Frank Lipo, executive director of The Historical Society of Oak Park and River Forest, will be giving a presentation on the history of the Black community in Oak Park from the 1880’s until present day at 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 8 in the Village Hall Council Chambers.
This discussion is the first of a two-part speaker series hosted by the Historic Preservation Commission, the second of which will discuss an updated, equitable preservation movement.
Thursday’s talk will look at the social history, discrimination in housing and struggle to build a diverse community in Oak Park. The stories of the Black community in Oak Park need to be documented and preserved, Lipo said, including maintaining historical buildings and homes. Without preservation, that history will be lost.
“Historic preservation is about the buildings, but it’s also about the social history that is underneath the buildings,” he said.
Lipo will discuss buildings in Oak Park with historical significance to the Black community during his presentation. There are several examples around the village, including the home and studio of Black artist Geraldine McCullough at 117 S. Lombard Ave. and famous chemist Percy Julian’s home at 515 N. East Ave.
New residents and visitors often think Oak Park was always racially diverse, Lipo said, but that wasn’t the case in the past. The village has some dark truths, such as a chapter of the Ku Klux Klan in Oak Park. It’s important to remember all aspects of local history, even those difficult ones, so as not to repeat it, Lipo said.
“If you burn everything that’s difficult, years go by and somebody goes ‘That’s not even true,’” Lipo said.
Another example of that painful history is the discrimination Black residents faced here during the civil rights movement in the 1960’s, and specifically leading up to the 1966 fair housing marches. In 1968, the Fair Housing Ordinance went into effect which prevented discrimination in home and apartment advertising and home sales.
Oak Park should be proud it discusses the painful part of its history, Lipo said, rather than hiding it and refusing to change. The village may not be perfect, but every new generation works to better the community and make things fair, he said. The way to do that is to keep inviting diverse groups in and making everyone feel welcome, Lipo said.
“There’s no magic solution to make us a perfect community,” he said. “Human beings will always be flawed, there will always be mistakes.”
But to prioritize improvement, Lipo said the village should keep having discussions like this speaker series and vow to not make mistakes of the past again.
Bonnie McDonald, president and chief executive officer of Landmarks Illinois, will give the second talk discussing “The Relevancy Guidebook” at 6:30 p.m. on March 14 in the Village Hall Council Chambers.
Susie Trexler, historic preservation urban planner at the Village of Oak Park, said one of the commission’s goals is to educate Oak Parkers about the village’s history and architecture at events like this series. She said she feels preserving historic buildings is key to the identity of Oak Park.
“The history of Oak Park is just really integral to the village and who we are,” she said. “It’s important, understanding our past, and preservation is just a key part of our identity.”