MAKING GOOD HISTORY

Margaret Taylor Burroughs (American, 1915-2010), Woman, 2006. Ink on paper; dims. unknown. From the Museum’s collection.

In 1961, with a few dedicated colleagues and a dream, the artist/educator/writer/activist Margaret Taylor Burroughs established our nation’s first independent museum celebrating Black culture. The Ebony Museum of Negro History and Art was inaugurated that very year in the Burroughs’ home on Chicago’s iconic South Side. Burroughs was proud that the Museum was “the only one that grew out of the indigenous Black community.”  At its 60th anniversary, the Museum—since named to honor Jean-Baptiste Pointe DuSable, the Haitian-born founder of Chicago—has welcomed millions of visitors to its home in Chicago’s historic Washington Park to experience its innovative and timely exhibitions and powerful and transformative educational programs, which together place the African American narrative firmly within the broader context of U.S. history. The DuSable is a convener; a point of connection; and a place where difficult conversations lead to reconciliation and renewal. And, as a beacon of strength and a refuge of reason, the Museum is a vital part of a socially equitable reconciliation of our nation’s historic divisions.

At this time of profound transformation, the DuSable is taking steps to solidify its position as a place where together, we can make good history. As part of this effort, it is focusing its outreach efforts on a sustainability campaign that will allow the Museum to imagine its next five years, while preparing it for its next sixty.