Celebrating Women’s History in IDHH Collections

The IDHH contains some content that may be harmful or difficult to view. Our cultural heritage partners collect materials from history, as well as artifacts from many cultures and time periods, to preserve and make available the historical record. Please view the Digital Public Library of America’s (DPLA) Statement on Potentially Harmful Content for further information.


In recognition of Women’s History Month, the IDHH would like to highlight several collections from our contributors and curated searches of IDHH items that tell different stories about the history of women in Illinois:

    • Jane Addams: explore photographs and documents related to Jane Addams, social reformer, and settlement and women’s suffrage activist, who co-founded Chicago-settlement Hull House in 1889 and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931.
    • Gwendolyn Brooks: explore photographs related to Gwendolyn Brooks, Poet Laureate of Illinois and the first African American poet to win the Pulitzer Prize.
    • The Creative Woman (Governors State University): a collection containing issues of GSU’s quarterly feminist journal The Creative Woman,  which featured articles, essays, and creative writings on the lives and experiences of women.
    • The Woman’s Study Club of Joliet (Lewis University): a collection containing documents and records of the Women’s Study Club of Joliet, a club with the goal of educating women members which grew from the Columbian Clubs and The Woman’s Building organized by Bertha Palmer for the 1893 Chicago World’s Columbian Exposition.

You can also visit the IDHH’s Digital Exhibits to learn about the life and career of two turn-of-the-twentieth-century Illinois women: Rachel Crothers, a playwright from Bloomington, Illinois, and Fanny Butcher,  Literary Editor at the Chicago Tribune.

You can also view the IDHH’s previous posts with topics related to Women’s History Month:

Celebrating Black History in IDHH Collections

The IDHH contains some content that may be harmful or difficult to view. Our cultural heritage partners collect materials from history, as well as artifacts from many cultures and time periods, to preserve and make available the historical record. Please view the Digital Public Library of America’s (DPLA) Statement on Potentially Harmful Content for further information.


In recognition of Black History Month, the IDHH would like to highlight several collections from our contributors and curated searches of IDHH items that tell different stories about the history of Black people in Illinois:

    • Gwendolyn Brooks: explore photographs related to Gwendolyn Brooks, Poet Laureate of Illinois and the first African American poet to win the Pulitzer Prize.
    • EBR African American Cultural Life (Southern Illinois University Edwardsville): a collection containing photographs, posters, and pamphlets centered around Eugene B. Redmond, Poet Laureate of East St. Louis whose work is connected to the Black Arts Movement and Professor Emeritus at SIUE.
    • EBR Million Man March (Southern Illinois University Edwardsville): a collection containing photographs about the Million Man March, a demonstration by Black men marching to Washington on October 16, 1995,  and its second Anniversary celebration.
    • Timuel D. Black, Jr., Digital Collection (Chicago Public Library): a collection containing handwritten and typed letters and speeches by Timuel D. Black, Jr., civil rights activist, educator, and historian of Black life and politics in Chicago.

You can also learn more about Mayor Harold Washington, the first Black Mayor of Chicago, through the IDHH’s Digital Exhibit on Mayor Washington and Primary Source Set on Mayor Washington.

You can also view the IDHH’s previous Black History Month posts:

 

Happy New Year and Welcome Back!

Happy New Year, everyone!

Over the break, the IDHH Highlights moved to a new server.  Our new URL is https://www.library.illinois.edu/idhh-highlights/

If you forget to update your bookmarks or old relinks, don’t worry! The old URL redirects, so you can still find the IDHH Highlights blog and learn about our collections and items that are relevant to Illinois and national history, world events, and interesting topics.

Interested in other ways to explore the collections and items in the IDHH? You can:

  • Visit the IDHH Exhibits site to see digital exhibits curated from items in the IDHH and covering topics important to Illinois History and relevant to current and historical events
  • Browse our IDHH Primary Source Sets for primary source collections curated from items in the IDHH, which cover topics relevant to Illinois educational standard and include teaching guides for in-class use
  • Visit the IDHH site to search or browse all items in the IDHH, or click on one of the curated searches on the home page for examples of the breadth of items within the IDHH