The Niles History Center will host a celebration to honor Lottie Wilson, the artist and civil rights activist recently inducted into the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame.

Wilson is one of five historical honorees who was selected for the 2016 class.

The event will take place from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 10, at the Historic Chapin Mansion.

Refreshments will be served and descendants of Wilson’s family will speak about the artist.

The festivities will also include a display of historical images and a short film.

The event is free and open to the public.

Charlotte “Lottie” Wilson was born in Niles in 1854. She became a nationally renowned artist whose works were displayed across the U.S.

As an African American woman living during the late 19th Century, Wilson faced countless challenges.

Through determination and a strong sense of independence, Wilson overcame each hardship and was able to accomplish major strides in art, education, civil rights and women’s rights.

Wilson was the first African American woman to graduate from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Although her medium consisted primarily of portrait and landscape painting, she also dabbled in the painting of fine china, needlework and sculpting.

Wilson’s best known work, “President Lincoln with A Former Slave” will be shown. The painting, which interprets the significant 1864 meeting of Sojourner Truth and Abraham Lincoln, was presented to President Theodore Roosevelt and exhibited at the White House.

Aside from her professional career, Wilson was an activist who campaigned for women’s rights. She hosted talks on women’s progress at several churches and art studios during the late 19th Century.

Wilson was a dedicated civil rights advocate who placed a strong emphasis on the rights of African-American women.

Although Wilson worked and lived in several cities throughout the U.S., she eventually moved back to her hometown of Niles, where she exhibited her works and taught classes until her death on Jan. 16, 1914, at age 60.

She is buried at Silverbrook Cemetery in Niles with her parents and children. A year after her death, Wilson’s work was included in an exhibition titled “50th Anniversary of the Emancipation of the Negro” during the Lincoln Jubilee in Chicago.

Patricia Gresham, of Niles, is one of Wilson’s descendants who still resides here.

Gresham and her family particularly her mother, Alice Brown are responsible for much of the research compiled on Lottie and her accomplishments.

“My mother would be so proud to know that our Lottie is in the Hall of Fame,” Gresham said

Check the Niles History Center’s website, www.nileshistorycenter.org, for more information or call 269-845-4054. The Niles History Center is located at 508 E. Main St., Niles.