This is a list ofmuseums in the United States whose primary focus is onAfrican American culture and history. Such museums are commonly known asAfrican American museums. According to scholar Raymond Doswell, an African American museum is "an institution established for the preservation of African-derived culture."^[1]

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.^[2] 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.^[3] 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.^[3]

The first African American museum was the College Museum inHampton, Virginia, established in 1868.^[2] Prior to 1950, there were about 30 museums devoted to African American culture and history in the United States. These were located primarily athistorically black colleges and universities or at libraries that had significant African American culture and history collections.^[4]

Important collections were developed atBennett College inGreensboro, North Carolina;Fisk University inNashville, Tennessee;Howard University inWashington, D.C.;Lincoln University inChester County, Pennsylvania;Morgan State University inBaltimore, Maryland;Talladega College inTalladega, Alabama; andTuskegee University inTuskegee, Alabama.^[5] Additionally, local historical societies, history clubs, and reading groups in African American communities also collected and displayed African American cultural artifacts.^[6]

The first independent,nonprofit African American museums in the United States wereThe African American Museum in Cleveland, Ohio (founded in 1956), theDuSable Museum of African American History inChicago,Illinois (founded in 1960), and theCharles H. Wright Museum of African American History inDetroit,Michigan (founded in 1965). Throughout the 1960s, the energy of theAmerican Civil Rights Movement led to numerous local African American museums being founded.^[4] Between 1868 and 1991, there were about 150 African American museums established in 37 states.^[2]

Since its opening in 2016, the largest African American museum in the United States is theSmithsonian Institution'sNational Museum of African American History and Culture. The previous record holder was the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit, Michigan.^[7]

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

Name	City	State	Founded	References	Image
African American Historical and Cultural Museum	Waterloo	Iowa	1997
A. Philip Randolph Pullman Porter Museum	Chicago	Illinois	1995	[8]
Africa Center, The	New York City (Manhattan)	New York	1984	[9][a]
African American Civil War Memorial Museum	Washington	D.C.	1999	[13]
African-American Research Library and Cultural Center	Fort Lauderdale	Florida	2002	[14]
African American Firefighter Museum	Los Angeles	California	1997	[15]
African American Military History Museum	Hattiesburg	Mississippi	2000	[16]
African American Multicultural Museum	Scottsdale	Arizona	2005	[17]
African American Museum	Dallas	Texas	1974	[18]
African American Museum and Library at Oakland	Oakland	California	1994	[19]
African American Museum in Cleveland, The	Cleveland	Ohio	1956	[20]
African American Museum in Philadelphia	Philadelphia	Pennsylvania	1976	[21]
African American Museum of Iowa	Cedar Rapids	Iowa	2003	[22]
African American Museum of Nassau County	Hempstead	New York	1970	[23]
African American Museum of the Arts	DeLand	Florida	1994	[24]
African American Museum of Southern Illinois	Carbondale	Illinois	1997	[25]
Afro-American Historical and Cultural Society Museum	Jersey City	New Jersey	1984	[26]
Alabama State Black Archives Research Center and Museum	Huntsville	Alabama	1990	[27]
Alexandria Black History Museum	Alexandria	Virginia	1987	[28][b]
America's Black Holocaust Museum	Milwaukee	Wisconsin	1988	[29]
Anacostia Museum	Washington	D.C.	1967	[30]
Anne Spencer House and Garden Museum	Lynchburg	Virginia	1977	[31]
APEX (African American Panoramic Experience) Museum	Atlanta	Georgia	1978	[32]
Armstead T. Johnson High School	Montross	Virginia	2000	[33]
Backstreet Cultural Museum	New Orleans	Louisiana	1999	[34]
Banneker-Douglass Museum	Annapolis	Maryland	1984	[35]
Benjamin Banneker Historical Park and Museum	Oella	Maryland	1998	[36]
Beck Cultural Exchange Center	Knoxville, Tennessee	Tennessee	1975	[37]
Bertha Lee Strickland Cultural Museum	Seneca	South Carolina	2015	[38]
Birmingham Civil Rights Institute	Birmingham	Alabama	1992	[39]
Black American West Museum and Heritage Center	Denver	Colorado	1971	[40]
Black Cowboy Museum	Rosenberg	Texas	2017	[41]
Black History 101 Mobile Museum	Detroit	Michigan	1995	[42]
Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia	Richmond	Virginia	1981	[43]
Blanchard House Museum	Punta Gorda	Florida	2004	[44]
Bontemps African American Museum	Alexandria	Louisiana	1988	[45]
Brazos Valley African American Museum	Bryan	Texas	2006	[46]
Bronzeville Children's Museum	Chicago	Illinois	1998	[47]
Buffalo Soldiers National Museum	Houston	Texas	2000	[48]
California African American Museum	Los Angeles	California	1981	[49]
Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History	Detroit	Michigan	1965	[50]
Charlotte Hawkins Brown Museum	Sedalia	North Carolina	1987	[51]
Clemson Area African American Museum	Clemson	South Carolina	2010	[52]
Crispus Attucks Museum	Indianapolis	Indiana	1998	[53]
Delta Cultural Center	Helena	Arkansas	1991	[54]
Destination Crenshaw	Los Angeles	California	2019	[55]
Dorchester Academy and Museum	Midway	Georgia	2004	[56]
Dr. Carter G. Woodson African American History Museum	St. Petersburg	Florida	2006	[57]
DuSable Museum of African American History	Chicago	Illinois	1960	[20]
Eddie Mae Herron Center and Museum	Pocahontas	Arkansas	2001	[58]
Ely Educational Museum	Pompano Beach	Florida	2000	[59]
Evansville African American Museum	Evansville	Indiana	2007	[60]
Finding Our Roots African American Museum	Houma	Louisiana	2017	[61]
Frederick Douglass National Historic Site	Washington	D.C.	1962	[62]
Freedom House Museum	Alexandria	Virginia	2008	[63]
Freedom Rides Museum	Montgomery	Alabama	1962	[64]
George Washington Carver Museum, The	Tuskegee	Alabama	1941	[65]
George Washington Carver Museum	Phoenix	Arizona	1980	[66]
George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center	Austin	Texas	1980	[67]
George Washington Carver National Monument	Newton County	Missouri	1960	[68]
Great Blacks in Wax Museum	Baltimore	Maryland	1983	[69]
Great Plains Black History Museum	Omaha	Nebraska	1975	[70]
Griot Museum of Black History, The	St. Louis	Missouri	1997	[71]
Hammonds House Museum	Atlanta	Georgia	1988	[72]
Hampton University Museum	Hampton	Virginia	1988	[73]
Harriet Tubman Museum	Cape May	New Jersey	2020	[74]
Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center	Church Creek	Maryland	2017	[75]
Harvey B. Gantt Center	Charlotte	North Carolina	1974	[76]
Henderson Institute Historical Museum	Henderson	North Carolina	1986	[77]
Hotel Metropolitan Museum	Paducah	Kentucky		[78]
Houston Museum of African American Culture	Houston	Texas	2012	[79]
Howard County Center of African American Culture	Columbia	Maryland	1987	[80]
Idaho Black History Museum	Boise	Idaho	1995	[81]
International African American Museum	Charleston	South Carolina	2023	[82][83]
International Civil Rights Center and Museum	Greensboro	North Carolina	2010	[84]
Jacob Fontaine Religious Museum	Austin	Texas	2004	[85]
Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia	Big Rapids	Michigan	1996	[86]
John Johnson House	Philadelphia	Pennsylvania	1997	[87]
John E. Rogers African American Cultural Center	Hartford	Connecticut	1991	[88]
John G. Riley Center/Museum of African American History and Culture	Tallahassee	Florida	1996	[89]
Josephine School Community Museum	Berryville	Virginia	2003	[90]
Kansas African-American Museum	Wichita	Kansas	1997	[91]
L.E. Coleman African-American Museum	Halifax County, Virginia	Virginia	2005	[92]
LaVilla Museum	Jacksonville	Florida	1999	[93]
Legacy Museum, The	Montgomery	Alabama	2018	[94]
Legacy Museum of African American History	Lynchburg	Virginia	2000	[95]
Lewis H. Latimer House	New York City (Queens)	New York	2004	[96]
Lincolnville Museum and Cultural Center	St. Augustine	Florida	2005	[97]
Louis Armstrong House	New York City (Queens)	New York	2003	[98]
Mariposa Museum & World Cultural Center	Peterborough	New Hampshire	2002	[99]
Mariposa Museum in Oak Bluffs (Mariposa Museum & World Cultural Center)	Oak Bluffs	Massachusetts	2019	[100]
Martin Luther King, Jr., National Historic Site Visitors Center	Atlanta	Georgia	1996	[101]
Mary McLeod Bethune Council House National Historic Site	Washington	D.C.	1979	[102]
Mary McLeod Bethune Home	Daytona Beach	Florida	1956	[103][c]
Mary S. Harrell Black Heritage Museum	New Smyrna Beach	Florida	1999	[104]
Mayme A. Clayton Library and Museum	Culver City	California	2010	[105]
McLemore House African-American Museum	Franklin	Tennessee	2002	[106]
Mississippi Civil Rights Museum	Jackson	Mississippi	2017	[107][108]
MoCADA	New York City (Brooklyn)	New York	1999	[109]
Mosaic Templars Cultural Center	Little Rock	Arkansas	2008	[110]
Muhammad Ali Center	Louisville	Kentucky	2005	[111]
Museum of African American History &Abiel Smith School	Boston	Massachusetts	1964	[112]
Museum of the African Diaspora	San Francisco	California	2005	[113]
Nash House Museum	Buffalo	New York	2003	[114]
Natchez Museum of African American History and Culture	Natchez	Mississippi	1991	[115]
National African American Archives and Museum	Mobile	Alabama	1992	[116]
National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center	Wilberforce	Ohio	1987	[117]
National Center for Civil and Human Rights	Atlanta	Georgia	2014	[107]
National Center of Afro-American Artists	Roxbury	Massachusetts	1969	[118]
National Civil Rights Museum	Memphis	Tennessee	1991	[119]
National Museum of African American History and Culture	Washington	D.C.	2016	[120]
National Museum of African American Music	Nashville	Tennessee	2013	[121][d]
National Underground Railroad Freedom Center	Cincinnati	Ohio	2004	[122]
National Voting Rights Museum	Selma	Alabama	1991	[123]
Negro Leagues Baseball Museum	Kansas City	Missouri	1990	[124]
Negro Southern League Museum	Birmingham	Alabama	2014	[125]
New Orleans African American Museum	New Orleans	Louisiana	1988	[126]
Newsome House Museum and Cultural Center	Newport News	Virginia	1991	[127]
Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Center	Niagara Falls	New York	2018	[128]
Northeast Louisiana Delta African American Heritage Museum	Monroe	Louisiana	1994	[129]
Northwest African American Museum	Seattle	Washington	2008	[130]
Odell S. Williams Now And Then African-American Museum	Baton Rouge	Louisiana	2001	[131]
Old Dillard Museum	Fort Lauderdale	Florida	1995	[132]
Omenala Griot Afrocentric Teaching Museum	Atlanta	Georgia	1992	[133]
Oran Z's Black Facts and Wax Museum	Los Angeles	California	2000	[134]
Paul R. Jones Collection of African American Art	Newark	Delaware	2004	[135]
Philadelphia Doll Museum	Philadelphia	Pennsylvania	1988	[136]
Poindexter Village Museum and Cultural Center	Columbus	Ohio	Planned	[137]
Pope House Museum	Raleigh	North Carolina	2011	[138]
Portsmouth Colored Community Library Museum	Portsmouth	Virginia	2013	[139]
Prince George's African American Museum and Cultural Center	North Brentwood	Maryland	2010	[140]
Ralph Mark Gilbert Civil Rights Museum	Savannah	Georgia	1996	[141]
Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture	Baltimore	Maryland	2005	[142]
River Road African American Museum	Donaldsonville	Louisiana	1994	[143]
Rosa Parks Museum	Montgomery	Alabama	2000	[144]
Rural African American Museum	Opelousas	Louisiana	2018	[145]
Sandy Ground Historical Museum	New York City (Staten Island)	New York	1994	[146]
Scott Joplin House State Historic Site	St. Louis	Missouri	1983	[147]
Scottsboro Boys Museum and Cultural Center	Scottsboro	Alabama	2010	[148]
Slave Haven Underground Railroad Museum	Memphis	Tennessee	1997	[149]
Slave Mart Museum	Charleston	South Carolina	1938	[150]
Smith-Robertson Museum and Cultural Center	Jackson	Mississippi	1984	[151]
Southeastern Regional Black Archives Research Center and Museum	Tallahassee	Florida	1976	[152]
Spady Cultural Heritage Museum	Delray Beach	Florida	2001	[153]
Spelman College Museum of Fine Art	Atlanta	Georgia	1996	[154]
Springfield and Central Illinois African-American History Museum	Springfield	Illinois	2012	[155]
Stiles African American Heritage Center	Denver	Colorado	1998
Studio Museum in Harlem	New York City (Manhattan)	New York	1968	[156]
Swift Museum	Rogersville	Tennessee	2008	[157]
Tangipahoa African American Heritage Museum	Hammond	Louisiana	2007	[158]
Taylor House Museum of Historic Frenchtown	Tallahassee	Florida	2011	[159]
Tubman African American Museum	Macon	Georgia	1981	[160]
Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site	Tuskegee	Alabama	2008	[161]
Tuskegee Airmen National Museum	Detroit	Michigan	1987	[162]
Underground Railroad Museum at Belmont Mansion	Philadelphia	Pennsylvania	2007	[163]
Weeksville Heritage Center	New York City (Brooklyn)	New York	2005	[164]
Wells' Built Museum	Orlando	Florida	2001	[165]
Whitney Plantation	St. John the Baptist Parish	Louisiana	2014	[166]
Willam V. Banks Broadcast Museum	Detroit	Michigan	2017	[167]
Zion Union Heritage Museum	Hyannis	Massachusetts	2008	[168]
Zora Neale Hurston Museum of Fine Arts	Eatonville	Florida	2017	[169]
Minnesota African American Heritage Museum and Gallery	Minneapolis	Minnesota	2018	[170]
Seek Museum	Russellville	Kentucky	2016	[171]

• African American Museum (disambiguation)
• African-American Heritage Sites
• Museums of the African diaspora

Notes

Citations

• Alexander, Edward P. (1997).The Museum in America: Innovators and Pioneers. Walnut Creek, Calif.: AltaMira Press.ISBN 9780761989462.
• Burcaw, George Ellis (1997).Introduction to Museum Work. Walnut Creek, Calif.: Altamira Press.ISBN 9780761989257.
• Coleman, Christy (2006). "African American Museums in the Twenty-first Century". In Genoways, Hugh H. (ed.).Museum Philosophy for the Twenty-First Century. Lanham, Md.: Altamira Press.ISBN 9780759107533.
• Curtis, Nancy C. (1996).Black Heritage Sites: An African American Odyssey and Finder's Guide. Chicago: American Library Association.ISBN 9780838906439.
• Dagbovie, Pero Gaglo (2010).African American History Reconsidered. Urbana, Ill.: University of Illinois Press.ISBN 9780252035210.
• Duty, Michael W.; Penn, Elan (2007).Dallas & Fort Worth: A Pictorial Celebration. New York: Sterling Publishing Co.ISBN 9781402725616.
• Evelyn, Douglas E.; Dickson, Paul; Ackerman, S.J. (2008).On This Spot: Pinpointing the Past in Washington, D.C. Sterling, Va.: Capital Books.ISBN 9780918339744.
• Dickerson, Amina J. (1991). "African American Museums and the New Century: Challenges in Leadership". In Tolles, Bryant Franklin; Alexander, Edward P. (eds.).Leadership for the Future: Changing Directorial Roles in American History Museums and Historical Societies: Collected Essays. Nashville: American Association for State and Local History.ISBN 9780942063110.
• Doswell, Raymond (2008).Evaluating Educational Value in Museum Exhibitions: Establishing an Evaluation Process for the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum (Ed.D.). Department of Educational Leadership, Kansas State University.ISBN 9780549598282.
• Holland, Jesse J. (2007).Black Men Built the Capitol: Discovering African-American History In and Around Washington, D.C.. Guilford, Conn.: Globe Pequot Press.ISBN 9780762751921.
• Hornsby, Alton (2011).Black America: A State-By-State Historical Encyclopedia. Volume 1: A—M. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO.ISBN 9780313341120.
• Huntington, Tom (2006).Ben Franklin's Philadelphia: A Guide. Mechanicsburg, Pa.: Stackpole Books.ISBN 9780811732826.
• Lefever, Harry G.; Page, Michael C. (2008).Sacred Places: A Guide to the Civil Rights Sites in Atlanta, Georgia. Macon, Ga.: Mercer University Press.ISBN 9780881461213.
• Lurie, Maxine N.; Mappen, Mark (2004).Encyclopedia of New Jersey. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press.ISBN 9780813533254.
• Mjagkij, Nina (2001).Organizing Black America: An Encyclopedia of African American Associations. Florence, Ky.: Taylor & Francis.ISBN 9780203801192.
• Pulliam, Ted (2011).Historic Alexandria: An Illustrated History. San Antonio, Tex.: Historical Publishing Network.ISBN 9781935377412.
• Romano, Renee C. (2006).The Civil Rights Movement in American Memory. Athens, Ga.: University of Georgia Press.ISBN 9780820325385.
• Selz, Peter Howard (2006).Art of Engagement: Visual Politics in California and Beyond. Berkeley, Calif.: University of California Press.ISBN 9780520240537.
• Shuman, Robert Baird (2002).Great American Writers, Twentieth Century. Volume 2: Benét—Cather. New York: Marshall Cavendish.ISBN 9780761472407.
• Sisson, Richard (2006).The American Midwest: An Interpretive Encyclopedia. Bloomington, Ind.: Indiana University Press.ISBN 9780253003492.
• Woodford, Arthur M. (2001).This Is Detroit, 1701–2001. Detroit: Wayne State University Press.ISBN 9780814329146.

• Association of African American Museums

• History museums in the United States
• African-American museums in the United States
• Lists of museums by subject
• African American-related lists

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