Margaret T.G. Burroughs stood in front of her DuSable High School students. She taught them their faces were art.
At home, she carved linocuts. Black faces. Black hands. Black life.
She collected. Paintings. Sculptures. Books. Artifacts.
1961. She opened her living room.
Saturdays. People walked through. Saw themselves in history.
Upstairs, she carved.
The FBI opened a file. She opened her doors.
1973. The museum moved to Washington Park.
The DuSable Museum of African American History is the oldest independent Black history and culture museum in the United States.
The linocuts. The books. The artifacts.
Theme: “What the Archive Can’t Hold”
Date Published: Monday, January 5, 2026