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01.30.25 | Sage Advice®

Laboring for Justice and Progress: Honoring Black History Month 2025

Black History Month invites us to reflect on the profound contributions and enduring resilience of African Americans. This year’s theme, announced by the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), is African Americans and Labor, highlighting the central role work has played in shaping the history, culture, and identity of African Americans. At Sage Collective®, we embrace this theme as a powerful reminder of the strength, ingenuity, and community-building that have defined the African American labor experience—values that align closely with our commitment to vibrant living.

Historical Foundations: Labor as a Cornerstone
The African American relationship with labor began in the crucible of enslavement, where the forced labor of Africans laid the foundation for early American agricultural and economic growth. Post-emancipation, African Americans navigated new roles as sharecroppers, industrial workers, and entrepreneurs, contributing to the construction of America’s physical and economic landscape. Their efforts are woven into the fabric of American history, seen in the skilled craftsmanship that built iconic architectural heritage, particularly in the South.

Through these transitions, African Americans have continually demonstrated resilience and innovation. Despite systemic barriers, their labor became a form of resistance and empowerment, paving the way for future generations.

Trailblazers in Labor Movements
The fight for fair labor practices and economic equity is a vital chapter in African American history. Figures like A. Philip Randolph and Addie Wyatt remind us of the transformative power of collective action. Randolph’s founding of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters in 1925, marking its centennial in 2025, was a groundbreaking moment in labor history. It demonstrated the strength of union organizing in advocating for better wages, working conditions, and dignity for Black workers.

Addie Wyatt’s tireless efforts extended these principles, focusing on securing equitable wages and workplace protections, particularly for Black women, while linking labor advocacy to broader civil rights struggles. Their legacies serve as an enduring inspiration, emphasizing that labor is not just about economic survival but also about justice and dignity.

Labor as Culture and Community
Beyond economic contributions, African Americans have historically used labor as a tool for cultural expression and community building. From voluntary work in churches and social clubs to grassroots organizing, labor has often been a means of uplifting entire communities. These efforts have laid the groundwork for social justice movements and institution building, leaving a lasting impact on American society as a whole.

At Sage Collective, we recognize that this spirit of community-driven labor aligns with our philosophy of fostering vibrant living. Whether through caregiving, mentoring, or creative pursuits, older African Americans continue to exemplify how work—paid or voluntary—can strengthen bonds, inspire progress, and enrich lives.

The Power of Reflection and Education
The 2025 theme, “African Americans and Labor,” encourages us to reflect on the multifaceted roles that African Americans have played in the workforce. It’s a call to honor the past, recognize ongoing struggles for equity, and celebrate the resilience and creativity that continue to shape the African American experience.At Sage Collective, we see Black History Month as an opportunity to honor the resilience and contributions of older African Americans. The lessons of history remind us of the power of work to inspire, connect, and transform. Through our programming, we continue to celebrate the role of older adults in shaping their communities, ensuring their voices and stories are uplifted for future generations.

As we prepare to observe Black History Month this year, let’s honor the enduring legacy of African Americans in labor. From the fields to the factories, from union halls to boardrooms, their work has been a testament to strength and ingenuity. This February, join us in celebrating this legacy and renewing our commitment to fostering equity, resilience, and vibrant living in all that we do.

For more information on the 2025 Black History Month theme, visit ASALH’s official website.

Workers in the offices of Samuel Plato, building contractor, Washington, D.C. 1943. Credit: Roger Smith. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information Black-and-White Negatives (https://www.loc.gov/resource/fsa.8b06410/).
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07.22.21 | Sage Advice®

Bronzeville Spotlight: Victory Monument

As we continue to develop our properties at 4108 S King Drive and 4112 S King Drive, we enjoy putting the spotlight on landmark locations in our historic Bronzeville neighborhood to celebrate and dig more into its rich history. Today, we’re exploring one of the city’s best-known and respected monuments, especially in Chicago’s Black communities, the Victory Monument. 

Chicago’s Victory Monument, which stands near the intersection of King Drive and East 35th Street, was built in 1927 in honor of the all-Black, Eighth Infantry Regiment of The Illinois National Guard, whose members served during WWI under the French. Created by the French American sculptor, Leonard Crunelle, the monument’s main structure was built in white granite with a bronze doughboy (common nickname for American soldiers during WWI) figure standing on top. That figure of the soldier was added almost ten years after the original construction.

There are three bronze panels around the sides of the monument, each representing elements of Black culture and history of Black soldiers through life-sized figures. The first panel, the Victory Panel, presents a cloaked female figure representing motherhood and holding a branch that symbolizes victory. The second panel, the Columbia Panel, displays another female figure with a helmet on her head holding a tablet engraved with a list of battles that Black soldiers fought in. The last panel, the African-American Soldier Panel, depicts a Black soldier from the Eighth Regiment with an eagle standing at his feet. A fourth bronze panel facing north holds the names of the 137 total members from the Eighth Infantry that lost their lives fighting in WWI. 

The monument was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986 and labeled a Chicago Landmark in 1998. The monument is also home to many annual celebrations and observances including its Memorial Day ceremony and the starting location of the historic, and largest Black parade in the world, the Bud Billiken Parade. 

Having been in place for almost 100 years, Victory Monument continues to illuminate and commemorate an important part of history, and is just one of the many special landmarks located in our historic Bronzeville neighborhood.

Photograph of Victory Monument in Bronzeville
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06.15.21 | Community

Two Initiatives Celebrating the Historic Legacy of Bronzeville Today

Sage Collective has begun the process of renovating our first two new acquisitions, 4108 S King Drive and 4112 S King Drive, side-by-side buildings in Chicago’s historic Bronzeville neighborhood. We envision this development as providing tangible benefits to this community by providing high quality, affordable housing programmed to ensure safe, comfortable living there, as well as celebrating and uplifting Bronzeville’s dynamic history, current-day culture and residents alike – and we’re not alone in this effort.

Bronzeville has a long and storied history as the heart and soul of African American culture and vibrancy in Chicago. Contemporaneously, many organizations are doing incredible work on the ground to continue that legacy today. Here are two such initiatives:

The Forum in Bronzeville
The Forum in Bronzeville

Restoration of The Forum

The Forum is a historical South Side building that was once the epicenter of Bronzeville nightlife, dating all the way back to the 19th century. Built in 1897 in the heart of the city’s blues district, the venue has hosted everything from concerts by names like Nat King Cole and Muddy Waters, to movement meetings in the 1970s.

The building, located at the corner of 43rd and Calumet in Bronzeville at 318 E. 43rd St, was previously zoned for residential use. Now, as part of recent renovation efforts, investors are rallying to rezone the project for commercial use. At the head of the initiative is Bernard Loyd, an entrepreneur and the founder of Urban Juncture, which focuses on community development work in Bronzeville.

Lloyd bought The Forum in 2011 days before the city planned to demolish it. Now, his vision is to restore the space as an “incubator space for Black creatives” and an overall cultural destination.

Archives of the Bronzeville Historical Society

The Bronzeville Historical Society has been preserving the stories, history and heritage of African American history and culture in Chicago since its founding in 1999. Led by South Side historian Sherry Williams, the Bronzeville Historical Society originally began with just Williams, her mother, and her daughter on task. 

They first set their sights on highlighting notable Bronzeville residents, publishing the book “100 Notable People and Places in Bronzeville – (Black Chicago)” in that same year. In the two decades since, the society’s archival work has expanded exponentially, despite challenges over the years.

Their collection includes records of 180,000 Chicago resident burials from the Jackson Funeral Home, gifted by the state of Illinois. From those records, volunteers from the African American Genealogy and Historical Society helped to reconfigure each person’s history, including their hometowns, church, and club affiliations. Bronzeville Historical Society also holds hundreds of photographs of Chicago from 1930-2000, documenting the architecture, landscape, and neighborhoods over the years. 

Sage Collective is proud to be part of the Bronzeville community and to live, work, and play side-by-side with so many other organizations doing the great work of preserving and celebrating our neighborhood’s great cultural legacy.

A mural in Bronzeville Chicago showcasing famous figures throughout history
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