Latest news with #ChicagoRockfordAirport
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Rockfords' Booker Washington Center is Camp Grant's enduring legacy
ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — An African American club, founded in Rockford during World War I, is still having an impact on the city's community more than 100 years later. Camp Grant, formerly located on the site of the current Chicago Rockford Airport, was founded in 1917 and hosted thousands of black soldiers during World War I. For black service members, the Colored Soldiers' Club was created. After the war, it became the Booker Washington Center, now known as the African American Resource Center at Booker, at 524 Kent Street. At the heart of the center's daily operations is Karen Waller, who has served as operations manager for the past four years. 'Over the decades we have evolved into a community, more youth programs, senior programs, adult programs a lot of collaborations to emphasize the need for resources in this area,' Waller explained. 'The youth program involves kids ages five to fourteen, providing them with life skills, service learning, cultural enrichment, field trips, expanding their horizons, getting them to think outside of their box about where they want to go, what they want to do, and who they want to be.' The center also offers job training through the TANF Flourish Program, which helps people gain employment skills and financial independence. 'They are referred to us from the local office of public aid and assistance. They come here to gain a sense of skills that they may not know, skills that can help them get employment and then retain that employment,' she added. In addition, the African American Resource Center at Booker honors black history year-round. 'We do it in a variety of ways. we host events anywhere from a Black History Month quiz bowl to a fashion show to events that acknowledge and preserve our accomplishments alive,' Waller said. The center plans to expand its impact with the potential for new services, including health care and housing support, with its commitment to education, empowerment, and service meant to ensure its legacy continues for generations to come. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Did you know? Rockford's Camp Grant gave rise to city's thriving black community
ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — What is now the Chicago Rockford Airport used to be the site of Camp Grant, one of the largest U.S. Army training camps, housing thousands of soldiers during World War I, including thousands of black soldiers. The camp was opened in 1917. Six thousand African American soldiers arrived at Camp Grant as part of the 92nd Buffalo Soldier Infantry Division, forever changing the demographics of the community. 'By spring it was up to almost 8,000 black troops. And by the following October of 1918, there were more than 13,000,' said Midway Village Museum curator Laura Furman. The camp, like America at the time, was segregated and the black soldiers were relegated to one area of the facility. 'The southwest part of camp was set aside with barracks specifically for black troops. They also had their own post exchange where they could do their shopping,' Furman said. After the war ended, the soldiers returned home as silent heroes and found themselves facing another struggle. Many did not want to return to the South, and stayed in Rockford. David Ruffin, curator of Rockford's Ethnic Heritage Museum, explained, 'With Rockford being a very factory-oriented town, they needed workers and unskilled laborers and they could get them a cheaper price.' The influx gave rise to black neighborhoods on the city's southwest side. The Booker Washington Association from the prior 'Colored Soldier's Club' on S. Main Street. 'The black community … stepped forward and said we need to do more for the black soldiers at Camp Grant who … need support,' Ruffin said, catering to a population that created a community that still exists in Rockford today. Midway Village Museum, at 6799 Guilford Road, has opened an exhibit on Camp Grant which features artifacts, interactive displays, and rare footage of the camp. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
