How Chicago Helped Craft A New National Black Identity

Langston Hughes, Nella Larsen Books Among 6 Republished To Honor Black History Month
This March 26, 1953 file photo shows poet and author Langston Hughes speaking before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo)
Langston Hughes, Nella Larsen Books Among 6 Republished To Honor Black History Month
This March 26, 1953 file photo shows poet and author Langston Hughes speaking before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo)

How Chicago Helped Craft A New National Black Identity

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The years following the passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964 were a pivotal moment in African American history. And Chicago was right at the heart of it. The music, advertising, magazines, and other media beaming out of Black Chicago had a profound and lasting effect on the culture.

WBEZ’s Ayana Contreras joins us ahead of her presentation tonight at the Woodson Regional Library on South Halsted, highlighting the music that played such a pivotal role during this time.