Little Black Pearl (LBP) is a nonprofit organization serving youth in the Bronzeville neighborhood on Chicago's south side. Little Black Pearl was founded in 1994 with the vision of providing an enriching environment that nurtured the artistic expression and skills of youth in visual arts; educating them on sound business concepts, disciplines and practices; and providing an opportunity for youth to market their work within the neighborhood and broader community. The organization's founding location was the basement of a gray stone located at 4200 South Drexel Boulevard.

Over the next decade, Little Black Pearl received impressive recognition and became hailed by local and national media as an innovative paradigm for linking arts, education and entrepreneurship. Firmly rooted in a thriving black community, as the population changed, so did Little Black Pearl by working with an increasingly diverse youth population and adding curriculum and services for adults and families. As LBP's reputation grew, so did the number of students served, programs offered and community based partnerships and collaborations. No longer able to accommodate growing demand, in 1998 the organization began to make plans to relocate its headquarters to a significantly larger facility. With the help of the City Of Chicago, The State of Illinois, and generous donors Little Black Pearl purchased a building at the corner of 47th Street and Greenwood and soon after began construction of its new facility.

In January 2005 Little Black Pearl moved into its new home, a newly constructed state of the art, 40,000 square foot facility located at 1060 East 47th Street. Construction of Little Black Pearl Art and Design Center required extensive renovation of the pre-existing structure and includes architecturally significant features such as a two-story glass atrium with courtyard space, garden terrace, visitor viewing areas and a striking three dimensional wall element that cascades through the entire building. Little Black Pearl Art and Design Center is a premiere institution that nurtures and influences both youth and adults to use art and design as a vehicle for entrepreneurship.The Art and Design Center also houses enterprising workshops including pottery, wood, metal, painting, glass, photography and computer graphics. The new Art and Design Center serves as an innovative and collaborative learning and social environment for youth and adults within the Kenwood/Oakland community and surrounding areas.