About Bronzeville Dares
We are, first and foremost, Bronzeville residents who love our community. Our pride extends through the past, to our present, and into the future.
A Bronzeville Saturday by Gregg Spears, courtesy of the Chicago Public Library (Chicago Bee Branch)
WE DARE TO BUILD BRONZEVILLE
Bronzeville Dares is an Urban Transformation Enterprise whose purpose is to bridge both wealth and health equity gaps in under-resourced, culturally rich, Historically Black Communities by investing, elevating, and accelerating them into growing commercial corridors and vibrant neighborhoods.
COMMUNITY
CULTURE
COMMERCE
COMMITMENT
COMMUNITY
Today’s Bronzeville is undergoing a revitalization driven by entrepreneurial African Americans who value its rich history and are dedicated to keeping that history and its lessons alive for generations to come. Renovated and restored historic homes complement new housing open to all income levels. Architectural landmarks, many of which have been restored, include the original Chicago Defender Building, Unity Hall, the Chicago Bee Building, Overton Hygienic Building, Michigan Boulevard Garden Apartments, The Forum, the Wabash Avenue YMCA, and the Supreme Life Building. Restaurants, shops, and other local businesses have begun to flourish, but Bronzeville’s profound history remains the primary draw for both locals and tourists.
Illinois Institute of Technology
COMMERCE
Rebuilding Bronzeville: Black Chicago’s post-pandemic future starts on the south lakefront
Block-by-block redevelopment is the surest way to bring in people and businesses to strengthen Chicago’s Black communities, which COVID-19 has hit especially hard.
A growing consensus among Chicago developers and planners seems to be that concentrated, block-by-block redevelopment is the surest way to bring in the people and businesses needed to strengthen the city’s Black communities, which have disproportionately borne the brunt of COVID-19.
Chicago Sun-Times, May 8, 2020
CULTURE
Bronzeville: The Black Metropolis
DuSableto Obama | From Riots to Renaissance | The Black Metropolis
Bronzeville was well known for its nightclubs and dance halls. The jazz, blues, and gospel music that developed with the migration of Southern musicians attracted scores of diverse listeners and admirers. In the 1920s, the Regal Theater opened its doors and hosted the country’s most talented and glamorous Black entertainers. The community was also home to many prominent African-American artists and intellectuals, including dancer Katherine Dunham, sociologist Horace Clayton, journalist and social activist Ida B. Wells, jazz man Louis Armstrong, author Richard Wright, and poet Gwendolyn Brooks.
WTTW
COMMITMENT
When Bronzeville residents, professionals who live and work in the community, come together to improve real property and to cultivate a vision for a geographic space with the sole purpose of building a better future, a renaissance begins.
There is no greater commitment than to devote one’s life to this work – to be actively investing in a future that can only be realized through our own efforts and those of our stakeholders.
WE DARE TO DREAM.
WE DARE TO BELIEVE.
WE DARE TO BUILD.
WE DARE TO CELEBRATE.
BRONZEVILLE DARES
The Opportunity
We are, first and foremost, Bronzeville residents who love our community. Our pride extends through the past, to our present, and into the future. We see a strong opportunity to accelerate the rebirth of Bronzeville via resident engagement, entrepreneurialism, workforce innovation, health & wellness, leadership development, technology, retail, and mixed use-housing to serve as a catalytic spark to Chicago’s South Side recovery, while preserving the rich culture of this historic Bronzeville community.
GET INVOLVED
INVEST I SUPPORT I CONTRIBUTE I PLAN
Connect with us if you would like to be part of a movement to improve the quality of life for current residents and help reignite one of Chicago’s most vibrant communities.
Chicago shows the way based on its rich Black entrepreneurial history. Make the commitment, revive, rebuild and accelerate. if you can make it work in Chicago others will follow, others will duplicate.
Marc Morial
Political & Civic Leader
President of the National Urban League
“Bronzeville has many strengths, including a committed middle-class base, but lacks a thriving commercial district. ”
Max Herman / Sun-Times