John H. Young papers

Scope and Contents note

Incoming letters, brochures, and newsletters, most addressed to John H. Young, an African American man, born in Georgia, who relocated to northern Illinois in 1910. The collection includes a typed letter (1914) from Ida B. Wells-Barnett asking for support of the Negro Fellowship League along with letters (1919-1920s) from his mother, brother and sisters in Georgia, asking about his Chicago life and expressing desires to leave the South. The collection also includes various Baptist materials from the 1920s and 1930s and newsletters (1936-1955) from the George L. Giles Post number 87 of the American Legion. Also present are letters received by other family members, mainly his sister Annie Mae Young.

Correspondences includes a letter received by Miss Young from a real estate broker, Berenice B. Proctor, praising her for her "sincere efforts to save our homes from being torn down" for public housing, because "to oust over 26,000 tenants and home owners out of this area between Michigan and Lake Park, 31st to 35th Streets will prove a serious handicap" (1948).