Draft:Century of Negro Progress Exhibition

The Century of Negro Progress Exhibition was held in Chicago in 1963 held in McCormick Place August 16 to September 2 to honor and celebrate the centennial of the Emancipation Proclamation. The American Negro Emancipation Centennial Commission published a booklet for it. James E. Stamps chaired its board of trustees. Stamps (March 6, 1890-1972) was an economist and civic leader. He was one of the founders of the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASALH). Alton A. Davis was Executive Director. Leonidas H. Berry received a certificate recognizing his "promotion of the study of negro history".

Duke Ellington performed. Martin Luther King Jr. attended.

Freedom Day, school boycott, was held in Chicago the same year. A similar event was held at the Indiana State Fairgrounds.