DuSable Museum of African American History

The DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center, formerly the DuSable Museum of African American History, is a museum in Chicago, Illinois, United States, dedicated to the study and conservation of African-American history, culture, and art. Named after Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, a fur trader of African ancestry and the first non-Native-American permanent settler in Chicago, the institution holds an affiliation with the Smithsonian Institution. It stands as the oldest and, until the 2016 founding of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the largest caretaker of African-American culture in the United States.

Chartered on February 16, 1961, the museum originated as the Ebony Museum of Negro History and Art. It was founded by Margaret Taylor-Burroughs, her husband Charles Burroughs, Gerard Lew, Eugene Feldman, Bernard Goss, and Marian M. Hadley to correct the omission of black history and culture in mainstream education and museums. Originally located on the ground floor of the Burroughses' home at 3806 S. Michigan Avenue, the institution formed a cultural corridor with the South Side Community Art Center across the street. In 1968, it was renamed for Jean Baptiste Point du Sable. The Chicago Park District donated the usage of a park administration building in Washington Park in 1973, relocating the museum to a structure that formerly served as a police lockup facility. In 1993, the museum expanded with a new wing named for Harold Washington, the first African-American mayor of Chicago. The museum's model has been emulated in cities including Boston, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia.

The museum's collection encompasses 13,000 artifacts, books, photographs, art objects, and memorabilia, largely acquired through private gifts. Holdings span United States slavery-era relics, nineteenth- and twentieth-century artifacts, and archival materials. The institution also maintains an extensive collection of books and records pertaining to African and African-American history and culture. Its art collection features New Deal Works Progress Administration period works, 1960s Black Arts Movement pieces, and prints and drawings by prominent artists. According to former director Antoinette Wright, African-American art grew from a cultural need to preserve history orally and artistically due to historical obstacles to other forms of documentation.

Signature items in the collection include the desk of activist Ida B. Wells, the violin of poet Paul Laurence Dunbar, and the Charles Dawson Papers. Archival highlights feature the diaries of sea explorer Captain Harry Dean, alongside works from scholar W. E. B. Du Bois, sociologist St. Clair Drake, and poet Langston Hughes. The art collection includes pieces by South Side Community Art Center students such as Charles White, Richard Hunt, Archibald Motley, Jr., Gus Nall, Charles Sebree, and Marion Perkins. Additionally, the museum owns prints and drawings by Henry O. Tanner, Richmond Barthe, and Romare Bearden. The Harold Washington wing houses a permanent exhibit containing memorabilia and personal effects surveying his political career, and the museum serves as the city's primary memorial to du Sable.

The museum is situated in the John W. Griffiths Mansion within Washington Park on the city's South Side. The original building was designed around 1915 by D.H. Burnham and Company to serve as the South Park Administration Building. In 2004, this structure became a contributing building to the Washington Park United States Registered Historic District. The original north entrance features Thomas Miller mosaics honoring the institution's founders. The 25,000 square foot Harold Washington wing, added in 1993, includes a 466-seat auditorium that hosts community-related events, including regular concerts for the Chicago Jazz Festival.

Located in the Washington Park neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois, the museum operates on land managed by the Chicago Park District, making it the eighth museum situated on Park District land. While dedicated to African-American culture, it also participates in the broader network of Chicago museums celebrating the city's ethnic and cultural heritage. The institution has historically served as a focal point for black social activism, hosting political fundraisers, community festivals, and various events for the black community. Information regarding visits and events can be found on the museum's official website at www.dusablemuseum.org.