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Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
National
Michael Loria

Volunteers archive key burial records — preserving the histories of tens of thousands of Black Chicagoans

Members of the Bronzeville Historical Society stand together for a photo with Illinois Comptroller Susana A. Mendoza at the Bronzeville Historical Society offices at 5526 S King Drive on Tuesday. (Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times)

Once a week, month after month, for a decade, the five volunteers would go to work.

Sifting through boxes at a South Side funeral home, surrounded by caskets in a side room, they sorted and organized the paper burial records of thousands and thousands of Black Chicagoans, determined to preserve those important pieces of history.

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