Chicago Defender Building 

3435 S Indiana Ave (Bronzeville)

Built in 1899 by architect Henry L. Newhouse, this building was the home of Chicago’s most important Black newspaper from 1920-1960. The newspaper, known for its staunch advocacy of civil rights issues, gained national circulation via the Pullman train porters, who would pass them along to riders from all over the country. Historians credit The Defender for initiating “The Great Migration,” in which about a half million Southern Blacks moved from the South to Chicago, beginning in 1916. Founder and publisher Robert Sengstacke Abbott, a 2017 CLHOF inductee, created the fictional character Bud Billiken as a symbol of pride for Black people. As a teenage freelance writer, Willard Motley, a 2014 CLHOF inductee, used the Bud Billiken pseudonym and persona to tell stories of hope for young readers. He did this from 1922-24. Every summer since 1929, dignitaries, neighborhood people, and supporters from around the city have joined in the Bud Billiken Parade, a celebration of music, food, and speeches that culminates in a procession of floats down King Drive. The building was designated a Chicago Landmark on September 9, 1998, and is one of nine structures in the Black Metropolis-Bronzeville Historic District. The Chicago Defender headquarters is now at 43rd and King Drive. The newspaper persists online. Its last home, at 2400 S. Michigan, has been beautifully rehabbed and is used as an event space. 

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