In her dedication to educating others and advocating for African American art, Margaret Burroughs became a cultural leader and role model. Born in St. Rose, Louisiana, in 1917, Burroughs and her family followed the Great Migration north to Chicago in 1922. She made the most of many valuable opportunities throughout her lifetime, beginning at Englewood High School, where she first became interested in art, and became the youngest member of George Neal’s Art Crafts Guild. She later studied at the Chicago Normal School.

A champion of access, Burroughs co-founded the South Side Community Art Center (in conjunction with the Works Progress Administration), the National Conference of Artists in 1959, and, two years later, opened what is today Chicago’s DuSable Black History Museum & Education Center, literally out of her living room at 3806 S. Michigan Ave. She served as its first director and remained a guiding force as the museum moved to Washington Park in 1973. (Side note: The DuSable was featured in an episode of the HBO Max television series South Side in 2022.  The episode titled “Turner’s and Brenda’s Day Off”  was the creator’s take on the 1986 movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. )

As a printmaker, Burroughs is best known for powerful linocuts that honor Black family life, dignity, and liberation. It is truly art that is meant to be owned and lived with. Works like Birthday Party and Black Venus exemplify her crisp carving and communal themes.  They are now held by major museums, including the Art Institute of Chicago and MoMA (which added Black Venus to its collection in 2023), underscoring sustained institutional demand. Collectors value her prints for both their aesthetic clarity and their role in building Black cultural foundations.

Burroughs used her influence to build markets for other artists. She founded and coordinated the Lake Meadows Art Fair in 1957, one of the city’s most important platforms for Black artists through the 1960s–70s, and later served as a Chicago Park District commissioner for 25 years, work the city honored in 2015 by renaming 31st Street Beach, “Margaret T. Burroughs Beach.”  This beach and park area is situated in Burnham Park. 

A prolific writer as well as an image-maker, Burroughs penned the widely quoted poem “What Shall I Tell My Children Who Are Black?” (1968), extending her message from the print shop to the page.

In 2018, the exhibitions The Art and Influence of Dr. Margaret T. Burroughs and The Time Is Now! Art Worlds of Chicago’s South Side, 1960-1980, were presented concurrently; the former at her beloved museum, and the latter at the Smart Museum of Art, University of Chicago.  The book South Side Venus: The Legacy of Margaret Burroughs by Mary Ann Cain was also published.  Together, they provide a closer look at the life and legacy of this remarkable woman who continues to inspire generations.  

Photo: "Dusable to Obama: Chicago's Black Metropolis" / DuSable Museum of African American History. Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature.