Zora Neale Hurston National Museum of Fine Arts | Eatonville, FL

Named in honor of one of the pre-eminent writers of twentieth-century African-American literature, the Zora Neale Hurston National Museum of Fine Arts features not only the works of Zora Neal Hurston, a writer, anthropologist and folklorist known for such works as Their Eyes Were Watching God. The museum also showcases the work of other artists of African descent, as well as other historical artifacts (e.g. old photos) of her hometown of Eatonville, Florida. About 20 minutes north of downtown Orlando, the historic town was one of approximately one hundred of communities founded by and for African Americans were established throughout the southern U.S. from the 1880s to the 1930s. In fact, Eatonville was the first incorporated African American town in the U.S. Admission is free, but donations are appreciated.

Zora Neale Hurston National Museum of Fine Arts
Address: 227 East Kennedy Boulevard, Eatonville, Florida 32751
Phone: 407-647-3307
Official Website: www.zoranealehurstonmuseum.com
Map & Driving Directions

Additional Information:

• Zora Neale Horton Official Website
• Town of Eatonville, Official Website
• Zora Neale Hurston Festival of the Arts and Humanities

Black Archives of Mid America, Kansas City, MO

View of the Rose Room at the Street Hotel, Kansas City, MO

Often considered as a potential rival to the DuSable Museum of African American History in Chicago, and the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in New York City, the Black Archives of Mid America boasts one of the largest collections of African-American art, memorabilia and historical materials in the nation, with special focus on black history and culture in the four-state area of Missouri, Kansas, Iowa and Oklahoma . Established by African American historian and folorist Horace M. Peterson III in 1974 on the second floor of the local YMCA, the collection today contains more than 31,000 items, including black art, paintings, manuscripts , photographs, personal correspondence, oral histories, and rare books. Permanent exhibits include one dedicated to Buffalo Soldiers and other Black Army units that served in the Civil War up to World War II, as well as a faithful reconstruction of a 19th century slave cabin. Located in Kansas City’s historic 18th and Vine District, a visit to the Black Archives of Mid American makes the perfect addition to a day of discovery in the downtown area.

Photo: Courtesy of Black Archives of Mid America

Nearby iconic African American history and culture attractions include:

American Jazz Museum - One of the first museums in the country devoted exclusively to this art form. The Jazz legacy was cultivated in the Kansas City of the 1020s and 1930s, rekindled into brilliant reality with a massive restoration of Kansas City’s historic 18th & Vine District.

Negro Leagues Baseball Museum - The centerpiece of historical renaissance of Negro Leagues Baseball throughout the nation, the museum’s exhibits cover the entire history of the Negro Leagues from their beginning after the Civil War through their end in the 1960s in the midst of the Civil Rights movement.

Black Archives of Mid-America
2033 Vine Street
Kansas City, MO 64108-3007
United States
Phone: (816) 483-1300
Official Website
Map & Driving Directions

National Museum of African Art | Washington D.C.

“African art embodies one of humanity’s greatest achievements–fusing visual imagery with spiritual beliefs and social purpose. Its technical achievements and artistic perfection bear witness to the creative ingenuity of its makers. Religious beliefs and cultural ideals find artistic expression not only in masks and figures created primarily for ceremonial purposes, but also in the utilitarian objects of daily life.”

– Smithsonian Institute

Located on the National Mall and part of the Smithsonian Institute, the National Museum of African Art features sub-Saharan African Art and culture, including over 3 million photos, as well as documentary films and videos. The museum also offers educational programs and other interactive programs to engage visitors with African art.

Bust of Benin King, Late Restoration Period, ca. 1700 – 1897

Find out more about Maryland’s black heritage sites and attractions in the Maryland African American Heritage Guide.

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National Museum of African Art
Address: 950 Indepedence Ave SW, Washington, D.C. 20560
Phone: 202-357-1387
Official Website
Map & Driving Directions

Anacostia Community Museum | Washington D.C.

The Anacostia Museum, officially named the Anacostia Community Museum, is the Smithsonian Institution’s museum of African American history and culture, primarily devoted to the identification, documentation and preservation of the African American experience in the Upper South (Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Washington, D.C.), as well as nationwide. The museum is located in Southeast Washington, DC and offers exhibitions, educational programs, workshops, lectures, film screenings and other special events that interpret black history from the 1800s to the present. The museum recently expanded its mission beyond a solely ethnic focus to include the impact of social and cultural issues on communities from both a contemporary and historical perspective.

Recent featured exhibitions include:

• “The African Presence in Mexico” (November 8, 2009 – July 4, 2010). A look at the history of African contributions to Mexican culture from 1519 to present day. Organized by the National Museum of Mexican Art, this traveling show highlights the history, artistic expressions and practices of Afro-Mexicans.
• “Jubilee: African American Celebrations” (closed Sept 2009 ) examines nearly 50 African-American holidays, traditions and celebrations such as those around Election Day, Emancipation Day, Kwanzaa and Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
• “Separate and Unequaled: Black Baseball in the District of Columbia” looks at the phenomenal popularity and community draw of baseball played by African-Americans on segregated fields in Washington, D.C.

Find out more about Maryland’s black heritage sites and attractions in the Maryland African American Heritage Guide.

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Anacostia Museum and Center for African American History and Culture
Address: 1901 Fort Place SE, Washington, DC 20020 USA
Phone: (202) 633-4820
Website: anacostia.si.edu/
Map & Driving Directions

African American Civil War Memorial & Museum | Washington D.C.

Photo Credit: Asiir

The African American Civil War Memorial, at the corner of Vermont Avenue and U Street NW in Washington, D.C., commemorates the service of 209,145 African-American soldiers and sailors who fought for the Union in the American Civil War. The sculpture The Spirit of Freedom, by Ed Hamilton of Louisville, Kentucky, was commissioned by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities and completed in 1997. The memorial includes panels with the names of those who served in the war.

The associated museum, located two blocks west of the memorial in the historic and traditionally African-American U Street neighborhood, opened to the public in January 1999. Its mission is to enable visitors, researchers, and descendants of the United States Colored Troops to better understand the story of these troops.[citation needed] To this end, it displays photographs, newspaper articles, and replicas of period clothing, and uniforms and weaponry of the Civil War. The African American Civil War Memorial Freedom Foundation Registry documents the family trees of more than 2,000 descendants of those who have served with USCT and invites descendants to register. Visitors can search for relatives who have registered in the Descendants Registry.

African American Civil War Memorial & Museum
Address: 1200 U Street, NW, Washington, DC. 20009 USA
Phone: 202-667-2667
Official Website
Map & Driving Directions

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