List of museums focused on African Americans

An example of an African American museum: The Dr. Carter G. Woodson African American History Museum. Woodson was the founder of Black History Month, and a noted educator.

This is a list of museums in the United States whose primary focus is on African American culture and history. Such museums are commonly known as African American museums. According to scholar Raymond Doswell, an African American museum is "an institution established for the preservation of African-derived culture."

Museums have a mission of "collecting and preserving material on history and cultural heritage." African American museums share these goals with archives, genealogy groups, historical societies, and research libraries. Museums differ from archives, genealogy groups, historical societies, memorials, and research libraries because they have as a basic educational or aesthetic purpose the collection and display of objects, and regular exhibitions for the public. Being open to the public (not just researchers or by appointment) and having regular hours sets museums apart from historical sites or other facilities that may call themselves museums.

History of African American museums in the United States

An exhibit at the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Museums not only collect and preserve historic and cultural material, their basic purpose is educational or aesthetic.

The first African American museum was the College Museum in Hampton, Virginia, established in 1868. Prior to 1950, there were about 30 museums devoted to African American culture and history in the United States. These were located primarily at historically black colleges and universities or at libraries that had significant African American culture and history collections.

Important collections were developed at Bennett College in Greensboro, North Carolina; Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee; Howard University in Washington, D.C.; Lincoln University in Chester County, Pennsylvania; Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland; Talladega College in Talladega, Alabama; and Tuskegee University in Tuskegee, Alabama. Additionally, local historical societies, history clubs, and reading groups in African American communities also collected and displayed African American cultural artifacts.

The first independent, nonprofit African American museums in the United States were The African American Museum in Cleveland, Ohio (founded in 1956), the DuSable Museum of African American History in Chicago, Illinois (founded in 1960), and the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit, Michigan (founded in 1965). Throughout the 1960s, the energy of the American Civil Rights Movement led to numerous local African American museums being founded. Between 1868 and 1991, there were about 150 African American museums established in 37 states.

Since its opening in 2016, the largest African American museum in the United States is the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of African American History and Culture. The previous record holder was the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit, Michigan.

List of museums

This is a sortable table. Click on the column you wish it sorted by.

Name City State Founded References Image
A. Philip Randolph Pullman Porter Museum Chicago Illinois 1995
Africa Center, The New York City (Manhattan) New York 1984
African American Civil War Memorial Museum Washington D.C. 1999
African-American Research Library and Cultural Center Fort Lauderdale Florida 2002
African American Firefighter Museum Los Angeles California 1997
African American Military History Museum Hattiesburg Mississippi 2000
African American Multicultural Museum Scottsdale Arizona 2005
African American Museum Dallas Texas 1974
African American Museum and Library at Oakland Oakland California 1994
African American Museum in Cleveland, The Cleveland Ohio 1956
African American Museum in Philadelphia Philadelphia Pennsylvania 1976
African American Museum of Iowa Cedar Rapids Iowa 2003
African American Museum of Nassau County Hempstead New York 1970
African American Museum of the Arts DeLand Florida 1994
African American Museum of Southern Illinois Carbondale Illinois 1997
Afro-American Historical and Cultural Society Museum Jersey City New Jersey 1984
Alabama State Black Archives Research Center and Museum Huntsville Alabama 1990
Alexandria Black History Museum Alexandria Virginia 1987
America's Black Holocaust Museum Milwaukee Wisconsin 1988
Anacostia Museum Washington D.C. 1967
Anne Spencer House and Garden Museum Lynchburg Virginia 1977
APEX (African American Panoramic Experience) Museum Atlanta Georgia 1978
Armstead T. Johnson High School Montross Virginia 2000
Backstreet Cultural Museum New Orleans Louisiana 1999
Banneker-Douglass Museum Annapolis Maryland 1984
Benjamin Banneker Historical Park and Museum Oella Maryland 1998
Beck Cultural Exchange Center Knoxville, Tennessee Tennessee 1975
Bertha Lee Strickland Cultural Museum Seneca South Carolina 2015
Birmingham Civil Rights Institute Birmingham Alabama 1992
Black American West Museum and Heritage Center Denver Colorado 1971
Black Cowboy Museum Rosenberg Texas 2017
Black History 101 Mobile Museum Detroit Michigan 1995
Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia Richmond Virginia 1981
Blanchard House Museum Punta Gorda Florida 2004
Bontemps African American Museum Alexandria Louisiana 1988
Brazos Valley African American Museum Bryan Texas 2006
Bronzeville Children's Museum Chicago Illinois 1998
Buffalo Soldiers National Museum Houston Texas 2000
California African American Museum Los Angeles California 1981
Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History Detroit Michigan 1965
Charlotte Hawkins Brown Museum Sedalia North Carolina 1987
Clemson Area African American Museum Clemson South Carolina 2010
Delta Cultural Center Helena Arkansas 1991
Destination Crenshaw Los Angeles California 2019
Dorchester Academy and Museum Midway Georgia 2004
Dr. Carter G. Woodson African American History Museum St. Petersburg Florida 2006
DuSable Museum of African American History Chicago Illinois 1960
Eddie Mae Herron Center and Museum Pocahontas Arkansas 2001
Ely Educational Museum Pompano Beach Florida 2000
Evansville African American Museum Evansville Indiana 2007
Finding Our Roots African American Museum Houma Louisiana 2017
Frederick Douglass National Historic Site Washington D.C. 1962
Freedom House Museum Alexandria Virginia 2008
Freedom Rides Museum Montgomery Alabama 1962
George Washington Carver Museum, The Tuskegee Alabama 1941
George Washington Carver Museum Phoenix Arizona 1980
George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center Austin Texas 1980
George Washington Carver National Monument Newton County Missouri 1960
Great Blacks in Wax Museum Baltimore Maryland 1983
Great Plains Black History Museum Omaha Nebraska 1975
Griot Museum of Black History, The St. Louis Missouri 1997
Hammonds House Museum Atlanta Georgia 1988
Hampton University Museum Hampton Virginia 1988
Harriet Tubman Museum Cape May New Jersey 2020
Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center Church Creek Maryland 2017
Harvey B. Gantt Center Charlotte North Carolina 1974
Henderson Institute Historical Museum Henderson North Carolina 1986
Hotel Metropolitan Museum Paducah Kentucky
Howard County Center of African American Culture Columbia Maryland 1987
Idaho Black History Museum Boise Idaho 1995
International African American Museum Charleston South Carolina 2023
International Civil Rights Center and Museum Greensboro North Carolina 2010
Jacob Fontaine Religious Museum Austin Texas 2004
Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia Big Rapids Michigan 1996
John Johnson House Philadelphia Pennsylvania 1997
John E. Rogers African American Cultural Center Hartford Connecticut 1991
John G. Riley Center/Museum of African American History and Culture Tallahassee Florida 1996
Josephine School Community Museum Berryville Virginia 2003
Kansas African-American Museum Wichita Kansas 1997
L.E. Coleman African-American Museum Halifax County, Virginia Virginia 2005
LaVilla Museum Jacksonville Florida 1999
Legacy Museum, The Montgomery Alabama 2018
Legacy Museum of African American History Lynchburg Virginia 2000
Lewis H. Latimer House New York City (Queens) New York 2004
Lincolnville Museum and Cultural Center St. Augustine Florida 2005
Louis Armstrong House New York City (Queens) New York 2003
Martin Luther King, Jr., National Historic Site Visitors Center Atlanta Georgia 1996
Mary McLeod Bethune Council House National Historic Site Washington D.C. 1979
Mary McLeod Bethune Home Daytona Beach Florida 1956
Mary S. Harrell Black Heritage Museum New Smyrna Beach Florida 1999
Mayme A. Clayton Library and Museum Culver City California 2010
McLemore House African-American Museum Franklin Tennessee 2002
Mississippi Civil Rights Museum Jackson Mississippi 2017
MoCADA New York City (Brooklyn) New York 1999
Mosaic Templars Cultural Center Little Rock Arkansas 2008
Muhammad Ali Center Louisville Kentucky 2005
Museum of African American History & Abiel Smith School Boston Massachusetts 1964
Museum of the African Diaspora San Francisco California 2005
Nash House Museum Buffalo New York 2003
Natchez Museum of African American History and Culture Natchez Mississippi 1991
National African American Archives and Museum Mobile Alabama 1992
National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center Wilberforce Ohio 1987
National Center for Civil and Human Rights Atlanta Georgia 2014
National Center of Afro-American Artists Roxbury Massachusetts 1969
National Civil Rights Museum Memphis Tennessee 1991
National Museum of African American History and Culture Washington D.C. 2016
National Museum of African American Music Nashville Tennessee 2013
National Underground Railroad Freedom Center Cincinnati Ohio 2004
National Voting Rights Museum Selma Alabama 1991
Negro Leagues Baseball Museum Kansas City Missouri 1990
Negro Southern League Museum Birmingham Alabama 2014
New Orleans African American Museum New Orleans Louisiana 1988
Newsome House Museum and Cultural Center Newport News Virginia 1991
Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Center Niagara Falls New York 2018
Northeast Louisiana Delta African American Heritage Museum Monroe Louisiana 1994
Northwest African American Museum Seattle Washington 2008
Odell S. Williams Now And Then African-American Museum Baton Rouge Louisiana 2001
Old Dillard Museum Fort Lauderdale Florida 1995
Omenala Griot Afrocentric Teaching Museum Atlanta Georgia 1992
Oran Z's Black Facts and Wax Museum Los Angeles California 2000
Paul R. Jones Collection of African American Art Newark Delaware 2004
Philadelphia Doll Museum Philadelphia Pennsylvania 1988
Poindexter Village Museum and Cultural Center Columbus Ohio Planned
Pope House Museum Raleigh North Carolina 2011
Portsmouth Colored Community Library Museum Portsmouth Virginia 2013
Prince George's African American Museum and Cultural Center North Brentwood Maryland 2010
Ralph Mark Gilbert Civil Rights Museum Savannah Georgia 1996
Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture Baltimore Maryland 2005
River Road African American Museum Donaldsonville Louisiana 1994
Rosa Parks Museum Montgomery Alabama 2000
Rural African American Museum Opelousas Louisiana 2018
Sandy Ground Historical Museum New York City (Staten Island) New York 1994
Scott Joplin House State Historic Site St. Louis Missouri 1983
Scottsboro Boys Museum and Cultural Center Scottsboro Alabama 2010
Slave Haven Underground Railroad Museum Memphis Tennessee 1997
Slave Mart Museum Charleston South Carolina 1938
Smith-Robertson Museum and Cultural Center Jackson Mississippi 1984
Southeastern Regional Black Archives Research Center and Museum Tallahassee Florida 1976
Spady Cultural Heritage Museum Delray Beach Florida 2001
Spelman College Museum of Fine Art Atlanta Georgia 1996
Springfield and Central Illinois African-American History Museum Springfield Illinois 2012
Studio Museum in Harlem New York City (Manhattan) New York 1968
Swift Museum Rogersville Tennessee 2008
Tangipahoa African American Heritage Museum Hammond Louisiana 2007
Taylor House Museum of Historic Frenchtown Tallahassee Florida 2011
Tubman African American Museum Macon Georgia 1981
Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site Tuskegee Alabama 2008
Tuskegee Airmen National Museum Detroit Michigan 1987
Underground Railroad Museum at Belmont Mansion Philadelphia Pennsylvania 2007
Weeksville Heritage Center New York City (Brooklyn) New York 2005
Wells' Built Museum Orlando Florida 2001
Whitney Plantation St. John the Baptist Parish Louisiana 2014
Willam V. Banks Broadcast Museum Detroit Michigan 2017
Zion Union Heritage Museum Hyannis Massachusetts 2008
Zora Neale Hurston Museum of Fine Arts Eatonville Florida 2017
Minnesota African American Heritage Museum and Gallery Minneapolis Minnesota 2018

See also


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