By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — A celebration will be held Saturday to commemorate the renaming of a portion of Court Street in honor of John Briggs, who was the city’s first Black hotel owner and created a safe destination and gathering place for African American travelers and residents.
The street sign ceremony begins at noon Saturday at the corner of Court and Cedar streets in downtown, which is near where the Briggs Hotel stood when it was in operation from 1937 to 1959. The building has since been demolished.
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City Council members approved the honorary name change on Feb. 5.
“When Rockford City Council approved it really just brought the fullest joy to my heart,” said Brandi DeShawn Brown, an educator and author who brought forward the request to change the name. “The city recognized John Briggs’ accomplishments as a business owner, a hotel owner and somebody that brought the Black community together.”
Briggs, who was a World War II veteran who served in Germany, also ran The Briggs Mounds resort at Lake Koshkonong, Wisconsin, for 15 years. He died April 23, 1959, at age 65.
In Rockford, the Briggs Hotel was a three-story yellow-brick building on Court Street that was listed year-after-year in The Green Book, a guidebook for African American travelers that published from 1936 to 1966 to help identify friendly locations amid racial segregation. The book was created by travel writer and postal worker Victor Hugo Green.
The Briggs Hotel became a key place for socialization and entertainment for Black people in Rockford.
“This was also a time where Blacks who were leaving the South migrated to Rockford, and for many their first home was the Briggs Hotel,” said Brown, who authored a book about her Briggs, who was her great, great uncle.
Brown said she hopes people who see John Briggs Way will learn about his history and be inspired.
“When somebody sees John Briggs Way they will know history took place right here,” Brown said. “They should be inspired to go for their dreams and go for their goals, and no matter how hard it is you keep pushing through.”
Know before you go | John Briggs Way celebration
When: Noon on Saturday, April 6
Where: At the corner of Cedar and Court streets in Rockford
Celebration: 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Stephenson’s Business Center, 730 N. Church st., Rockford
Info: Go HERE
This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas