Self-Guided Tour

1st STOP

Founders Hall – Front Lobby

The mosaic portraits found on the upper walls were created by artist Thomas Miller to celebrate the educators, community leaders and artists who helped Dr. Margaret Burroughs and her husband Charles establish the Museum in 1961. Mr. Miller also created the larger mixed media murals commemorating Harold Washington, Jean Baptiste Pointe DuSable and The City of Chicago.

2nd STOP

DuSable Bust and Trading Post Replica

Created by sculptor Marion Perkins this bust celebrates the iconic image of Jean Baptiste Pointe DuSable. Located behind the bust is a historic summery about the first non-Native American settler and father of the place known as Es-chi-ka-gou (Chicago).

3rd STOP – AMES AUDITORIUM

Freedom Now

The centerpiece of the Ames Auditorium is the “Freedom Now” mural, created in 1965 by Robert W. Ames. This profile-relief wooden mural, chronicles the history of Africans arriving to North America in 1619 and their evolution of becoming “African Americans”. The mural begins this journey by observing various complex social structures and diverse aspects of life on the African continent prior to European colonization. The mural also highlights the “Middle Passage” and the African presence in building the American landscape through labor, patriotism, and social activism, and features the portraits of five heroic and influential African Americans. The mural is a memorial to five Americans that paid the ultimate price for their belief in democracy and “American Ideals”

Portraits of Black Americans in Illinois

The paintings located in the Ames Auditorium are part of 23 paintings commissioned by the State of Illinois for the 1963 Centennial of the Emancipation Proclamation to illustrate African American history as it related to Illinois.

4th STOP

Africa Speaks

Representing only a small portion of DuSable Museum’s collection of African art and artifacts, these masks, utilitarian objects, textiles and sculptures come from the five regions of Africa. They represent many ethnic groups, their history and traditions, reaffirming that Africa is a vast and intriguing continent.

5th STOP – MAIN GALLERY

Red, White Blue & Black:
A History of African Americans in the Armed Forces

The call to serve one’s country has always been the highest claim to citizenship and patriotic responsibility. However, for over 14 million Black men and women their deeds and service have gone unnoticed. Red, White, Blue & Black uses uniforms, photos and artifacts from DuSable Museum’s collection. This exhibit does not glorify war, but it honors those who have fought this country’s external enemies while having to contend with the internal enemy of racism and inequality.

The Soul of Bronzeville: The Regal, Club DeLisa, and The Blues
An Exhibition by The Chicago Blues Museum
June 23, 2009 – December 13, 2009

Focusing on American music traditions, the DuSable Museum is pleased to present The Chicago Blues Museum exhibition “The Soul of Bronzeville.” This exhibition salutes Chicago as the home of many legendary blues and R&B musicians including: Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Buddy Guy, Jerry Butler, Gene Chandler, Mavis Staples, The Chi-Lites, The Dells and many, many others and through instruments, original photographs, personal memorabilia, concert collectibles, music and moving footage, chronicles the artistic legacy and musical contributions of Bronzeville’s impact on the music and entertainment industry.

7th STOP

A Slow Walk to Greatness: The Harold Washington Story

In 1993, the DuSable Museum expanded its facility with the addition of a new wing named after the 42nd mayor of Chicago – Harold Lee Washington. 2008 marks the 25th anniversary of his election to that office. It is one of Chicago’s momentous events. Using items from the Museum’s permanent collection, A Slow Walk to Greatness: The Harold Washington Story incorporates photos, artifacts, documents, reproductions, archival audio and video footage to celebrate the man and tell his story.

LOWER LEVEL GALLERY

8th STOP

Tracing the Civil Rights Movement – 1848 to 1968

From the Antebellum era to the passage of the Civil Rights bill in 1968, “Tracing the Civil Right Movement” exhibit 1848 to 1968 recaps salient moments of one of America’s most turbulent periods in history; the aspiration of African Americans gaining full class citizenship. Primarily, developed from artifacts within its permanent collection, The DuSable Museum of African American History takes a look into the history of the Civil Rights Movement spanning a 120 year period.

9th STOP

Making Their Mark: Noted Signatures That Changed History

Throughout history, the names of numerous men and women, whose deeds and contributions for the betterment of society have shaped the world in which we live. The DuSable Museum has mined its remarkable collection of autographed artifacts and objects to present in this exhibition.

10th STOP

MASTERPIECE GALLERY

A compilation of paintings, prints and sculptures from DuSable Museum’s permanent collection, which includes the work of highly acclaimed African American artists such as Augusta Savage, Henry Tanner, William H. Johnson, and Elizabeth Catlett along with important Chicago artists Archibald Motley, William E. Scott, and Marion Perkins.

FINAL STOP – THE TRADING POST

DuSable Museum’s Store and Gift Shop

Keep your DuSable Museum experience memorable! Visit our gift shop located near the lobby.