CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — The Mellon Foundation is giving the Chicago Public Library system $2 million to support its Renaissance Project, Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced Monday.
The grant will allow the library system to digitize and process critical Black history documents and images — 1,600 linear feet worth — that date from the 1800s to today.
Among the information being digitized is the Vivian Harsh collection, the largest collection of African American history and literature in the Midwest. The collection was built in 1932 by the Chicago Public Library’s first Black librarian: Vivian Harsh.
That material will be made available to teachers, researchers and others across the city and online.
“And whereas some other cities and libraries across the country are banning books and restricting education, shamefully restricting education around black history, in Chicago, we emphatically celebrate that history,” Lightfoot said.”
The project is expected to be completed in the next four years.
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