HISTORIC LIBRARY MEMORIES HONORING BLACK HISTORY MONTH 2021
(2nd of 4 parts)Dr. Margaret Burroughs, Founder of the DuSable Museum of African American History, was a great friend of the Clarence Darrow Library, a branch of the Chicago Public Library which served those incarcerated at the Cook County Department of Corrections (CCDOC, Cook County Jail) until 1992.
Dr. Burroughs visited the library regularly, bringing hope and encouragement to the detainees by reading and teaching poetry, providing art supplies, sharing stories, and showing items from her travels to Africa.
Dr. Burroughs’ visits, and, indeed, her very presence, were a source of joy and inspiration to all.
“See how beautiful you are!” said Dr. Margaret Burroughs( left) to African American attendees at a program in the Clarence Darrow Library, as she held up a portrait of a handsome young black youth. Assisting her was Maria Hayley (right) who directed library services there at the time.