Created by sculptor Leonard Crunelle, was built to honor the Eighth Regiment of the Illinois National Guard, an African-American [Moorish American] unit that served in France during World War I. It is located in the Metropolis-Bronzeville District in the Douglas community area of Chicago, Illinois. It was designated a Chicago Landmark on September 9, 1998. The structure was added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 30, 1986. An annual Memorial Day ceremony is held at the monument.

 

Description and History

The Smithsonian Institution’s Archives of American Art describes the monument:

 

A white granite shaft topped with a bronze doughboy sculpture. On the monument's shaft are three bronze relief panels depicting life-sized figures. (Victory Panel:) Left full-length profile of a Classically draped African-American female figure representing motherhood. In her hand she holds a branch symbolizing Victory. (Columbia Panel:) Full-length Classically draped female figure with a helmet on her head. In her proper left hand she holds a tablet inscribed with the names of battles in which African-American soldiers fought. (African-American Soldier Panel:) A bare chested African-American soldier of the 370th Infantry, which fought in France, standing with an eagle in left profile in front of him.

 

In 1927, the State of Illinois erected this monument in the Chicago neighborhood known as "Bronzeville," which was home of the "Fighting Eighth" Regiment of the Illinois National Guard. The names of 137 members of the Eighth Infantry, Illinois National Guard, who lost their lives during World War I, are inscribed on a bronze panel. The Eighth Regiment of the Illinois National Guard was reorganized as the 370th U.S. Infantry of the 93rd Division, and this regiment saw service on WWI major battlefields. It was the last regiment pursuing the retreating German forces in the Aisne-Marne region of France, just before the November 11, 1918 Armistice. The doughboy on top of the shaft was added in 1936.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The 1st Asiatic Astronaut is from Chicago...

MJR. Robert H. Lawrence, Jr.

Located at 35th & King Dr.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CLICK HERE FOR A PARTIAL LIST

 

 

 

The Regal Theater 

1645 E. 79th Street,

 Chicago, IL 60649

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Located in the heart of Bronzeville on Chicago's south side, was an important night club and music venue built in Chicago in 1928. It was designed by Edward Eichenbaum.

 

Part of the Balaban and Katz chain, the lavishly decorated venue, with plush carpeting and velvet drapes featured some of the most celebrated black (Asiatic) entertainers in America.

 

The Regal also featured motion pictures and live stage shows.  Check out its Moorish design

 

 

DuSable Museum

740 East 56th Place - Hyde Park

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The first permanent settler in Chicago was a black (Asiatic and/or Moorish American) man named Jean Baptiste Point DuSable. He was born on the island of Haiti around 1745 to a French mariner and a mother who was a slave of African descent.

 

DuSable was educated in France and then, in the early 1770s, sailed to New Orleans. From there, he made his way up the Mississippi River to Peoria, Illinois where he married a Potawatomi woman named Catherine in a tribal ceremony. The couple had two children, Jean Baptiste Point DuSable, Jr. and Suzanne. The marriage formally recognized before a Catholic priest in Cahokia, Illinois in 1778.

 

DuSable settled along the northern bank of the Chicago River near Lake Michigan ca. 1779 and developed a prosperous trading post and farm. His cabin is often depicted a modest structure, but written descriptions of the property suggest that DuSable may have lived more than a modest life.

According to original manuscripts documenting the sale of DuSable’s property, the cabin was spacious, boasting a roomy salon with five rooms off each corner. The property featured a large stone fireplace, bake and smoke houses, stables and huts for employees, along with a fenced garden and orchard. Household furnishings included paintings, mirrors, and walnut furniture.

 

At his trading post, DuSable served Native Americans, British, and French explorers. He spoke Spanish, French, English, and several Native American dialects, which served him well as an entrepreneur and mediator.

 

DuSable sold his estate on May 7, 1800 and returned to Peoria, Illinois. He later moved to St. Charles, Missouri, where he died on August 28, 1818.

 

CAHOKIA MOUNDS

(A Historic Landmark - just outside of Chicago)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

​

The remains of the most sophisticated prehistoric native civilization north of Mexico are preserved at Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site. Within the 2,200-acre tract, located a few miles west of Collinsville, Illinois, lie the archaeological remnants of the central section of the ancient settlement that is today known as Cahokia.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the greatest cities of the world, Cahokia was larger than London was in AD 1250. The Mississippians who lived here were accomplished builders who erected a wide variety of structures from practical homes for everyday living to monumental public works that have maintained their grandeur for centuries.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Medinah Temple - A Very Moorish Design

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What was once a Temple is now a Bloomingdales.

600 N. Wabash Avenue in Chicago

 

 

 

Olmecs in Chicago?​

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yes! Right under our nose(s) is Olmec Head #8 on the lawn of the Field Museum in

Chicago at 1400 S. Lake Shore Dr.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alhambra Palace...in Chicago?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A humble replica, yes, in the style of a restaurant on West Randolph Street; but hardly a comparison to the magnanimity and beauty of the real Moorish Palace in Granada, Spain (below).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In 2010, President Obama and wife Michelle traveled separately as he went to Hikuptah (Egypt), she went to Alhambra in Granada, Spain  (The last stronghold of the Moors).  Immediately upon the President's return to the United States, he signed The U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples where it states at Article 6:  Every indigenous individual has the right to a nationality! (emphasis added).​

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alhambra is situated in the southern Spanish region of Andalusia, Granada, where the Moors ruled Spain from the 8th to 15th century. The Moors influences on Spain are reflected in much of the country’s culture and architecture today. Though centuries have passed, these influences still exist in the everyday life of Grenadines.

 

 

 

 

Lastly...Even Certain Hotels Had Moorish Appeal!

The Brevoort Hotel Buffet Room