by Vickie Berkow
As the anniversaries for the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation and the 1963 March on Washington occurred last year, Peoria is taking part in continuing the celebration. The Peoria Public library is hosting an exhibit on both historical events until March 6. Read more about the exhibit below, and check out the timeline for more background on the events and some historical connections to Peoria.
Changing America by starting in Peoria
On August 28, 1963, a bus full of people from a small city in Illinois made a journey to change the country.
It was the summer of revolution in the United States, and young adults nationwide wanted to help fuel the movement. Even though Peoria is not located in the southern part of the country, people of color still faced hardships in town. So some Peorians decided to march on the nation’s capital.
“These are people who were 16 or 17 or 18-years-old at the time,” said Roberta Koscielski, associate director and secretary to the Board of the Peoria Public Library. “They saw discrimination here in Peoria based on color, and they wanted to try and change America.”
They certainly helped make an impact. The March on Washington in 1963 was one of the steps in gaining civil rights for African Americans, and it’s being celebrated this month in the Peoria Public Library. It’s all part of the Changing America: The Emancipation Proclamation, 1863 and the March on Washington, 1963 traveling exhibit at the library. The exhibit is presented by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture and the National Museum of American History.
Koscielski, who helped author the grant application for the exhibit, said she heard about it through the American Library Association Public Programs Office, which collaborates with the pair of museums.
“You don’t know what you’ll get and if you’ll get it,” Koscielski said of the application process. “But for our population in Peoria, we thought it would be interesting to bring it here.”
The exhibit itself is made of two giant panels, featuring facts, stories and photographs of the events leading up to both the Emancipation Proclamation and the March on Washington.
“I think it really brings some perspective to what happened 50 years ago, and showing it in pictures is better than just reading about it,” said Al Herbert, a Peoria citizen who saw the exhibit for the first time Feb. 11. “It’s better to get the kids interested in it. It’s an important thing to know.”
Peoria is the first library to host this exhibit on its 50 city tour. An identical exhibit is stationed in North Carolina, and each will stop at 24 more cities across the country until December 2017. Peoria has the display until March 6.
Trisha Noack, Peoria Public Library manager of public relations, said the library was fortunate to host the exhibit first, and in the month of February.
“We have the opportunity to have it on display in conjunction with the Peoria Reads! project and Black History month,” she said.
Peoria Reads! is an organization promoting Peorians of all ages to read the same book at the same time, then participate in library events such as group book discussions and lectures from authors. This month’s book is “Warriors Don’t Cry” by Melba Pattilo Beals, about the landmark 1954 Brown v. Board of Education ruling.
On top of tying the exhibit into Peoria Reads! and usual library Black History Month programs, Bradley University’s yearlong academic theme of the 50th anniversary of Civil Rights movement plays a factor.
“We worked with [Bradley] the past couple of years with Peoria Reads!, and when they talked about choosing a Civil Rights theme, we thought it would be great,” Koscielski said.
But most of all, Koscielski said, the exhibit itself is making an impact on Peorians.
“Whenever I’m on the first floor [by the exhibit], I look through it and see middle and high school students taking photos of the quotes,” Koscielski said. “I see senior citizens come and weave through, starting at the beginning and reading everything.”
Residents from across the area have been pleased with the exhibit, Noack said, and teachers have requested tours for their classes and out-of-towners have inquired about how to bring the exhibit to their own libraries.
“It’s important to not only remind our younger citizens of how far we have come and how much farther we have to go, but it’s important to honor those who participated in the 1963 events,” Noack said.
The exhibit will be on display in the Peoria Public Library’s main branch until March 6 during normal library hours, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information, contact Koscielski at (309) 497-2186 or Noack at (309) 497-2141.
A century of injustice
The Civil War did not fix racism, slavery and inequality problems in the North and South. Before the war broke out and until the March on Washington, African Americans, including those in Peoria and Illinois, faced discrimination in every aspect of life. Check out this timeline for more background on the events leading up to the Emancipation Proclamation and the March on Washington.