Who we are

The Black Metropolis Research Consortium (BMRC) is an expanding consortium of Chicago-based archives, libraries, and museums. Its mission is to connect all who seek to document, share, understand and preserve Black experiences. Through archival processing initiatives, research fellowships for scholars and artists, archival internships for students, and diverse public programming, the BMRC facilitates increased awareness of the experiences of African American and other African diaspora communities by expanding access to its members’ holdings of materials that document African American and African diaspora culture, history, and politics, with a specific focus on materials relating to Chicago.

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What does the Black Metropolis Research Consortium (BMRC) do?

DISCOVER COLLECTIONS ON BLACK EXPERIENCES

Find out about many of Chicago's rich primary resources related to Black history and culture now made accessible in one place!

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Recent News

flyer with info for Archie Motley Archival Internship Final Presentations
August 3, 2026

2026 Archie Motley Archival Intern Presentations

Join us August 19 at 2 PM for Archie Motley Intern Final Presentations! Hear from this year's interns as they share the archival projects they've worked on across BMRC member institutions and reflect on their summer experiences in the archives.

flyer with pic of Curtis Ellis of Ellis Bookstore
July 28, 2026

Public Talk: Black Bookstores & Radical Print Culture in Chicago 8/20

Come learn about the history of Black bookstores in Chicago in a talk by Sydney Smith on August 20th.

two flat building with group of girls passing in front
July 6, 2026

Memory Teas - Remembering the Dan Ryan Displaced 7/11 and 7/18

The BMRC is looking for Chicagoans who have a living memory of the "Dan Ryan Displaced," those people whose lives were upended in the late 1950s to build the expressway.

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