African American History in Tallahassee - Visit Heritage Sites Across the City

Florida's Capital City has some of the state's most significant African American historical sites, from early homes, schools and churches with roots in the era of slavery to the Civil Rights Heritage Walk commemorating sit-ins and bus boycotts that helped end segregation policies.

The city also is home to the 130-year-old Florida A&M University, established in 1887 and now the third largest historically black university in the nation. Two of its students - Wilhelmina Jakes and Carrie Patterson -- launched the Tallahassee bus boycott in 1956 when they were jailed for refusing to yield their chosen seats on a segregated city bus (just six months after Rosa Parks did the same).

Though some of the voices have fallen silent, the achievements of Tallahassee's African American heroes live on through preserved treasures such as the Riley House, Union Bank and Knott House, sentinels of the struggles and triumphs of Tallahassee's black community.

Several major events commemorate African-American history in Tallahassee and keep it alive year- round. They include Harambee Festival Feb. 28 at FAMU (the Swahili word means "let's pull together") featuring concerts, cultural art, film, African drumming and dance, poetry, fashion, health demonstrations and more. Others are Martin Luther King "Dare to Dream" Festival each January, Emancipation Day festivities each May, and the Florida African Dance Festival each June.

AFRICAN AMERICAN HERITAGE SITES:

Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University (FAMU)
Lee Hall, (850) 599-3000

Florida's oldest Historically Black College & University, FAMU was established in 1887. Today, the university is home to more than 11,000 students from more than 70 countries. While on campus, visit the Foster Tanner Fine Arts Gallery and view a broad spectrum of world art, ranging from faculty exhibitions to international showcases by predominantly, yet not exclusively, African American artists. For more information on FAMU, visit www.famu.edu.

Carrie Meek-James N. Eaton Sr. Southeastern Regional Black Archives Research Center & Museum
Florida A&M University Campus, (850) 599-3020

Florida A&M University has the Southeast's most extensive collections of African American artifacts, located at the historic 1907 Carnegie Library. Established by the Florida legislature in 1971, the repository houses more than half a million documents and thousands of artifacts from all over the world. The collection includes a 500-piece Ethiopian cross collection and rare African books and maps, some dating back to the 1700s. For more information, visit www.famu.edu.com.

Bradfordville Blues Club (BBC)
7152 Moses Lane, (850) 906-0766

An authentic chittlin' circuit blues club, designated with a National Blues Trail marker. It hosts an impressive list of nationally renowned Blues acts including Percy Sledge, Johnny Rawls, E.C. Scott and Johnny Marshall. The BBC is an icon and delivers the best in live blues on Friday and Saturday nights. Visit www.BradfordvilleBlues.com for complete listings.

Tallahassee-Leon County Civil Rights Heritage Walk
Located at the corner of Jefferson Street and Monroe Street

Tallahassee-Leon County Civil Rights Heritage Walk, a commemorative sidewalk, honors more than 50 Civil Rights leaders and activists who took part in Tallahassee's 1960s lunch counter sit-ins and the 1956 bus boycott. Florida State University's Master Craftsman Studio designed and constructed the terrazzo sidewalk - including iconic slogans, images of brass footsteps bearing the names of activists and a bus that displays A&M College, which was the name of Florida A&M University at the time.

C.K. Steele Memorial
111 West Tennessee Street, (850) 681-7881

C.K. Steele Memorial commemorates the work of the Reverend Charles Kenzie Steele, one of Florida's Civil Rights leaders. Steele, who was a friend and colleague of Martin Luther King Jr., organized the Tallahassee bus boycott by setting up a car pool for black patrons. Steele often proclaimed, "I'd rather walk in dignity than ride in humiliation."

First Presbyterian Church
102 North Adams Street, (850) 222-4504

Built in 1835, this Greek Revival landmark is the oldest church in Tallahassee. Atypical in it's time, the church welcomed African American slaves as independent members - who sat in the north gallery separate from the rest of the congregation. More information can be found at www.oldfirstchurch.org.

John G. Riley House Museum
419 East Jefferson Street, (850) 681-7881

Named to the National Registry of Historic Places in 1978, the Riley House is a historical landmark for the community. Owner, John Riley, was born into slavery in 1857 in Leon County. After slavery, he pursued education for a career and worked as a teacher and principal for the school board from the 1880s until 1926. He lived with his family in the home on Jefferson Street until his death in 1954. The Riley House represents the thriving, middle-class black community that once existed in downtown Tallahassee - Smoky Hollow - and now serves as a museum preserving African American history and culture, from Reconstruction through the Civil Rights movement. For more information, visit www.rileymuseum.org.

Knott House Museum
301 East Park Avenue, (850) 922-2459

Built in 1843 by free black builder George Proctor, perhaps the home's most significant historical contribution was that Union Army Brigadier General Edward McCook read the Emancipation Proclamation from its front steps in 1865. Every year on May 20, an event is held on the steps of the Knott House to commemorate this historic event. Now a museum interpreting life in the 1920s and 30s, the restored home has been nicknamed "The House That Rhymes" for the eccentric poems written and attached to household furnishings by one-time matron of the house, Luella Knott. More information can be found at www.museumoffloridahistory.com.

Saint James C.M.E. Church
106 North Bronough Street, (850) 577-0238

Constructed in 1899 on land purchased by black members of the Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church, the structure is the oldest African American church in Tallahassee.

Battle of Natural Bridge Historic State Park
7502 Natural Bridge Road, (850) 922,6007

Just south of downtown Tallahassee in Woodville, the Battle of Natural Bridge took place in March 1865 when a Union army, including two regiments of U.S. Colored Troops, landed in the vicinity of the St. Marks Lighthouse hoping to capture Tallahassee. Confederate troops halted the Union advance here and the Union troops retreated back to the coast. The Battle of Natural Bridge Reenactment, one of the largest such events in Florida, is held annually in early March. For more details, visit www.floridastateparks.org/naturalbridge.

Tallahassee Museum
3945 Museum Drive, (850) 575-8684

Amid its 52 scenic acres are the Bethlehem Missionary Baptist Church, the Concord Schoolhouse and the B.O. Wood Commissary. Built in 1937 by a rural black congregation, the Bethlehem Missionary Baptist Church was founded by a slave preacher, Reverend James Page, ordained in the 1850s. It has the distinction of being one of the most significant black churches in Florida, and the exhibit, funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities and FAMU, traces the congregational history and the importance of black churches to their communities. The 1890s, one-room Concord Schoolhouse educated children of former slaves and served as a public school until 1968. Restored to its early appearance, the exhibit traces the history of the education of black students. The B.O. Wood Commissary, a remnant of the turpentine industry, was once a "company store" where black turpentine workers purchased provisions. For more information, visit www.tallahasseemuseum.org.

Taylor House Museum
442 West Georgia Street, (850) 222-6111

Originally built in 1894, the Taylor House showcases special exhibits and three different historical themes - Civil Rights, Frenchtown and the Taylor Family. For more information, visit www.taylorhousemuseum.wix.com.

Historic Frenchtown Community
612 West Brevard Street, (850) 513-9981

The Historic Frenchtown Community originated from 19th century settlers who moved to the area from France. Their relocation was prompted by the July 4, 1825 Lafayette Land Grant, which gave Gilbert du Motier, marquis de Lafayette, a township in the U.S. of his choice. After the Civil War, African Americans moved to the Frenchtown section. From 1940-1945, Ray Charles lived in the community and was among local and national musicians including Charles, Nat and Cannonball Adderley, BB King and Lawyer Smith who played the Red Bird Club and Cafe DeLuxe in Frenchtown. Lincoln Academy, one of three freedmen schools built in Florida after slavery, still stands in Frenchtown and now serves as a community center and a historical memorial to the school's history.

Union Bank
Southwest corner of Apalachee Parkway and Calhoun Street, (850) 487-3803

Built in 1841, Union Bank is among Florida's oldest surviving financial institutions. The bank played a major financial role as a planter's bank in the territorial period and as the Freedman's Savings Bank for newly emancipated slaves during Reconstruction. Tours are available by appointment only - to schedule, please call (850) 599-3020.

Smokey Hollow Historic Neighborhood
Cascades Park (under Apalachee Parkway overpass), 1001 S Gadsden Street, (850) 891-3866

Once stretching throughout Tallahassee's Cascades Park, hundreds of African American residents called Smokey Hollow home for more than 60 years. Eliminated by urban renewal in the 1960s, the neighborhood formed in 1890, where several notable black families lived and worked - including cookie maker Wally "Famous Amos" Amos. Former Smokey Hollow residents revived the national historic district with a village-type exhibit in Cascades Park, including a fully restoRed Barbershop, vegetable gardens, reflecting pool and three replicas of former houses. For more information on Tallahassee's newest tribute to African American heritage, visit www.rileymuseum.org.

For more information on African American Heritage in Florida's Capital City or to view sample itineraries of historic African American sites, visit www.VisitTallahassee.com or call Visit Tallahassee toll free at (800) 628-2866.

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