1933 Chicago World's Fair

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The 1933 Chicago World's Fair was nicknamed "Rainbow City," as opposed to the "White City" of the World's Fair that took place in Chicago in 1893. "Rainbow City" was not, unfortunately, a reference to some new spirit of racial inclusiveness at the Fair, but referred to the multi-colored buildings that populated the Fair's grounds. The involvement of African-Americans at the 1933 Fair was a hotly contested issue at the time, but it was decided that August 12, 1933 would be "Negro Day" at the Fair. "Negro Day" was a huge failure and the Fair had it's lowest attendance rate on that day. It's impossible to know whether this portrait, which appears to be of an African-American child, was drawn on that day, but it's interesting to think about what this boy's experience at the Fair might have been like.