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A Decade to Remember, Behind the Scenes

Join Dino Robinson, Shorefront, to learn more about Evanston's Norshore Twelve, its annual cotillion, and his research work and creation of "A Decade to Remember" exhibit currently at the library.

Dino Robinson, Shorefront, will share behind-the-scenes work that went into the installation of the “A Decade to Remember” exhibit and companion book. The research encompassed 15 years of outreach and detective work of both the Norshore Twelve and the development of the annual cotillion, managed by Eleanor Frazier. Patterned after a long-standing tradition of Black cotillions across the country, the Evanston cotillion took nearly a year to organize. During the year, prospective debutantes participated in cultural field trips, etiquette lessons, fundraising activities, dress fittings, choreography lessons, and their required acceptance into a college or university. At its height, the ball would attract more than one thousand people to downtown Chicago’s Sherman House Grand Ballroom. Between 1960 and 1971, a total of 160 young women took their bows at the Ball. 

Morris (Dino) Robinson, Jr is the founder of Shorefront, an historical organization he pioneered in 1995. Within Shorefront, he has authored books, facilitated subject specific speaking engagements and exhibits, is an advocate for community-based archives and collaborates with organizations involved in transformative community initiatives. Throughout the last 20 years, Dino built a collection measuring over 500 linear feet, illustrating the histories and contributions of the local Black communities in Chicago’s suburban North Shore. Professionally, Dino is the Production Manager at Northwestern University Press. Previously, he creative positions within advertising firms in Chicago, and later operated Robinson Design specializing in exhibit design and logo development. He holds a BA degree in Communication Design and a minor in African American Studies.

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