We had a good time at the DuSable Museum of African American History’s annual arts and crafts festival last weekend. After a good day of church last Sunday morning it was time to spend the afternoon exploring another of Chicago’s numerous cultural gems.
There were lots of artists showing their various traditional paintings, multimedia paintings and crafts, wire sculpture and all other varieties of the visual arts. There were the vendors of African and Carribean scents, creams, soaps and clothing. One guy had a nice collection Negro Leagues baseball paraphenalia.
Some of my new favorite artists who were on the grounds showing their wares were Lindsey E. Bates and Clifford Contreras as well as retired art teacher, now full time fine artist, Ionis Bracy Martin.
The Museum itself was open as well (free on Sundays) and has expanded significantly since the last time I was there years ago. There are many great exhibits on the inside including displays on the great African empires through history and their rulers.
There is an outstanding military display. One exhibit shows the personal effects of a Black doughboy (nickname for an American soldier during WW I) who served during the Great War. Another has civil war cutlases and a print of a Revolutionary War era cartoon showing a Black soldier in line with the troops during the country’s original fight for freedom.
Did you know the first Black astronaut was a Chicago native? Unfortunately Robert H. Lawrence, Jr., died in a plane crash during a training flight and never made it into space. The honor of first African American astronaut to make a mission would go to Guion Blufford years later in 1983.
Other cool exhibits included a display of the original Regal Theater before it’s demolition with actual artifacts from the site including a short row of theater seats and some of the sculpted masonry from the sides of the building. There’s a Harold Washington annex that includes an animatronic version of Chicago’s first Black mayor along with other great info on his historic administration of the city.
I won’t give it all away. You’ll just have to make it a point to go and see all the great info for yourself one day. If you do it soon you can take advantage of the “Two museums for the price of one!” program. The DuSable has a new partnership with the Adler Planetarium and Science Museum on Lake Michigan directly on the city’s lake front. I’m happy to see both institutions expanding their cultural customer bases with intention. You can join the program at either museum or on either of their websites and get all of your Black history and science education in one fell swoop.
What? You’re not here already? There’s still plenty of summer left. C’mon and swing through the Windy City and take in the best the midwest has to to offer.
Hey Martin -
We plan to take our kids to the planetarium. Hope you had fun in Chicago, my kind of town.
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