The Center’s mission is to promote the study of Black writers and strengthen the humanities, especially literature, history, art, music and culture.
Founded in 1990, The Gwendolyn Brooks Center is a literary and cultural center invested in researching, teaching, and disseminating information about acclaimed Black writers, especially the life and works of Gwendolyn Brooks (1917-2000), former Poet Laureate of Illinois and Distinguished Professor of English at CSU. The goal of the Brooks Center is to strengthen the humanities in general and promote the study of Black writers to a local, national, and international community of students, faculty, and the general public. The Center's broad selection of culturally insightful and academically stimulating programs include the annual Gwendolyn Brooks Writer's Conference, Black History Month Video and Film Festival, Women's HIstory Month Lecture and Workshop Series, and The Center publishes a bi-annual literary journal, Warpland: A Journal of Black Literature and Ideas, featuring the works of renowned, emerging, and new writers.
