Jean Baptiste Point Du Sable
On March 13, 1773, Jean Baptiste Point Du Sable Established The First Permanent Settlement At Shikai-o, Meaning "The Place Of Wild Onions," And Is Now Known As Chicago, Illinois.
This Black Explorer And Merchant Also Established Trading Posts At Present-Day Peoria, Illinois. Port Huron, Michigan And Michigan City, Indiana.
By All Accounts, Du Sable Was Either A West Indian Or Mulatto From The Du Sable Family Of New France.
He Was Educated In Paris And Described As "Tall, Handsome And Cultured." Du Sable Had A Good Relationship With Native Americans And Whites. He Married A Potawatamie Woman Named Catherine.
Du Sable’s Log Cabin Home, Located At 401 North Michigan Avenue, Became A National Historic Landmark In 1976 And The Du Sable Museum Of African American History, On Chicago’s South Side, Is Named In His Honor.
The Native Americans Have Been Known To Say, Jokingly, "The First White Man Who Settled Here Was A Negro."
"In Order For Black History To Live, We Must Continue To Breathe Life Into It." -- Hubert Gaddy, Jr
