The origins of Burr Oak Cemetery date back to when Ellis Stewart, secretary of the black-owned Supreme Liberty Life Insurance company, joined with Earl B. Dickerson, a prominent Chicago lawyer, to develop a cemetery that would meet the needs of the burgeoning African-American population in Chicago, a demographic change brought about by the great migration of blacks from the South during the early decades of the 20th century.

Unfortunately, the Alsip townsfolk did not approve of a black cemetery next to the village and, "with the assistance of armed police", drove the burial party away.

The burial party eventually returned, however, with a deputy sheriff (courtesy of Robert E. Crowe the Republican state's attorney) and was successfully able to legally dedicate Burr Oak.

Dickerson again stepped in to help arrange for the black-owned Supreme Liberty Life Insurance company to buy the mortgage at roughly 10 cents to the dollar.

[2][3][4] Because of the investigation, the entire cemetery was declared a crime scene by the Cook County Sheriff's Office and temporarily closed to the public.