740 East 56th Place (in Washington Park)
(773) 947-0600
Admission:
www.dusablemuseum.org
Named for Jean Baptiste Pointe DuSable, a Black fur trader and
the first outsider to settle in the 1770s in what later became
the Chicago-area, the DuSable Museum of African-American
History is said to be among the country's 10 most notable
collections of paintings, drawings, and sculpture by
African-American artists.
The museum traces its roots back to 1961, when Dr. Margaret Goss
Burroughs founded it in her home with a ten-dollar charter. (Dr.
Burroughs also is credited with having established, along with
the help of others, the Negro Museum and Historical Foundation
in the 1940s and the National Conference of Negro Artists in
1959, which today is known as the National Conference of
Artists.)
The DuSable Museum of African-American History is the nation's
oldest, non-profit institution devoted to the collection,
preservation, interpretation, and dissemination of African and
African-American history and culture. It also holds the
distinction as being Chicago's only major independent
institution to preserve and interpret the historical experiences
and achievements of African-Americans.
The museum's permanent collection includes artifacts, books,
photographs, art objects and memorabilia totaling over 15,000
items. The holdings include original slave documents and civil
rights memorabilia; an art collection rich in nineteenth- and
twentieth-century works; the photographic collections of
Pulitzer Prize winning photographer John Tweedle and South
African photographer Leo Leveson; and an ethnographic collection
of African woodcarvings, bronze castings, and ivory carvings,
along with films and bibliographic files.
Among the continuing
exhibitions are Fight to Fly: Blacks in Aviation (a salute to
the courage and accomplishments of African-American aviators);
Harold Washington in Office (Chicago's first mayor of
African-American descent); Africa Speaks (a display of artwork
and artifacts from the African continent); Distorted Images:
Made in the U.S.A. (an exhibition that serves as a barometer of
past racial attitudes); From Trial to Triumph (a timeline of the
experience of Africans in America from slavery to freedom); and
DuSable Treasures (a selection of paintings, mosaics, prints,
and sculpture from select artists).
For tour information for groups of eight or more, call 773-947-0600, ext. 255.
