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Malcolm X College, one of the
City Colleges of Chicago The City Colleges of Chicago is the public community college system of the Chicago area. Its colleges offer associate degrees, certificates, free courses for the GED, and free English as a second language (ESL) courses. The City Colleges sys ...
, is a
two-year college A junior college is a type of post-secondary institution that offers vocational and academic training that is designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations or support roles in professions such as engineering, acc ...
located on the Near West Side of
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
,
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
. It was founded as Crane Junior College in 1911 and was the first of the City Colleges. Crane ceased operation during the Depression; their newspaper, the Crane College Javelin, was still being printed in May of 1932. It was reopened in 1934 as Theodor Herzl Junior College, located in the
North Lawndale North Lawndale is one of the 77 community areas of the city of Chicago, Illinois, located on its West Side. The area contains the K-Town Historic District, the Foundation for Homan Square, the Homan Square interrogation facility, and the gr ...
neighborhood on Chicago's West Side in. Needing a new campus in the late 1960s, Herzl's building was changed into an elementary school. In 1969, the school was named in honor of
civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...
advocate and orator
Malcolm X Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little, later el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz; May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965) was an African American revolutionary, Islam in the United States, Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a prominent figur ...
on its move to a new campus in the Near West Side. Malcolm X College works with healthcare and industry partners to provide students with career-oriented education in the healthcare field. The school's main corporate partner is
Rush University Medical Center Rush University Medical Center (Rush) is an academic medical center in the Illinois Medical District neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. It is the hospital for the Rush University System for Health, which includes Rush Oak Park Hospital and Rus ...
, which helps the school write curriculum, teach, and place students in jobs.''Chicago Journal''
. Retrieved on February 9, 2013.
The school also has 18 other healthcare and industry partners, including
Walgreens Walgreens is an American pharmacy store chain. It is the second largest in the United States, behind CVS Pharmacy. As of March 2025, the company operated more than 8,700 stores in the U.S. Walgreens has been the subject of a number of lawsuit ...
and GE Healthcare.City of Chicago
Retrieved on February 9, 2013.


History

Crane Junior College, the first city college in Chicago, was founded in 1911 to be a
junior college A junior college is a type of post-secondary institution that offers vocational and academic training that is designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations or support roles in professions such as engineering, a ...
for the graduates of the nearby Crane High School. During the
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
, the financially strapped
Chicago Board of Education The Chicago Board of Education serves as the board of education (school board) for the Chicago Public Schools. The board traces its origins to the Board of School Inspectors, created in 1837. The board is currently made up of 11 members appoin ...
considered closing the school but after arguments from
Clarence Darrow Clarence Seward Darrow (; April 18, 1857 – March 13, 1938) was an American lawyer who became famous in the 19th century for high-profile representations of trade union causes, and in the 20th century for several criminal matters, including the ...
, it remained open as the
Theodore Herzl Theodor Herzl (2 May 1860 – 3 July 1904) was an Austro-Hungarian Jewish journalist and lawyer who was the father of modern political Zionism. Herzl formed the Zionist Organization and promoted Jewish immigration to Palestine in an effo ...
Junior College, named for the founder of the modern
Zionism Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...
movement. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Herzl Junior College was leased by the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
and used in training thousands of Navy personnel as a part of the
Electronics Training Program The Electronics Training Program (ETP) was the name commonly used for an unusual, difficult, and selective training activity of the United States Navy during World War II. The ETP combined college-level classroom instruction with laboratories i ...
. In 1968, at the request of the local community, the school was renamed Malcolm X College and relocated to its present site at 1900 W. Jackson Blvd. The Douglas Blvd. site no longer serves as a college campus and is currently operated by the
Chicago Public Schools Chicago Public Schools (CPS), officially classified as City of Chicago School District #299 for funding and districting reasons, in Chicago, Illinois, is the List of the largest school districts in the United States by enrollment, fourth-large ...
as Theodore Herzl Elementary School. In 1971 a modernist inspired campus building based on Miesian design standards was built by architect Gene Summers at 1900 West Van Buren. Gene Summer was an assistant to the esteemed Mies Van Der Rohe and as such the former Malcolm X college campus had a look similar to the IIT campus designed by Rohe. The campus was demolished in 2016 to make way for a Chicago Blackhawk's training facility.

Curbed Chicago. Retrieved on March 12, 2022.
In 2016, the City of Chicago built a $251 million state-of-the-art facility and 1,500-space parking garage adjacent to the
United Center The United Center is an indoor arena on the Near West Side, Chicago, Near West Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is home to the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL) ...
, a facility to train students for careers in healthcare.
" Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved on February 11, 2013.
The 500,000 square-foot campus would offer healthcare and general education courses, a virtual hospital, simulated healthcare technology, a dental hygiene clinic, smart technology in every classroom, a conference center, a daycare center and a 1,500-space parking garage. The campus also housed the new City Colleges of Chicago School of Nursing.
" WBEZ. Retrieved on October 31, 2014.
The new facility was announced in 2012, completed in 2016, and opened on January 7, 2016.


Academics

The college provides open admissions; all prospective students are admitted. Classes take place at both the main campus on Van Buren St. and at an auxiliary site, known as the West Side Learning Center, 4624 W. Madison St. Malcolm X College focuses on adult education and continuing education. The college offers a number of different degree choices, including
associate degree An associate degree or associate's degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of academic qualification above a high school diploma and below a bachelor's degree ...
s in arts, in general studies, in applied science, and in science. The associate in arts degree offers five different majors:
business administration Business administration is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. Overview The administration of a business includes the performance o ...
,
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...
,
history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...
,
psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...
, and
theater arts Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...
. The associate in general studies degree offers four different majors:
communication Communication is commonly defined as the transmission of information. Its precise definition is disputed and there are disagreements about whether Intention, unintentional or failed transmissions are included and whether communication not onl ...
and
fine arts In European academic traditions, fine art (or, fine arts) is made primarily for aesthetics or creativity, creative expression, distinguishing it from popular art, decorative art or applied art, which also either serve some practical function ...
,
biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...
,
natural Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the laws, elements and phenomena of the physical world, including life. Although humans are part ...
and
behavioral sciences Behavioural science is the branch of science concerned with human behaviour.Hallsworth, M. (2023). A manifesto for applying behavioural science. ''Nature Human Behaviour'', ''7''(3), 310-322. While the term can technically be applied to the st ...
, and
mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...
.


Beacon College for Health Science Education

Through its Beacon College for Health Science Education, Malcolm X College helps to meet the health care needs of the community. In that capacity, Malcolm X College offers the largest selection of
health science The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to health sciences: Health sciences – those sciences that focus on health, or health care, as core parts of their subject matter. Health sciences relate to multiple ...
career degrees and certificate programs in Cook County. Located adjacent to one of the nation's largest medical centers, the Beacon College offers students clinical affiliations.


Sports

Malcolm X has both men's and women's
collegiate sports College sports or college athletics encompasses amateur sports played by non-professional, collegiate and university-level student athletes in competitive sports and games. College sports have led to many college rivalries. College sports trace ...
. The college has both men's and women's basketball and cross country teams as well as a men's soccer team and a women's volleyball team. There is also
intramural Intramural sports are recreational sports organized within a particular institution, usually an educational institution, for the purpose of fun and exercise. The term, which is chiefly North American, derives from the Latin words ''intra muros'' m ...
teams for men and women in basketball and weight lifting.


Notable alumni

* Herbert C. Brown, recipient of 1979
Nobel Prize in Chemistry The Nobel Prize in Chemistry () is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists in the various fields of chemistry. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895, awarded for outst ...
*
Burne Hogarth Burne Hogarth (born Spinoza Bernard Ginsburg, December 25, 1911 – January 28, 1996) was an American artist and educator, best known for his work on the ''Tarzan (comics), Tarzan'' newspaper comic strip and his series of anatomy books for artis ...
, artist, illustrator of Tarzan, teacher, and author * Johnny Burke, lyricist, writer of popular songs in America between the 1920s and 1950s * Alfred Cilella, Illinois politician *
Marvin R. Dee Marvin Robert Dee (August 21, 1917 – January 3, 1977) was an American lawyer, businessman, and politician. Dee was born in Chicago, Illinois. He went to the Chicago public schools and to Crane College. Bee received his bachelor's and law de ...
, Illinois politician, lawyer, and businessman * Douglas Huff, Illinois politician * Nathan J. Kaplan, Illinois jurist and politician *
Don Myrick Donald Myrick (April 6, 1940 – July 30, 1993) was an American saxophonist. A member of the Phenix Horns, he was best known for his work with Earth, Wind & Fire and Phil Collins. He played alto, tenor, and soprano sax as a member of Earth, W ...
, musician with
The Pharaohs The Pharaohs, an American soul/jazz/funk group, were formed in 1962 out of a student band, The Jazzmen, at Crane Junior College in Chicago, Illinois. This early incarnation comprised Louis Satterfield on trombone, Charles Handy on trumpet, and ...
,
Earth, Wind & Fire Earth, Wind & Fire (abbreviated as EW&F or EWF) is an American band formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1969. Their music spans multiple genres, including jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, Latin and Afro-pop. They are among the best-selling ba ...
* Bernard S. Neistein, Illinois state legislator and lawyer'Illinois Blue Book 1971-1972,' Biographical of Bernard S. Neistein, pg. 148-249 *
Louis Satterfield Louis Edward Satterfield (April 3, 1937 – September 27, 2004) was an American bassist and trombonist. Satterfield was a member of both The Pharaohs and the Phenix Horns. He also collaborated with prominent artists such as Earth, Wind & Fire, Mu ...
, musician with
The Pharaohs The Pharaohs, an American soul/jazz/funk group, were formed in 1962 out of a student band, The Jazzmen, at Crane Junior College in Chicago, Illinois. This early incarnation comprised Louis Satterfield on trombone, Charles Handy on trumpet, and ...
,
Earth, Wind & Fire Earth, Wind & Fire (abbreviated as EW&F or EWF) is an American band formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1969. Their music spans multiple genres, including jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, Latin and Afro-pop. They are among the best-selling ba ...


References


External links


Malcolm X College homepage

Malcolm X College Library homepage
{{authority control Universities and colleges established in 1911 Memorials to Malcolm X 1911 establishments in Illinois City Colleges of Chicago Community colleges in Illinois NJCAA schools Two-year colleges in the United States