Earlier this year, Chicago said goodbye to Congress Parkway for Ida B. Wells Drive—a tribute that honors the African American woman who led civil rights and women’s rights movements until she died in 1931. Now, Lake Shore Drive faces a similar renaming proposal that could acknowledge Chicago’s founder Jean Baptiste Point du Sable.
Alderman David Moore (17th Ward) and Alderman Sophia King (4th Ward) are sponsoring an ordinance to rename the iconic street “Jean Baptiste Point du Sable Drive” from the north end at Hollywood Boulevard south to 71st Street.
Moore realized it was necessary to make this change after taking a tour of the city three years ago.
“The guide talked about everyone from Burnham to mayors but never DuSable. I was very offended by that as an African American, so much so that I approached the tour guide and asked how can you talked about Chicago and not mention this man?” the alderman said.
Du Sable’s role in Chicago’s development as a city wasn’t acknowledged until the mid-20th century, and even now, “very few people, especially tourists and new Chicagoans, know Du Sable as the founder of Chicago,” the ordinance states.
Du Sable was a Haitian of African and French descent who established a trading post and permanent settlement near the mouth of the Chicago River, according to the Du Sable Museum of African American History, which is also named after him. Not much is known about his life prior to the 1770s, but he did marry a Native American woman named Kitiwaha and had two children, according to the ordinance. In 1800, Du Sable sold his Chicago River property and moved to the port of St. Charles, where he was licensed to run a Missouri River ferry.
It’s not the first time that some city officials have argued for this change. In 1993, then-alderman Toni Preckwinkle (who is now the Cook County Board President) led a proposal to rename LSD after Du Sable that didn’t get past the committee meeting, according to the Chicago Tribune archive.
Moore said the council now is very different than what it was, and he “pretty confident” it’ll pass.
The proposed ordinance calls it “appalling” that no major street is named after Du Sable and with this ordinance “this city can right a wrong that is 230 years in the making.”
“While we are excited about the renaming of Congress Parkway to Ida B Wells Street, it is shameful that there is no major street or drive named after an African American male coming through the central business district,” the ordinance says.
There is a school, museum, park, harbor, and a bridge named after Du Sable. Pioneer Court, where he first settled around the 1780s, is a National Historic Landmark. Alderman Moore acknowledges this in the legislation text, but says it’s not enough especially if Chicagoans aren’t familiar with the founder.
“Chicago could show the value added by African Americans, since day one. It’s critical for the education of children and adults, even tourists coming into our city,” Moore said.
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