Traveling exhibit showcases history of blacks in Elgin

A traveling exhibit based on a documentary about the history of Elgin's black population from the 1860s through the civil rights era is now on display at the Gail Borden Public Library and will be at various other spots in Elgin later this summer.

The exhibit is based on the 90-minute documentary "Project 2-3-1: 2 Boxcars. 3 Blocks. 1 City," which will be shown at the library at 7 p.m. Tuesday, as well as June 2 and July 28. The project is the brainchild of Elgin resident Ernie Broadnax, who partnered with Grindstone Productions and the Elgin Area Historical Society.

The premiere of the documentary was attended by more than 600 people in late April at Elgin Community College, Broadnax said.

"It was unbelievable," the 79-year-old said. "For two days I was floating on air. I ran the gauntlet of emotions."

Broadnax credited Grindstone's Phil Broxham for his dedication to the project, which took him to Union and Rockford, and even Florida and Texas, to interview about three dozen people.

"It was an important story to be told - I heard that time and time again after the film (was shown at ECC)," Broxham said. "The audience was 50-50 white and black, which was wonderful as well."

Historical Society President Bill Briska said the exhibit will be on display later this summer in downtown Elgin - either at The Centre of Elgin or in the lobby of the police department - and at the Elgin History Museum, and possibly at the Elgin Public Museum. It also will be at Judson University sometime in the fall, he said.

"The exhibit looks great and the exhibit technology involved with it also," Briska said, adding it was built at no cost by Fabric Images of Elgin with supplied designs and electronics. "It's very fast to put up. It has good graphics, and it's easy to work with. We've done a lot of traveling exhibits in the past, and this is really a good one."

History Museum Director Elizabeth Marston said she hopes to meet with officials from Elgin Area School District U-46 to see if they want to use the exhibit or some of its materials as part of their teaching about local history.

"I think it would be a benefit to students, but we have to see what they think," she said.

The project raised about $90,000 in cash, including 12 grants - the largest at $38,750 from the Kane County Riverboat Fund - and about $30,000 in discounts and in-kind donations, Briska said. "There were a lot of individual donations, probably 50, anywhere from $20 to $500. There's a lot of community participation in this."

An extended version of the documentary is available for pre-sale on the historical society's website at elginhistory.org. The cost is $15 for pickup and $20 via mail.