The American Negro Exposition, also known as the Black World's Fair and the Diamond Jubilee Exposition, was a world's fair held in Chicago from July until September in 1940, to celebrate the 75th anniversary (also known as a diamond jubilee) of the end of slavery in the United States at the conclusion of the Civil War in 1865. History As a result of the discrimination towards African Americans at the 1933 Century of Progress Exposition, James Washington, a real estate developer, conceived of the American Negro Exposition. On July 4, 1940, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, from his Hyde Park home, pressed a button to turn on the lights, officially opening the American Negro Exposition. The main speakers on the opening day were Chicago mayor Edward Joseph Kelly as well as Postmaster General James A. Farley. The exposition was held at the Chicago Coliseum, with 120 exhibits on display. The exposition was organized by James W. Washington, as president, and was funded through two $75,000 ($1.37 million in 2020) grants from Congress and the Illinois General Assembly. Truman Gibson, a member of Roosevelt's "Black Cabinet", served as executive director for the fair. Exhibits Entrance was 25 cents and the organizers expected 2 million people to attend. The art exhibit comprised 300 paintings and drawings and was called by The New York Times as "the largest showing of the work of Negro artists ever assembled." Additionally, there was a Hall of Fame honoring notable African Americans. Artist William Edouard Scott created a series of 24 murals for the event, which took him three months to complete. Black Mexican artist Elizabeth Catlett's master thesis, the limestone sculpture "Negro Mother and Child" won first place in the exposition. Margaret Walker entered a literary competition with the following verses: Arna Bontemps and Langston Hughes co-wrote a musical titled Jubilee: Cavalcade of the Negro Theater specifically for the exposition. Bontemps, the poet Fenton Johnson, and several others working under the auspices of the Illinois Writers’ Project, produced a commemorative 96-page African-American history book called Cavalcade of the American Negro. Other musical segments were a performance by Duke Ellington and his orchestra, as well as a swing performance of The Chimes of Normandy. Participants Organizations Businesses Dioramas The exhibit had 33 five-feet wide dioramas held in the "Court of Dioramas" hall, they were made from wood, plaster and masonite, showcasing African American contributions and events of historical