In 1961, a
diverse group of Chicago artists and educators, including
Margaret and Charles Burroughs, set out to correct the
apparent institutionalized omission of black history and
culture in the education establishment by founding a museum
committed to that purpose. The Ebony Museum of Negro History
and Art was begun in the former home of south side contractor
John Griffin that was converted into the Quincy Club and later
served as a boarding home for railroad workers before becoming
the Burroughs home.
In 1968, the museum was renamed after Jean Baptist Pointe
DuSable, a Haitian fur trader who was the first permanent
settler in Chicago. In 1971, the Chicago Park District granted
the museum’s request to use a former park administration
building in Washington Park. The museum became the city’s
principal memorial to Jean Baptiste Pointe DuSable and the
eighth member of the consortium of museums on Park District
land. In 1993, the museum opened a new wing bearing the name
of the late Mayor Harold Washington that included additional
gallery space on two floors and a 450-seat theatre.
Last year DuSable Museum completed major structural
improvements to its facilities and upgrades including
installation of a new computer LAN, improved security and HVAC
systems, restoration of the original Daniel Burnham-designed
north entrance, and a redesigned Trading Post museum store
that were enabled by a special $3 million capital grant from
the State of Illinois. Long range plans are currently focused
on accreditation by the American Association of Museums and
acquiring the Park District roundhouse to the south to expand
museum facilities to include additional galleries, curatorial
and education storage, and conservation facilities.
The DuSable Museum remains a community institution
dedicated to serving the cultural and educational needs of our
members. Our research, curatorial and educational divisions
are committed to listening and responding to these needs, as
well as the ever-increasing demands of art and cultural
historians nationwide.
The DuSable Museum of African-American History is the
oldest museum of its type in the country and is the only major
independent institution in Chicago established to preserve and
interpret the historical experiences and achievements of
African-Americans.
