ReIMAGINE Aunt Jemima is on display at Carter G. Woodson Regional Library now through July 9, 2021. This exhibit centers on the history of Chicagoans Nancy Green and Edith Wilson. Nancy Green was the first woman to portray Aunt Jemima in 1893 at the Chicago World's Fair. Edith Wilson was a blues singer and performer; she was also one of the last actresses to portray Aunt Jemima.
This exhibit is a community partnership with the Bronzeville Historical Society and its founder, Sherry Williams. The exhibition contains photographs, correspondence, flyers and articles (both original and reproductions) from the Edith Wilson Papers housed in the Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature and items on loan from the Bronzeville Historical Society. Learn more about these women in a developing documentary.
A centerpiece of the exhibit is "Pancakes Anyone?," a display created for Chicago Metro History Fair by 8th graders Val and Aaron Williams. This display is on loan from the Williams family. Val and Aaron Williams won a Chicago Metro History Fair prize for their display on Nancy Green.
