatorial intern Brigid Kennedy recounts the life of Margaret Haley as part of a series in which we share the stories of local women who made history in anticipation of an exhibition about Chicago women and the vote. Born in 1861 in Joliet, Illinois, Margaret Haley was a suffragist and More

A Pillar of Quiet Strength

CHM assistant curator Brittany Hutchinson recounts the life of Mary Koga. This blog post is part of a series in which we share the stories of local women who made history in anticipation of CHM’s upcoming exhibition Democracy Limited: Chicago Women and the Vote. “My lens is attracted to people and their inner strengths and More

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