History
6
In 1770, Jean Baptiste Pointe DuSable, a Black man, began trading goods with Native Americans. DuSable High School honors him. By 1840, Blacks settled in Chicago's "Black Metropolis," now known as Bronzeville. The Harlem Globetrotters originated in Bronzeville using members of the Wendell Phillips High School basketball team. Robert S. Abbott founded the Chicago Defender newspaper and encouraged resident Bessie Coleman to become the first Black female pilot. Jack L. Cooper, the first Black radio broadcaster in Chicago, aired in 1929. Lu Palmer, a journalist and news media personality, promoted black empowerment and social equality on his weekly show. Dr. Daniel Hale Williams performed the first open heart surgery at Provident Hospital. State Street became the "Black Wall Street," the financial hub of Bronzeville and home to Binga Bank, Douglass Bank, Overton Hygiene Cosmetic Co., Chicago Bee Newspaper, Your Taxi Co., Negro Musician Union, Gainer Grocery Store, and Parker House Sausage.
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