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35 Black Art and History Museums to Support to Right Now (and Tour as Soon as You Can)

Take a trip through Black history with a visit to these museums and historic sites.

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african american museums

Over the past few weeks, protestors around the world have called for an end to police brutality and white supremacy in the wake of the murder of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers. In addition to organizing, many are taking the current Black Lives Matter demonstrations as an opportunity to educate themselves on the social issues of the past and present, and the Black experience in the United States. If you’re looking for sources on Black history and anti-racism, there are numerous museums and historic sites across the country dedicated to protecting and spotlighting the unique and layered history of Black people in America.

While many of these institutions remain closed right now because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, they continue to offer community and connection online through an array of programming, online galleries, and live-streamed events. You can also show your support by donating to or buying a membership as these spaces work to preserve Black culture for generations to come.

The Gantt Center for African American Arts and Culture

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Named for Charlotte, North Carolina's first Black mayor, Harvey B. Gantt, The Gantt Center for African American Arts and Culture is committed to highlighting African American culture. In non-pandemic times, it serves as a community center for a variety of arts and outreach programs. And while social distancing requirements remain in place, the institution is offering online-accessible galleries for at-home learning.

Donate Here

The Jack Hadley Black History Museum

The Jack Hadley Black History Museum is a gem located in Thomasville, Georgia, about 45 mins from the campus of Florida A&M University, a historically Black college. Hadley’s love for preserving Black culture started when he was stationed overseas with his family as a member of the United States Air Force. Upon his return home, he began sharing his knowledge by facilitating Black history walking tours and eventually he opened the museum in 2006.

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The King Center

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change is a historic site in Atlanta that includes King's birth home, the memorial for Dr. King and Coretta Scott King, and the Ebenezer Baptist Church, where MLK preached from 1960 until his death in 1968. The campus also includes a bookstore, resource center, and Freedom Hall, which serves as an exhibition gallery, housing works of art from around the world.

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National Civil Rights Museum

The Lorraine Motel in Memphis, the place where Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968, now serves as the home of the National Civil Rights Museum, an institution which chronicles key moments of the American civil rights movement, examines today’s global civil and human rights issues, and showcases how ordinary people can shift the levers of history.

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Buffalo Soldiers National Museum

The moniker "Buffalo Soldier" originally referred to members of the 10th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army, but the nickname eventually went on to become synonymous with African American regiments more generally speaking. The Buffalo Soldiers National Museum in Houston, Texas, shares the history of African Americans across all branches of the US military through exhibitions and online programming.

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Stax Museum of American Soul Music

Stax Records gave us The Staples Sisters, Otis Redding, Johnie Taylor, and the list of iconic artists goes on. Now, this Memphis museum showcases the history of the label while also highlighting artifacts like the Soul Train dance floor and Isaac Hayes’s 1972 gold-trimmed, peacock-blue Cadillac El Dorado. The Soulville Foundation, which operates the museum, also manages the Stax Music Academy, an initiative that runs after-school music programs and The Soulville Charter School for youth in the local community.

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Mississippi Civil Rights Museum

At this museum, located in Mississippi’s capital city of Jackson, eight interactive galleries tell the stories of Black Mississippians and the fight for racial equality that transformed both the state and nation. Can’t make it to the museum? Journey through key portions Mississippi history on their Instagram page, where the museum posts daily.

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The Legacy Museum

Until the National Memorial for Peace and Justice opened in Montgomery, Alabama in 2018, the United States had no national monument dedicated to the victims of the racial terrors of lynching and enslavement.

Its counterpart is the Legacy Museum, an institution operated under the management of the Equal Justice Initiative, a civil rights nonprofit headed by lawyer Bryan Stevenson, The 11,000-square-foot museum, which sits on a site where slaves were once held, uses oral history, archival materials, and interactive displays to share the horrors of enslavement and legalized racial segregation in America.

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The Mosaic Templars Cultural Center

Founded by John E. Bush and Chester W. Keatts—two former slaves in Little Rock in 1883—The Mosaic Templars of America was a Black fraternal order. This museum, which is located on the site of the former organization’s headquarters, is dedicated to preserving, African American history and culture in Arkansas, and to highlighting Black achievement in business, politics, and the arts.

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National Museum of African American Music

Many genres of music from country, rap, and rock and roll to jazz and R&B can trace their origins to African or African American culture. This Labor Day weekend, the National Museum of African American Music is expected to open in downtown Nashville.

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New Orleans African American Museum

Committed to "the preservation, presentation, and interpretation of the culture of the African Diaspora," the New Orleans Museum of African American Art is located in the historically Black community of Treme in New Orleans.

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Ritz Theatre and Museum

The Ritz Theatre is a jewel in La Villa, the historic African American community in Jacksonville nicknamed the “Harlem of the South” for its vibrant African American culture. The museum opened in 1999 at the original site of the Ritz, and regularly organizes arts programs and community events.

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The American Jazz Museum

Located in Kansas City’s historic Jazz District, The American Jazz Museum shares the history of the genre with interactive exhibitions, programs for all ages, and performances throughout the year. The museum also hosts a kids academy offering instruction on the foundations of jazz music.

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The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum

The Negro Leagues Museum is housed in the same building as The American Jazz Museum and highlights the history of both the Negro National League and the Negro American League, as well as the contributions of African Americans to the sport of baseball more generally. The museum hosts a wealth of artifacts, and its walls are lined with pictures of notable players, owners, and officials involved in the leagues.

Donate Here

The Iowa Museum for Black History

Every year, more than 30,000 people visit the The Iowa Museum for Black History, "a statewide museum dedicated to preserving, exhibiting, and teaching Iowa’s African American history." The institution houses more than 2,000 artifacts and has collected 200+ oral histories from local residents since it opened.

Donate Here

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The Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History - Detroit, MI

After visiting a World War II memorial, prominent African American physician Dr. Charles H. Wright founded the Wright Museum in Detroit, a space dedicated to "exploring and celebrating the rich cultural legacy of African Americans."

The museum is known for its traveling exhibitions, and also boasts several permanent and long-term displays including galleries that showcase prominent Detroit musicians, Black people in the STEM fields, and more.

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Motown Museum

The Motown Museum was founded by Esther Gordy Edwards, sister of Motown founder Berry Gordy, in 1985. Visitors to the Detroit organization can expect to see an array of artifacts, photographs, and other memorabilia from the iconic record company’s history. The institution recently made plans to expand, and work has already begun on the building Hitsville Next, which will be home to the Motown Museum’s growing series of youth and community programs.

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National Underground Railroad Freedom Center

Located near the Ohio River, which served as a natural boundary between free states and those with slaves, the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center tells the stories of the Underground Railroad and pays tribute to the larger abolition movement in the United States, including efforts taking place in the modern day.

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DuSable Museum of African American History

The DuSable Museum of African American History in Chicago was founded in 1961 by artist and educator Dr. Margaret T. Burroughs out of a desire to celebrate African American culture. The museum notably has more than 15,000 pieces in its collection, including paintings, sculptures, prints, and other memorabilia.

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The Colored Girls Museum

The Colored Girls Museum launched in Philadelphia in 2015, and distinguishes itself by “exclusively collecting, preserving, honoring, and decoding artifacts pertaining to the experience and herstory of colored girls.”

Donate Here

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Jessika Davidson-Jefferson

Jessika Davidson-Jefferson is a Houston-based marketing strategist who works with small and mid-sized organizations in the arts and culture sector. You can connect with her at www.jessikadavidson.com or @JessDJefferson on twitter.

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