Shortly after filing formal complaints with city and state oversight agencies alleging misuse of public funds, inflated vendor contracts and other misconduct by leadership at the DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center, the museum’s former vice president of education and programs says she was terminated on Oct. 3. Dr. Kim L. Dulaney further alleges “years of escalating retaliation” by DuSable Museum President Perri Irmer.
Dulaney sent a press release on Oct. 7 listing out her allegations against museum leadership. She accuses Irmer of verbal abuse, public defamation, and workplace intimidation; withholding public and private grant funds secured for education programs; reassigning funded projects without cause or explanation; and exclusion from decision-making, denial of departmental budgets and professional sabotage.
In the press release, Dulaney writes that she filed formal complaints to the Chicago Office of Inspector General (OIG) and the Illinois Attorney General’s Office. The TRiiBE reached out to Irmer and Raymond Ward, the DuSable Museum’s media relations consultant for comment. Ward responded with a written statement.
“The allegations made by Kim Dulaney on October 7 are outrageous and categorically false. The DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center maintains strict financial controls, conducts regular audits, and is subject to oversight by both internal and external parties to ensure that all funds are used appropriately and in full compliance with applicable laws, regulations, and grant requirements,” Ward said.
Ward also spoke to Dulaney’s termination.
“The decision to end Dr. Dulaney’s employment followed a thorough and fair review process, conducted in accordance with our established policies and procedures. We remain committed to maintaining a workplace that is professional, inclusive, and respectful for all employees. Furthermore, we remain fully committed to transparency, accountability, and responsible stewardship of the resources entrusted to us,” Ward continued.
Additionally, The TRiiBE filed Freedom of Information Act requests on Oct. 7 with the city’s OIG and the Illinois Attorney General’s Office. Calls to Ald. Jeanette Taylor (20th Ward) for comment has been unsuccessful. The 20th Ward is home to the DuSable Museum. Dulaney said she sent her complaint to Taylor as well.
The TRiiBE also reached out to Dulaney but has yet to receive a response. She is calling for an investigation into and audit of the museum’s grant and vendor practices under its current leadership, reinstatement of protections for whistleblowers and community engagement to protect the integrity of publicly funded institutions.
“This is not just about me,” Dulaney said in the written release. “This is about the abuse of public trust and the silencing of professionals who stand up for integrity. DuSable is a public institution and it belongs to the people—not to those who weaponize power for personal or political protection. President Irmer responded to my complaint of retaliation by terminating my position under the guise of restructuring, which punctuates my point. She has no respect of the law and no fear of, or regard for consequences. She has said she is undefeated and has no boss.”
Founded in the South Side home of educator, artist, writer and activist Dr. Margaret Taylor Burroughs and her husband Charles Burroughs in 1961, the DuSable is the first and oldest independently-owned Black history museum in the U.S.
Dulaney is not the first DuSable Museum employee to go public on allegations that leadership mismanaged funds. In 2018, Leslie Guy — the museum’s former chief curator — filed a lawsuit in the Cook County Circuit Court’s law division against the museum and Irmer. In the suit, Guy alleged that “various grants and other donor funds that which were reserved for specific projects were depleted and being misspent on other Museum functions despite being in contravention of the grant requirements and without prior approval of the various grant donors.”
Guy also alleged that President Perri Irmer terminated her in retaliation because she spoke up to museum board members about what was going on with grant fund misuse and museum finances. In the lawsuit, Guy also expressed concerns about the museum’s collections. The museum boasts a collection of more than 15,000 pieces of art made by Africans and African Americans.
“Despite Guy’s continued objections, a third-party consulting service obtained by Irmer, Corporate Art Source, had unlimited and unmonitored access to the Museum’s collection despite having no previous curatorial experience, museum experience, or accreditation as a museum appraiser,” the lawsuit reads.
Guy was terminated in 2017.
“This is not her [Irmer] first time firing someone who reported her misappropriation of funds, but hopefully Chicago residents will make this the last time, since their tax dollars are a major source of funding for the museum through the Chicago Park District,” Dulaney wrote in her press release.
In 2021, The TRiiBE obtained a letter from a group of former DuSable Museum employees. The letter was dated 2018 and addressed to Joyce Johnson-Miller, who was chairwoman of the museum’s board of trustees at the time. In the letter, former museum employees called for accountability, transparency and equality. There were also a list of concerns including, mismanagement of funds and resources, staffing issues, museum collections mismanagement, workplace bullying and retaliation, misconduct, favoritism and professional disrespect.
“The lack of accountability to our funders damages the museum’s reputation within the grantmaking community and puts affected staff in a difficult position, having to choose between complicity and whistleblowing,” the letter reads.
