Permanent Collections & Exhibits
African American Heritage: A Timeline
- African Heritage & Diaspora: Artifacts from African civilizations and items related to the Middle Passage. These include the Masquerade: nine masks from African countries, donated by local resident Lovette Harper and her family and a quilt of Africa compared to the size of the U.S., an original design of local resident Jean A. McMurren.
- Underground Railroad: The museum is listed as a facility on the National Park Service “Underground Railroad Network to Freedom” and is included on the Florida Black Heritage Trail as designated by the Florida Department of State. Artifacts include the plaque that designates this status and a rare copy of William Still’s 1872 publication of The Underground Railroad.
- Congressman Robert Smalls: A Travelling exhibit of Congressman Smalls was hosted by the Museum, and currently the replica of the “Planter,” the famous ship with which he joined the Union is displayed in this area.
- Culture & Entertainment: Artifacts related to the Harlem Renaissance, Zora Neale Hurston, and other African American cultural icons.
- Civil Rights History: Artifacts related to the 20th century struggles for equality, including desegregation, landmark legal cases such as Brown V. Board of Education, and the election of the first African American U.S. President.
Local history (Sarasota-Manatee)
- Education, Sports, & Heroes: Several display cases highlight different aspects of local heritage. The numerous artifacts represent key figures from Manatee and Sarasota counties, including pioneer Black educators, sport figures and athletes, and local heroes and landmarks.
- Buffalo Soldier: A special section of local heroes includes the Steve L. Lewis section. Steve L. Lewis was one of the last men to serve as an American Buffalo Soldier. An Oral History is available in our research collection. This section includes a bust of Mr. Lewis and other personal items. Mr. Lewis was the guest at the ribbon cutting of this display in an emotional ceremony conducted virtually during the Pandemic (see Exhibit section at the bottom of this page). Other examples commemorating how African Americans have served in America’s military, since the Revolutionary War are on display.
- Pan-Hellenic Organizations & ASALH: An important part of African American Communities, service organizations have supported African Americans offering new forms of kinship when family connections were destroyed during slavery. The Family Heritage House displays a number of documents & artifacts showing the longevity, strength and support of these service organizations in our community. Materials include artifacts from the Manasota Pan-Hellenic Council currently composed of seven International Greek letter Sororities and Fraternities: Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. and Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.
Daddy’s Long Legs Doll Collection:
- The Daddy’s Long Legs Vintage African American Doll Collection by developer Karen Germany was donated to Family Heritage House by the family of a local resident. The collection includes 145+ dolls that were created starting in 1987.
Annie Lucy Williams Children’s Room:
- The Children’s Resource Room is designed especially for children with special seating suited for storytelling and group sharing. It houses items of special interest to children, a collection of toys and dolls, and culturally sensitive resources and appropriate children’s literature books.
- A highlight of this room is a complete collection of all the books for children and teens that received the prestigious Coretta Scott King (CSK) Book Awards. Awarded by the American Library Association since 1969, the CSK book award winners are given annually to outstanding African American authors and illustrators of books for children and young adults that demonstrate an appreciation of African American culture and universal human values. The Family Heritage House is one of a few institutions nationally that owns all the Award winners in the author category, and most of the illustration winners, and it includes signed copies and mementos from a visit of Coretta Scott King Medal’s Multiple Winner author Ashley Bryan with the FHHM founders, Mr. and Mrs. Brown.
Harmie Davis Baker Research Area & Genealogy Resources
- This area includes a collection of historical resources for research on varying topics. The Museum has access to Ancestry, an online genealogy database. It also contains historical records that can be connected to family members and used as genealogical evidence. This is a free service to visitors of Family Heritage House interested in genealogy research. Included in this area is also a collection of printed and video materials.
Virtual Exhibits
Steve Lewis- Buffalo Soldier & African Americans in the Military
In 2021, the Family Heritage House Museum presented a virtual exhibit dedicated to local legend Steve Lewis, one of the Buffalo Soldiers. You can now see it in person, but below we offer the virtual ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Images from the Virtual Ribbon Cutting, February 27, 2021
