02/25/2026
To wrap up Black History Month DHA wants to highlight the connection between Chicago’s founder Jean Baptiste Pointe DuSable and an American Icon Fredrick Douglass.
At the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago Fredrick Douglass represented Haiti, the only black nation with a pavilion at the Exposition. Douglass was appointed by the Haitian government to be a representative because of his work as an ambassador in the country.
Another fun fact is that Douglass stayed at the Palmer House during the Exposition, the same hotel where we hold our annual DuSable Heritage Association Gala.