TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — A new exhibit on African American heritage in Tallahassee is now open at the John G. Riley Center.
The display is called "African Americans in Tallahassee: The World Wars and Post-War Life." It's the third installment in a four-year series documenting African American life in Tallahassee during key historical eras.
The 2024 exhibit focused on the Antebellum period, and the 2025 exhibit focused on the Civil War and Reconstruction.
This new display uses historical photographs, documents, and artifacts to highlight how Black men and women navigated military service, wartime labor, and segregation.
"Often times we like to talk about national history more, and we kind of forget those local stories. But I think with this exhibit we're kind of shedding light on those local stories and voices of that period. So, you know, people people can feel connected to it personally because they actually live here in Tallahassee," John G. Riley Center Assistant Director Dion Jenkins said.
The exhibit opened for one day on January 29, but the museum had to close the next day for their annual Blended Lives program. The museum resumed normal operations Thursday.
Jenkins says organizers have many pieces of history to show, and they've placed displays in both the visitor center and the John G. Riley house.
"We couldn't fit everything in the center so we had to bring the World War II over into this house to showcase the World War II era, and we even have a room dedicated specifically to black women pioneers in Florida during World War II. So we were happy to put that together as well," Jenkins said.
Neighbors will be able to see this exhibit for free until the end of the year.
The John G. Riley Center will have a new exhibit focusing on the Civil Rights Movement in 2027.
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