For a history competition sponsored by the Hyde Park
Historical Society, students from the photo and journalism clubs did a
project on the Oakwoods Cemetery which borders the Pocket on the North side
of 71st St. The cemetary only started allowing blacks to be buried starting
in the 1960's. Today Oakwoods is one of the most popular cemeteries for both
neighborhood residents and prominent black Chicagoans to be laid to rest,
Famous people buried there include Jesse Owens and former Chicago Mayor
Harold Washington. Big Jim Colosimo was a famous Italian gangster who was
murdered during Prohibition days and buried in Oakwoods Cemetery.
