Cultural Center Named After Chicago’s First Black Mayor Vandalized During DNC

The HWCC, a nonprofit impacting Chicago's youth, took a hit to the glass on Monday during the Democratic National Convention.

Bronzeville’s Harold Washington Cultural Center (HWCC) has taken a hit after the nonprofit performance and arts venue was reportedly vandalized during the Democratic National Convention, which kicked off in Chicago on Aug. 19.

The HWCC, which celebrated 20 years in May, opened its doors in the Windy City to provide experiences, annual programs, and educational resources to Chicago’s youth. According to an image shared with BLACK ENTERPRISE, the facility must now recover from a massive crack in the glass on its exterior as it continues its efforts to extend opportunities for the next generation of artists and community leaders.

“This is disheartening that we were vandalized,” said HWCC’s Global Director Jimalita Tillman in a press statement. “Our young people and program participants are traumatized by having to walk up to the building and see such devastation.”

Housing a 1,000-seat theatre, the HWCC, named after Chicago’s first Black mayor, according to the Book Club Chicago, features a two-story atrium, labs for podcasts and video editing, a recording studio, and four dance labs. The cultural center has committed its 501(c)(3) organization to children, community, and culture, playing a significant role in the lives of over 25,000 youth program participants. Although Washington’s statue outside the HWCC was defaced in 2013, Tillman noted that before the Aug. 19 vandalism, the venue “has never been targeted in such a destructive manner.”

Choose Chicago noted that the venue was established over two decades ago as part of a revitalization project of the Grand Boulevard (S. King Drive) neighborhood. The state-of-the-art, 42,000-sq. ft. facility offers educational programs and services centered on arts and entertainment, business and performance management, digital recording, production, classical music instruction, marketing, development, and distribution. Bronzeville, also known as the “Black Metropolis” of Chicago’s South Side, was the hot spot for African American culture and business from the 1920s through the 1950s, WTTW reported. The facility sits on 47th Street, the spot that drew the best Black entertainment and a diverse crowd of people living in the black belt.

The HWCC is asking for support from the community as it works to restore the damage caused during the first night of the Democratic National Convention, which, as BE previously mentioned, returned to Chicago for the first time since 1996. Donations for the HWCC are welcome through Givelify.

View a virtual tour of the “beloved community gem” above.