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Black History in DuPage County DuPage NAACP branch looks back at its past and struggles to make a future.

Article Excerpt
Byline: James Fuller Daily Herald Staff Writer

DuPage County is not exactly thought of as a hub for African- American life.

There are few black elected officials in the county's history. There are a handful of churches with primarily black members. There are even fewer neighborhoods with mostly black households.

For those reasons and more, groups such as the DuPage County branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People continue to blaze trails toward equality while maintaining a social support network.

Yet even as the NAACP sees accomplishments in the local black population, it fights to remind that same population those victories didn't come without struggle. Longtime residents say younger blacks are too quick to believe the obstacles are gone.

Only 50 years ago, many of DuPage County's blacks considered themselves lucky just to find a local place to live.

Most blacks in DuPage County back then lived in Wheaton but were relegated to two areas of the city. One was near Hill Street where the original Second Baptist Church stood. The other was by the intersection of President and Washington streets. Together, they were known as "The Hill" and "The Bottom."

It's not that blacks didn't want to live outside those neighborhoods. They couldn't.

Real estate agents wouldn't show homes, banks wouldn't loan money and homeowners wouldn't sell to blacks.

Stuck at 'The Bottom'

Blacks needed a fair shot at local housing and access...

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