The Founding of Chicago, Aaron Douglas (1899–1979)

The Founding of Chicago articulates powerful ideas about the often uncelebrated role of African Americans in the building of American cities. Chicago is a particularly interesting example because it was founded by a fur trader from Haiti, Jean-Baptiste Pointe du Sable. He is portrayed here with a shovel and coonskin cap, emerging from a rural setting with an enchained mother and her baby. Architectural emblems rise in the distance symbolizing the promise and the future of urban life in the North.