05-04-2025
Project XV Museum honors David Strother Day with gala
EL PASO, Ill. (WMBD) — April 4 is David Strother Day, commemorating the first African-American man to vote in Illinois after the passing of the 15th amendment.
On Friday evening the Project XV Museum is hosting its annual gala and a ribbon cutting to honor this milestone.
'To be able to see the exhibit that honors David Strother. It means everything,' said Project XV historian Barb Lancaster.
Strother was a barber, husband and father. On April 4, 1870 he voted in El Paso. The Project XV Museum is a nonpartisan comprehensive voting rights museum created in Strother's honor. The site of the museum is his barbershop from 1872.
The annual gala is held as close as possible to the voting date. This year, it fell on the 155th anniversary of Strother's historical vote.
'I hope that people will be inspired when they come to our museum and realize that their vote is their voice. And we don't care who you vote for, we just want you to vote,' said Lancaster.
At the museum is a newspaper clipping mentioning David Strother was a pallbearer at the funeral of Thomas H. Lindsay. He was a wealthy Peoria pioneer. Coming to the city before he was 10 years old, Lindsay was one of the River City's first Black citizens.
The museum also hosts a block party in August to celebrate David Strother's birthday. The museum board hopes to raise enough money from Friday night's gala to install an elevator to make the museum accessible to all visitors.
You can contact the museum to schedule a progress tour before the official opening.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
