“You Remember Frank London Brown” Exhibition Opening Friday June 9th
“You Remember Frank London Brown” Exhibition Opening Friday June 9th
Novelist, journalist, educator. Community leader, public housing activist, union organizer. Father, friend, jazz enthusiast.
To Gwendolyn Brooks, he was “a tenant of the world.” To Langston Hughes, Brown was “a talented writer with something important to say.” In his brief, shining life, Frank London Brown played many roles within the vibrant cultural and political landscape of Black Chicago, and beyond.
Brown’s path breaking 1959 novel Trumbull Park tells the story of his time in the public housing residence of the same name, which was assaulted by a riotous racist mob when the
Chicago Housing Authority attempted to desegregate it. As an educator, Brown co-led what we believe to be the first Black history course in the Midwest, hosted through the Union Research Center at the University of Chicago,
where he was also enrolled as a PhD candidate in the Committee on Social Thought.
Tragically, Brown passed away from leukemia at the age
of only 34 years, in 1962-- not long before the ascendancy of
the Black Arts Movement that would pick up and amplify
many of the themes so prominent in his own work, such
as structural racism and its impact on the everyday lives of
Black people striving to live and thrive.
“Even though you may have never heard of Frank London
Brown, this show will demonstrate the scope and breadth
of his incredible life and impact on so many things important to Black mid-century Chicago–from activism and music to reporting and literature,” said APL director Adrienne Brown.
Co-curator Eve L.
Ewing added: “Frank London Brown’s legacy is remarkable, given the short span of his life. It’s an honor to be able to activate these archives and share his story, and I know many
Chicagoans will find familiarity and resonance in his life.”
“You Remember Frank London Brown,” explores and celebrates the legacy of Frank London Brown through
the movements he shaped, the music he loved, the art he made, and the connections he held with those who loved him.
This exhibition was curated by APL Faculty Director Prof. Adrienne Brown (University of Chicago Department of English & Department of Race, Diaspora, and Indigeneity), Prof. Eve L. Ewing (Department of Race, Diaspora, and Indigeneity), PhD candidate Korey Williams (Department of English), and MA student Angela Orokoh (University
of Chicago Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice).
“As a student, I was thrilled to learn about Frank London Brown—a woefully underread writer of the midcentury. I look forward to Frank London Brown finding more and more
readers through this work,” said PhD candidate Korey Williams, who co-curated the exhibit.
MA student Angela Orokoh, who also served as co-curator, said that studying Frank London Brown through an archival lens allowed her to “uncover so many layers of African
American history, thought, literature and culture. This was only due to the nature of who Frank London Brown was and is– a man who was multidimensional in his intellectual contributions.”
Supported by the Center for the Study of Race, Politics, and Culture, in part by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Arts + Public Life’s Gallery is open Thursday
+ Friday from 2:00pm- 7:00pm and Saturday from 1:00pm-5:00pm.
Brown’s path breaking 1959 novel Trumbull Park tells the story of his time in the public housing residence of the same name, which was assaulted by a riotous racist mob when the
Chicago Housing Authority attempted to desegregate it. As an educator, Brown co-led what we believe to be the first Black history course in the Midwest, hosted through the Union Research Center at the University of Chicago,
where he was also enrolled as a PhD candidate in the Committee on Social Thought.
of only 34 years, in 1962-- not long before the ascendancy of
the Black Arts Movement that would pick up and amplify
many of the themes so prominent in his own work, such
as structural racism and its impact on the everyday lives of
Black people striving to live and thrive.
Brown, this show will demonstrate the scope and breadth
of his incredible life and impact on so many things important to Black mid-century Chicago–from activism and music to reporting and literature,” said APL director Adrienne Brown.
Co-curator Eve L.
Chicagoans will find familiarity and resonance in his life.”
the movements he shaped, the music he loved, the art he made, and the connections he held with those who loved him.
of Chicago Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice).
readers through this work,” said PhD candidate Korey Williams, who co-curated the exhibit.
American history, thought, literature and culture. This was only due to the nature of who Frank London Brown was and is– a man who was multidimensional in his intellectual contributions.”
+ Friday from 2:00pm- 7:00pm and Saturday from 1:00pm-5:00pm.
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