Jean Baptiste Point Du Sable: Chicago’s Founder

We know that the origins of many cities, towns, counties, and other regions of land are full of muddied facts. Many of us have been told a slew of different names and stories about how our states, cities, and other significant places were created. Some of the most common theories have been debunked and the proper founders have been given their credit.

We have seen that native lands and their founders have finally started to get their due diligence and labeled as such. This is the beginning of a long line of hidden history being brought to light. We are often told that Europeans were the ones who sailed the seas and discovered American soil, making it their own. As time unravels, we discover this isn't the truth.

TikTok has somehow become a news source for those who use it. It seems like I find out new information from the platform every day. Of course, I follow up with my research to figure out the legitness of the claims from the social media app. That's when I came across this video from a user(@singkirbysing) that mentions the true founder of Chicago.

@singkirbysing #foryou #fyp #blm #blacklives #blacklivesmatter #blackhistory ♬ original sound - KIRBY

As you can see above Jean Baptiste Point Du Sable is accredited with founding the great city of Chicago. He is said to have been born in Haiti during the mid-1700s and made his way to what would be present-day North America in his 20s. The user goes on to explain how Du Sable made his way here, settled on Lake Michigan, and founded Chicago.

Du Sable built a home when he settled and then began expanding around the land to create a settlement. He would go on to sell the home he built and it was this man, the buyer of the home, that was labeled the founder of Chicago. Until African Americans and historians fought for the proper credit to be given and in 1976, they named Du Sable's home as a historic site and Du Sable himself as the founder.