To celebrate the unveiling of our new exhibition, we are hosting a social gathering at the History Center in honor of the stories and legacies presented in our new exhibition. View the exhibit for the first time alongside curators, students, and faculty from Lake Forest College.

The exhibit celebration will run from 5:30pm to 7:00pm, and the following day—Friday, May 12—the exhibit will be available for the public to view between the hours of 12:00pm and 7:00pm. Everyone is welcome and there is no admission fee; we hope to see you there!

Deeply Rooted and Rising High: African American Experiences in Lake Forest traces the history of the Black community in Lake Forest. The exhibit features stories, photographs and artifacts shared by residents past and present, and is based on research and oral histories conducted over the past two years by History Center staff, our community advisory team, and interns and fellows from Lake Forest College, Loyola University, and the University of Chicago. It will be open through November 2023.

Funding for research and the exhibit comes from an American Historical Association/National Endowment for the Humanities grant, the Grainger Foundation, and Illinois Humanities.