African American Civil War Museum / The mission is to correct a great wrong in history that largely ignored the enormous contributions of the 209,145 members of the United States Colored Troops. It tells the stories and preserves for posterity the historic roles these brave men of African, European, and Hispanic descent played in ending slavery and keeping America united under one flag. The Museum uses a rich collection of artifacts, documents, primary sources and technology to create a meaningful learning experience for families, students, Civil War enthusiasts and historians about the period from the American Civil War to Civil Rights and beyond.
African American Firefighter Museum / The AAFFM stands as the first and so far the only free standing African American Firefighter Museum in the United States. The first floor contains vintage fire apparatus, stories and pictures of pioneering African American Los Angeles Firefighters. The Museum gallery is located on the second floor with pictures, artifacts and other memorabilia of African American Firefighters from around the country. There is a memorial moving tribute to the firefighters that perished during the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center in New York City.
African Heritage Fire Fighters Historical Society / AAFFHS mission is to collect, preserve and disseminate historical data, memorabilia and information relating to the contributions made by fire fighters of color to the fire service, as well as others who have contributed to such history. As the repository and archivist of this information, we will facilitate the utilization of these materials for fire safety/prevention, and the mentoring of youth, as well as professional growth and development of fire service members.
African American Museum of the Arts / Founded in 1994 and located in historic DeLand, the seat of Volusia County Government, AAMA is a unique and vital resource in this part of Florida. It is the only museum in the area devoted primarily to African American cultures and art. The museum houses a revolving gallery where visitors will find works of both established and emerging artists.
The African American Museum and Library at Oakland / Dedicated to the discovery, preservation, interpretation and sharing of historical and cultural experiences of African Americans in California and the West for present and future generations.
The African American Museum of Philadelphia / Founded in 1976 in celebration of the nation’s Bicentennial, the African American Museum in Philadelphia (AAMP) is the first institution funded and built by a major municipality to preserve, interpret and exhibit the heritage of African Americans. Throughout its evolution, the museum has objectively interpreted and presented the achievements and aspirations of African Americans from pre-colonial times to the current day.
American Jazz Museum / Showcases the sights and sounds of jazz through interactive exhibitions and films, visual arts exhibitions in the Art Gallery and Photography Gallery, the Blue Room Jazz Club, and the Gem Theater performing arts center. Public programming for all ages and youth education enliven the history and music at the center of the American Jazz Museum, entertaining and enriching jazz audiences while nurturing the next generation of jazz musicians.
The African American Museum of Iowa / A statewide museum dedicated to preserving, exhibiting, and teaching Iowa’s African American history. As Iowa’s leading educational resource on the topic, we educate more than 30,000 people each year through museum tours, traveling exhibits, research services, youth and adult education programs, and community and fundraising events.
The African American Museum of Nassau County / The mission is to promote understanding and appreciation of African American culture, art and tradition through education, interpretation, exhibitions, collections and programs for the enrichment of the public; with an emphasis on Long Island. The museum’s vision is to continue to be an outstanding regional resource for African American historical information and preservation.
The African American Museum of Fair Park (Dallas, TX) / Explore an extensive and comprehensive permanent collection that ranges from inspiring Folk Art to centuries-old masterpieces and including African art, black renaissance paintings, decorative arts, period rooms, and contemporary art. You’ll also experience intelligent, cutting-edge exhibitions and programs that reflect a fresh view.
The Amistad Research Center / Committed to collecting, preserving, and providing open access to original materials that reference the social and cultural importance of America’s ethnic and racial history, the African Diaspora, human relations, and civil rights.
The African-American Panoramic Experience (APEX) Museum / The mission is to accurately interpret and present history from an African-American perspective in order to help all American and International visitors better understand and appreciate the contributions of African-Americans to America as well as the world.
The Anacostia Museum & Center for African American History and Culture / Founded as the Anacostia Neighborhood Museum and opened in 1967, the Anacostia Community Museum was envisioned by S. Dillon Ripley, then-Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, as an outreach effort by the Smithsonian to the local African American community.
A. Phillip Randolph Pullman Porter Museum / The National A. Philip Randolph Pullman Porter Museum was founded in 1995 by Dr. Lyn Hughes. The facility is located in the Historic Pullman District in Chicago Illinois. On February 19, 2015 President Barack Obama designated the Historic Pullman district a National Monument that is now a part of the National Park Service. The museum is named after men who made history – Asa Philip Randolph and Pullman Porters, the men who made up the membership of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (BSCP) union. Randolph was the chief organizer and co-founder of the BSCP, the first African-American labor union in the country to win a collective bargaining agreement. Under Randolph’s leadership, the Pullman Porters fought a valiant battle for employment equality with the corporate giant, the Pullman Rail Car Company.
Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History / To promote specialized library service, archival resources, and culturally/educationally related activities essential for study and use by the general public, students, and scholars of the culture and history of peoples of African descent.
Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture / To collect, preserve, and promote the unique history and culture of the African diaspora, with emphasis on Charleston and the South Carolina Lowcountry.
The Banneker-Douglass Museum / Dedicated to preserving the history and culture of African Americans relevant to Maryland through collections, conservation, and study of artifacts, photographs, fine arts, decorative and applied arts, and architectural elements.
The B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center / Tells the story of King’s life, his career, and stories of the Delta—its history and music, social mores and race relations, literature and legends, adversities and successes. You’ll find it in B.B.’s hometown of Indianola, which sits squarely in the middle of the Mississippi Delta, the land that gave birth to American music.
Black World War II History Museum Website Link: This museum is the only one of its kind in the U.S. The museum was created not to glorify war but to document it — In particular to honor the long-ignored role of African-Americans in the largest worldwide conflict of human history.
Birmingham Civil Rights Institute / Our mission is to enlighten each generation on civil and human rights by exploring our common past and working together in the present to build a better future.
Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library / To preserve and showcase the many contributions of African Americans to Colorado and the West.
The Bronzeville Children’s Museum / The first and only African American Children’s Museum in the country.
Buffalo Soldiers National Museum (BSNM) / To educate the public and to preserve, promote and perpetuate the history, tradition and outstanding contributions of America’s Buffalo Soldiers from the Revolutionary War to the present.
California African American Museum / Founded in 1977, the California African American Museum has a long and rich history. The first African American museum of art, history, and culture fully supported by a state, CAAM was the direct result of a sustained, multiyear campaign of activism undertaken by visionary founders and community members. Its creation was an early and tangible recognition by the State of California of the critically important role African Americans have played in the American West’s cultural, economic, and political development.
Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History / Home to the Blanche Coggin Underground Railroad Collection, the Harriet Tubman Museum Collection, and the Sheffield Collection—a repository of documents regarding the labor movement in Detroit—among many other notable materials, The Wright houses more than 35,000 artifacts pertaining to the African American experience.
Black Cultural Archives / Established in 1981 and situated in its iconic building in Brixton’s Windrush Square since 2014, Black Cultural Archives (BCA) is the only national repository of Black history and culture in the UK. A public institution open to everyone.
Casa del Rey Moro African American Museum / The African Museum showcases extensive educational information in charts, timelines and graphics that bring you a better understanding of African cultural history and its impact throughout the world. There is also a collection of culturally relevant items, including carvings, weavings and other artifacts from over 10 different African countries.
The Colored Girls Museum / A memoir museum, which honors the stories, experiences, and history of ordinary Colored Girls. This museum initiates the object—submitted by the colored girl herself, as representative of an aspect of her story and personal history, which she finds meaningful; her object embodies her experience and expression of being a Colored Girl. The Colored Girls Museum is headquartered in the historic neighborhood of Germantown in Philadelphia, an area renowned for its compliment of historic buildings and homes.
Delta Arts Center / The mission of Winston-Salem Delta Fine Arts, Inc., is to enrich the lives of neighborhood and area residents by stimulating interest throughout the entire community in American arts and humanities, with emphasis on the contributions of African-Americans; to increase awareness and knowledge of the contributions of African-Americans to the arts and humanities in America and build pride in these contributions; to encourage individual creativity; and to provide quality cultural and educational programming for the entire community.
The Delta Blues Museum / is Dedicated to creating a welcoming place where visitors find meaning, value, and perspective by exploring the history and heritage of the unique American musical art form of the blues.
Dr. Carter G. Woodson African American Museum / The mission is two-fold:
1) To preserve, present, and interpret African American history and to engage a broad and diverse audience through these activities.
2) To promote an understanding among various groups that comprise the St. Petersburg community to enhance our ability as a society to respect, value diversity, and foster equal rights and social justice.
The DuSable Museum of African American History / Located in the historic Hyde Park area of Chicago at 740 East 56th Place (57th Street and South Cottage Grove Avenue) in Washington Park unites art, history and culture. Chicago is a city rich in African-American History, and the Museum’s namesake comes from Jean Baptiste Point DuSable, a Haitian of African and French descent, who in 1779 established the trading post and permanent settlement which would become known as Chicago.
Freetown Village Living History Museum / The mission is to educate the public about African American lives and culture in Indiana through living history performances, the collection and preservation of artifacts, exhibits and allied programs.
George Washington Carver Interpretive Museum / Provides a glimpse of the historical contributions and influences of Dr. George Washington Carver (“The Peanut Man”) and other outstanding men and women.
George Boyer Vashon Research Center and Museum for African American Culture / To build community relationships by teaching with a collection of artifacts, objects, and historical documents for exhibiting, interpreting and review of early St. Louis residents and people across the United States who were labeled, “Negro or Colored”. To teach social justice where people of all races can research life during Slavery and Jim Crow ways of life. Promote world peace.
Grand Rapids African American Museum and Archives / Our mission is to promote, preserve, display, collect and honor the lives, culture, history and accomplishments of African, African American, and connected peoples in the Greater Grand Rapids, Michigan community.
Hampton University Museum / With galleries dedicated to African American, African, American Indian and Asian and Pacific art and artifacts, the museum contains more than 9,000 objects representing cultures and people from around the world.
The Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture / Presents, preserves and celebrates excellence in the art, history and culture of African-Americans and those of African descent.
Hammond House Museum / Nestled on a quiet residential street in Atlanta’s historic West End, Hammonds House Museum is a unique setting to explore the cultural diversity and legacy of artists of African descent. The Museum is the former residence of the late Dr. Otis Thrash Hammonds, a prominent Atlanta physician and a passionate arts patron.
The Ida B. Wells-Barnett Museum and Cultural Center Of African and African American History / Established to inspire, enlighten and enrich the lives of Mississippian and people everywhere by collecting, preserving, and disseminating African and African American contributions toward the fields of history, art and culture in the United States and throughout the world.
The International Black Inventions Museum / Promotes positive images and self-esteem in children and adults and teaches people of all nationalities about the contributions that Africans throughout the world have given to society. It is a mobile museum which travels nationally and internationally to inform in a visual display. The display consists of every day items such as the window cleaner, the egg beater, lawn mower, space shuttle retrieval and more.
The International Slavery Museum / Located in Liverpool’s Albert Dock, it increases the understanding of transatlantic, chattel and other forms of enslavement. Through our collections, public engagement and research, we explore their impact and legacies.
The Kansas African American Museum / Formerly the venerable Calvary Baptist Church was once the cornerstone of Wichita’s vibrant black community. It was built in 1917 when the congregation’s leaders worked nights and weekends -separate and apart from their jobs to finish the church. That community featured restaurants, businesses, and homes. It hosted jazz artists, Negro League baseball stars, and was the home of America’s first African American Academy Award winner and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s lawyer among others.
Katherine Dunham Center for Arts and Humanities / KDCAH’s fundamental purpose is to promote research and training in the arts and humanities, leading to 1) Arts-based communication techniques for people of diverse cultures, and 2) a multi-arts training program to humanize and socialize individuals as well as provide them with marketable skills. These ends are achieved through continued scholarship in the field of inter-cultural communication, carried on by Ms. Dunham and others, and an innovative arts training program developed and perfected by Ms. Dunham in the late 1940’s.
The King Center / The King Library and Archives in Atlanta is the largest repository of primary source materials on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the American Civil Rights Movement in the world. The collection consists of the papers of Dr. King and those of the organization he co-founded, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, as well as the records of 8 major civil rights organizations and of several individuals active in the Movement. The archives also include more than 200 oral history interviews with Dr. King’s teachers, friends, family and civil rights associates.
Lawrence Bernard Brown House Museum / To preserve the historic L.B. Brown House for use as a museum to help educate the public about the significant contributions made by African-Americans to Florida’s unique history.
Lincolnville Museum and Cultural Center / The Friends of Lincolnville, Inc., is charged with the governing of the Lincolnville Museum and Cultural Center. Its mission is to preserve, perpetuate and promote the history and culture of African Americans in Northeast Florida through art, literature, music, theatre, recordings, live performances, lectures, heritage re-enactments and exhibits or artifacts, photographs and oral histories.
Idaho Black History Museum / Housed in the historic St. Paul Baptist Church building and located in Boise Julia Davis Park. The museum presents exhibits and provides educational and community outreach programs including lectures, films, workshops, literacy programs, and musical performances.
The International Jazz Collections (IJC) / Formally established at the University of Idaho in 2000, featuring papers and photographs of the legendary Lionel Hampton. The IJC merged with the University of Idaho Library’s Special Collections & Archives department in 2007. It is now the preeminent jazz archive in the Pacific Northwest.
The Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia /Claims it has amassed the nation’s largest public collection of artifacts spanning the segregation era, from Reconstruction until the civil rights movement, and beyond.
The Lower Ninth Ward Living Museum / Created to celebrate the rich history of this unique neighborhood. Only one in five residents have been able to return to their homes, so many stories will be lost if we as a community fail to actively remember. The Living Museum features oral histories from community members, exhibits of key events from the history of the Lower Ninth Ward, and cultural events that entertain and educate.
The Margaret Walker Center / An archive and museum dedicated to the preservation, interpretation, and dissemination of African-American history and culture.
The George & Leah McKenna Museum of African American Art / An institution that collects, interprets and preserves the visual aesthetic of people of African descent in North America and beyond. Through innovative programs and exhibits that engage versatile audiences, the McKenna Museum seeks to make African Diasporan fine art accessible to visitors of all ages. The institution identifies and presents emerging artists alongside well-established fine arts masters. Located in New Orleans, the McKenna Museum is committed to the preservation of the distinct culture found within the African American community of Louisiana.
Martin Luther King National Historic Site /A young boy grows up in a time of segregation…A dreamer is moved by destiny into leadership of the modern civil rights movement…This was Martin Luther King, Jr. Come hear his story, visit the home of his birth, and where he played as a child. Walk in his footsteps, and hear his voice in the church where he moved hearts and minds. Marvel at how he was an instrument for social change.
Mississippi Civil Rights Museum / Visitors will witness the freedom struggle in eight interactive galleries that show the systematic oppression of black Mississippians and their fight for equality that transformed the state and nation. Seven of the galleries encircle a central space called “This Little Light of Mine.” There, a dramatic sculpture glows brighter and the music of the Movement swells as visitors gather.
The Mosaic Templars Cultural Center (MTCC) / Founded as the Mosaic Templars of America Center for African American Culture and Business Enterprise under Act 1176 of 2001. MTCC was created as a museum of the Department of Arkansas Heritage and it honors the story of the Mosaic Templars of America and all of Arkansas’s African American history.
The Muhammad Ali Center / Muhammad’s dream to share his inspiration with the world is being realized through the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville, Kentucky. The Ali Center appeals to the heart, spirit, and imagination. It inspires both children and adults to form new commitments in their lives in areas of personal growth, integrity, and respect for others, and it gives them the tools to make these commitments happen. Muhammad Ali passed away on June 3, 2016 at the age of 74.
Museum of African American Art / MAAA is a nonprofit cultural and educational institution dedicated to the interpretation, promotion, and preservation of art by or about people of African descent and their contributions to world culture.
Museum of the African Diaspora / MoAD, a contemporary art museum, celebrates Black cultures, ignites challenging conversations, and inspires learning through the global lens of the African Diaspora.
National Museum of African American History and Culture / The National Museum of African American History and Culture is a Smithsonian Institution museum located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., in the United States.
The National Blues Museum / Dedicated to preserving and honoring the history and legacy of Blues music and its impact on American and world culture.
The National Civil Rights Museum / Located at the Lorraine Motel, the assassination site of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., chronicles key episodes of the American Civil Rights Movement, examines today’s global civil and human rights issues, provokes thoughtful debate and serves as a catalyst for positive change.
The National Memorial for Peace and Justice and the Legacy Museum / The nation’s first memorial dedicated to the legacy of enslaved black people, people terrorized by lynching, African Americans humiliated by racial segregation and Jim Crow, and people of color burdened with contemporary presumptions of guilt and police violence.
National Multicultural Western Heritage Museum (NMWHM) /Acknowledges the multicultural contributions of Hispanic, Native, European, Asian and African Americans in the settlement of the American frontier. Works of artists and others who documented people and events of the time via journals, photographs, and other historical items are part of the museum’s collection of overlooked materials that tell — often for the first time — the complete story of how the West was won. Through various educational programs (e.g., storytelling sessions, “Forgotten Cowboys Tour,” cultural heritage workshops, historical reenactments, participatory learning) at the museum and in the community, the Museum shares our multicultural western heritage while instilling positive values of diversity, tolerance, hard-work, and determination. Visitors to the museum and at our traveling exhibitions leave with an awareness that the American West came into being through the struggles and triumphs of racially and socio-economically diverse people.
The National Museum of the Tuskegee Airmen / Represents the culmination of the efforts of many individuals. It provides a place not only to record the contributions of Americans to the defense of our Nation during a period in our history when they were not thought of as the equal of other citizens, but a place where all of the youth of America may come to acquire inspiration, counseling and assistance in achieving excellence in their own educational and career pursuits.
Newsome House Museum and Cultural Center / Honoring the legacy of Joseph Thomas Newsome, this restored 1899 Victorian landmark continues to be devoted to the expression of black cultural and historical themes. The public is invited to use this facility to learn of the past, examine current issues, and celebrate life’s milestones.
Northwest African American Museum / Our mission is to spread knowledge, understanding and enjoyment of the histories, arts and cultures of people of African descent for the enrichment of all. We accomplish our mission by working with others to: *Present and preserve the connections between the Pacific Northwest and people of African descent; and to *Investigate and celebrate Black experiences in America through exhibitions, programs and events.
The National African American Jazz Legacy Museum / Founded March 15, 2016. It is the creation of an African ancestral arts history collaboration beginning with the Treme community in New Orleans, to maintain and support institutions to celebrate, educate, demonstrate and preserve the legacy of jazz, african American classical music. This most importantly includes the arrival of Africans to America throughout the diaspora, especially these who arrived in the belly of slaveships, to freedom from enslavement, Juneteenth, and the struggle for civil rights and justice.
The Curtis Museum / Headquartered in the former Curtis Elementary School and originally established as the Pinellas County African American History Museum, The Curtis Museum serves as a research center for the study of African American culture and life in Pinellas County, Florida.
Penn Center National Historic Landmark District / For one hundred and fifty-seven years, Penn Center, located on St. Helena Island, South Carolina, has been at the epicenter of African American education, historic preservation, and social justice for tens of thousands of descendants of formerly enslaved West and Central Africans living in the Sea Islands, known as the Gullah Geechee people.
Purdue University Black Cultural Center / A vibrant element of University life, offering a wealth of programs and services for the entire campus community. We bring together the wonderful diversity of the Purdue family by nurturing and presenting the rich heritage of the African American experience through art, history and cultural understanding. The center sponsors outstanding student performing arts ensembles in dance drama, choral music and creative writing. We also house a special collections library, a computer lab, and student organization office and meeting space.
The Ritz Theater and Museum / In 1999, The Ritz Theatre and Museum was constructed on the site of the 1929 Ritz Theater movie house in Jacksonville’s historic African American community of La Villa. During La Villa’s height of activity in the 1920s-1960s, it was known as the “Harlem of the South.”
The River Road African American Museum / Dedicated to collecting, preserving, exhibiting and interpreting art, artifacts and buildings for the purpose of educating visitors about the history and culture of African Americans in the rural communities between Baton Rouge and New Orleans.
The San Diego African American Museum of Fine Art (SDAAMFA) / The mission is to present and preserve the art of African Americans globally and to broaden the knowledge and understanding of the visual arts in Southeastern California generally and San Diego specifically by collecting, preserving and displaying works of art by and about African Americans; by creating and hosting quality traveling exhibitions; by collecting and preserving fine art and by developing and helping to foster an appreciation of art through meaningful public programs, symposia, and other educational programs.
The Seacoast African American Cultural Center / The mission is to celebrate the lives and achievements of black people, with emphasis on the unique story of African Americans in the New Hampshire and Maine seacoast area, and to infuse young people with an appreciation of their history and culture.
Senator John Heinz History Center / The African American Collections are dedicated to the preservation, dissemination and interpretation of the life, history, and culture of Africans and African Americans in Western Pennsylvania.
Somerset Place State Historic Site / The mission is to preserve and interpret the history of enslaved and free individuals who established, developed, and maintained Somerset Place plantation, circa 1775-1860.
Spelman College Museum of Fine Art / The only museum in the nation emphasizing art by and about women of the African Diaspora
Stax Museum of American Soul Music / The mission of the Soulsville Foundation is to preserve, promote, and celebrate the many unique cultural assets of the Soulsville, USA neighborhood in Memphis, while supporting the development of new educational and community-building opportunities.
The African American Museum in Philadelphia / Engages diverse communities in appreciating the Black experience through the narrative of art, history and culture.
The Amistad Center for Art and Culture / We celebrate art and culture influenced by people of African descent through education, scholarship and social experiences.
The Black Archives History an Research Foundation of South Florida, Inc. / The mission is to collect, preserve and disseminate the history and culture of black South Florida from 1896 to the present.
The National Great Blacks in Wax Museum / To stimulate an interest in African American history by revealing the little-known, often-neglected facts of history. To use great leaders as role models to motivate youth to achieve. To improve race relations by dispelling myths of racial inferiority and superiority. To support and work in conjunction with other nonprofit, charitable organizations seeking to improve the social and economic status of African Americans.
The National Museum of African American Music (NMAAM) / Educates the world, preserves the legacy and celebrates the contributions of African Americans and the role they play in creating and shaping the soundtrack of American life.
The Rosa Park’s Museum at Troy University / Provide educational programs and museum tours to educate visitors on Rosa Parks arrest and the history of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, as well as those “foot soldiers” who participated in the 1955-56 social protest of the injustice of segregation.
The Studio Museum in Harlem / The nexus for artists of African descent locally, nationally and internationally and for work that has been inspired and influenced by black culture. It is a site for the dynamic exchange of ideas about art and society.
The Tubman Museum / Fulfills its mission through diverse exhibitions, innovative educational programming, cutting edge technology and a host of special events throughout the year.
Underground Railroad History Project / Researches and preserves the local and national history of the anti-slavery and underground railroad movements, their international connections, and their legacies to later struggles; it engages in public education and dialogue about these movements and their relevance to modern society.
Vaughn Cultural Center and Museum / The VCC is devoted to the display of African American artistic, cultural and historical materials. The goal of the center is to promote awareness of African American history and culture through exhibits, storytelling and special programs. The VCC features African American art, exhibits, regional and national artists and provides a venue for local poets, musicians as well as published writers.
Weeksville Heritage Center / To document, preserve and interpret the history of free African American communities in Weeksville, Brooklyn and beyond and to create and inspire innovative, contemporary uses of African American history through education, the arts, and civic engagement.
Whitney Plantation / A genuine landmark built by African slaves and their descendants. As a site of memory and consciousness, the Whitney Plantation Museum is meant to pay homage to all slaves on the plantation itself and to all of those who lived elsewhere in the US South.
The Young Man’s Institute Cultural Center /Asheville features exhibits on local African-American history and African culture and is the most celebrated African-American cultural institution in the region. Commissioned by George Vanderbilt in 1892, the 18,000 square foot Tudor-style structure was built by and for the several hundred African-American craftsmen who helped construct and furnish the Biltmore House. The Young Man’s Institute (YMI) quickly became the center of cultural, commercial, and religious life for local African-Americans.