January 9, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For more information, contact Ibis Antongiorgi, Press Secretary to Cook County Board President Todd H. Stroger, at 312-603-0396 or by email at iantongiorgi@cookcountygov.com. 

Stroger, Board Pass Resolution Establishing Historical Trail To Mark History of Dr. King’s Work in Region 

Dr. King Trail will educate residents, visitors of vital local contributions of slain civil rights leader. See below for high-resolution photos.

CHICAGO, January 9, 2008 – Cook County Board President Todd H. Stroger and the full County Board embraced a resolution today calling for the creation of the Dr. King Trail, a project designed to educate residents and visitors about the extensive legacy of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King’s work in Chicago and its surrounding communities. The resolution was scheduled to be passed in conjunction with upcoming celebrations marking the January 21 holiday celebrating Dr. King’s birthday. Dr. King was awarded the Nobel Prize for his work in advancing racial, social and economic justice in the United States before his assassination in 1968.

Much of the work to identify sites for the trail has been undertaken by Chicago author and entrepreneur Dempsey Travis, who attended Wednesday’s board meeting and spoke extensively of his experience in local organizing with Dr. King. Travis’ book, An Autobiography of Black Politics, cites a series of visits and actions in the region that Dr. King undertook in the 1960’s.

Those include a July 1965 appearance at the Palmer House Hotel; a July 1966 rally at Soldier Field; a July 1965 nonviolent protest of 50,000 from Buckingham Fountain to City Hall; a July 1966 appearance at Quinn A.M.E. Church at 2401 South Wabash Avenue; appearances at public housing projects including Altgeld Gardens, Robert Taylor Homes and Stateway Gardens; a visit to the former Sahara Inn (now the Ramada Inn) in Schiller Park; and a rally of thousands at the Village Green of Winnetka (Park) at Maple/Oak Street in Winnetka. In January 1966, Dr. King also rented a four room apartment at 1550 S. Hamlin Avenue in Chicago and organized a July 1966 march on Marquette Park and Gage Park to protest unfair housing practices in Chicago.

“As an African American elected official, I owe a direct debt of gratitude to Dr. King for making it possible for me to serve in this office,” said President Stroger. “This project allows us to honor Dr. King’s vibrant commitment to peace with justice in a tangible way that preserves a vital historical arc for our children and our communities.”

The resolution includes a formal declaration of the need to establish an advisory committee of local historians, community leaders and elected officials to make recommendations regarding the designation of significant locations to be included in the Dr. King Trail, as well as private funding to establish and promote the trail. Appointments to the advisory committee will be made by the President of the Cook County Board.

For more information about County initiatives and issues, contact Ibis Antongiorgi, Press Secretary to Cook County Board President Todd H. Stroger, at 312-603-0396 or iantongiorgi@cookcountygov.com. 

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