Date
Saturday, June 13, 2026
Time
3-6 p.m.
Location
2151 W. Washington Blvd., Chicago, IL 60612
Cost
Free with registration
About
Metropolitan Missionary Baptist Church (MMBC) holds architectural and cultural significance as a City of Chicago Landmark and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Built in 1901, MMBC has called the church at 2151 W. Washington Bvld. in Chicago’s Garfield Park neighborhood home since 1947. Years later, renowned photographer Gordon Parks photographed the church in 1953 while on assignment in Chicago for Life magazine in 1953, creating some of the most prominent photographs of his career.
Join us at MMBC for a special afternoon program celebrating the documentary arts and historic preservation, hosted in partnership with Landmarks Illinois. The program will feature a tour of the historic building, followed by a panel discussion on the church’s legacy and preservation. The panel discussion, moderated by Landmarks Illinois Easements and Advocacy Associate Amber Delgado, and feature:
- Scheherazade Tillet, 2025 Gordon Parks Foundation Fellow, Feminist Activist, Artist, and Executive Director of Chicago-based non-profit organization A Long Walk Home
- Michal Raz-Russo, Programs Director at the Gordon Parks Foundation
- Nancy Watrous, Founder and Executive Director of the Chicago Film Archives