Bill Broonzy – Me Folk Singer

Margaret Burroughs was an accomplished Louisiana artist and author who played a seminal role in preserving and promoting African American art, culture, and history. She established the Southside Community Art Center and the DuSable Museum of African American History in Chicago.

Burroughs’s subject in this piece is Bill Broonzy (d. 1958), who was a foundational Chicago Blues and Folk musician. Broonzy’s most famous song, “Black, Brown, and White,” addressed the stark racial disparities of Jim Crow America. These two groundbreaking artists—Burroughs and Broonzy—are united by their Southern roots and their lifelong fight against discrimination.