History

Khadijah Farrakhan converted to Islam in 1955, the same year that her husband joined the Chicago-based movement after being heavily influenced by Malcolm X, his friend from Boston.

While Petersburg is tied to Abraham Lincoln history, it’s also tied to circus history.

Awed guests shook hands with the Obamas against the backdrop of a colorful, 38-foot-tall painting depicting a map of Chicago stretching to the ceiling, inspired by Carl Sandburg’s 1914 poem about the city: “stormy, husky, brawling, City of the Big Shoulders.”

The busy weekend kicked off with a downtown drone show celebrating Juneteenth and the arrival of the Great Race. Dahl called the event a success and credited cooperation among city, state and federal partners.

The holiday — a combination of “June” and “nineteenth” — marks the day when U.S. Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger and his troops arrived in the Texas port city with the declaration of freedom in General Order No. 3.

The project, under construction on Chicago’s southside since 2021, will open its doors to the public on Friday.

President Donald Trump is not among the announced guests. He called the $850 million center a “total disaster” in a social media post in February.

“Evanston has set a new precedent. It has shown that racial reparations are possible,” Simmons said.

“It feels like you’re stepping back into his world,” Ward said of the grounds in Hyde Park, New York, that once were home to the Roosevelt family.

Did you know Petersburg has a history connected to the circus?