OAKWOOD — Four years after the installation of the “Light of Truth” Ida B. Wells National Monument, community leaders and neighbors gathered Friday to honor the late artist responsible for the sculpture.
In unveiling a plaque honoring Richard Hunt, the Ida B. Wells Commemorative Art Committee also honored the donors who made the 20-foot monument possible. The monument was one of the last installations created by Hunt, a Chicago native who died in 2023, and is stationed at Ellis Park, 3729 S. Langley Ave.
The three plaques installed at the base of the sculpture each recognize the late sculptor, donors — including a group of nearby day campers who raised $450 on their own — and former residents of the Ida B. Wells Homes, all of whom worked tirelessly to bring “Light of Truth” to Bronzeville.
The unveiling was emotional for Cecilia Hunt, who grew up watching her father turn scraps into masterpieces in the basement studio he shared with her mother.
“Today is quite auspicious in a way, because of everything we’re going through. This gives me some hope. I’m just so glad that the community wanted this and did this. Being at the studio, watching my dad through the generations … Just the idea of the little kids giving [money], I welled up,” Cecilia Hunt said.
Her father’s quest for found materials would lead them to the junkyard, which was like a trip to the candy store for the younger Hunt.
“The junkyard and the hardware store, it was an adventure. My mom and dad made jewelry, so we’d go to the hardware store together. Even when they divorced, we’d go together. I’d be so excited,” recalled Cecilia Hunt.
This plaque honoring the residents of the former Ida B. Wells Homes is one of three that were unveiled in a special ceremony at the “Light of Truth” Ida B. Wells Monument July 18, 2025. Credit: Jamie Nesbitt Golden / Block Club Chicago
The committee spent years building support for the project, finding champions in former Alds. Sophia King and Shirley Newsome, who helped fundraising efforts. King appeared at last week’s ceremony, but did not speak.
Monument committee Chairman Anthony Rogers spoke of the long, arduous process of completing the project, and how the artist would tease the group with alternate renderings to encourage the team to meet their fundraising goal.
“It gave us the inspiration we needed to wrap it up,” said Rogers, adding that Hunt’s “quiet activism” and his experiences as a Black man in America made the project a personal one for the artist.
A plaque honoring late artist Richard Hunt and donors who made the ‘Light of Truth” monument possible was unveiled in a special ceremony July 18. Credit: Jamie Nesbitt Golden / Block Club Chicago
The 20-foot-tall structure bears images and quotes from Wells, the journalist and suffragette who lived a few blocks away from the park where it now stands. Wells is one of two Black women to be honored with a national monument in the city, alongside Mamie Till. Poet and author Gwendolyn Brooks also has a sculpture in her honor in Brooks Park.
Wells’s great-grandchildren, Michelle and Dan Duster, have been leading efforts to give the activist her due, from books highlighting her work and the renaming of Congress Parkway to the annual Ida B. Wells Festival held each June.
Cecilia Hunt said the man who loved classical music and “Underdog” cartoons would be proud to see people connecting with his work.
“The blending of the timelines is so important because history is now, as well as in the past, and it’s also part of whatever future there may be, fingers crossed,” Cecilia Hunt said.
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