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Home • Culture

18 Black Museums To Visit Across The U.S.

Celebrate Black art and learn Black history at one of these national institutions.
18 Black Museums To Visit Across The U.S.
Photo Credit: National Museum of African American History and Culture
By Keyaira Boone · Updated April 30, 2021

Black Museums are a great place to connect with your history, discover different cultures, and fall in love with works of art. 

In addition to featuring pieces created by famed artists and curators like Lorna Simpson, Ashley James, and Bisa Butler, museums also give a platform to emerging artists. 

Black Museums also provide access to rare archival materials that establish a cultural legacy specific to unique regions, movements, and time periods. 

Whether you’re looking to learn about obscured legacies or simply kill a Saturday afternoon they’re a great place to visit. 

See 18 Black Museums you can hit across the country today below. 

01
National Museum of African American Music
This museum is dedicated to preserving and celebrating the many music genres created, influenced, and inspired by African Americans.
18 Black Museums To Visit Across The U.S.
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02
National Underground Railroad Freedom Center
This Harlem jewel has over 1000 collections and is part of the New York Public Library system.
18 Black Museums To Visit Across The U.S.
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03
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
This Harlem jewel has over 1000 collections and is part of the New York Public Library system.
18 Black Museums To Visit Across The U.S.
04
Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture
This museum offers 82,000 square feet of Maryland history.
18 Black Museums To Visit Across The U.S.
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05
The Whitney Plantation Museum
This is the only plantation tour in Louisiana dedicated to centering the personal histories and experiences of enslaved people.
18 Black Museums To Visit Across The U.S.
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06
The Whitney Plantation Museum
This is the only plantation tour in Louisiana dedicated to centering the personal histories and experiences of enslaved people.
18 Black Museums To Visit Across The U.S.
Learn More
07
The National Great Blacks In Wax Museum
This unique option presents life-like Black historical figures.
18 Black Museums To Visit Across The U.S.
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08
APEX Museum
This museum of Black history is located on Atlanta’s historic Auburn Avenue.
18 Black Museums To Visit Across The U.S.
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09
DuSable Museum of African American History
Originally named the Ebony Museum of Negro History and Art, this cultural institution has been serving the Chicago area for more than 60 years.
18 Black Museums To Visit Across The U.S.
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10
The African American Museum in Philadelphia
This Smithsonian affiliated Institution houses four distinct galleries of Black art and history.
18 Black Museums To Visit Across The U.S.
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11
Museum Of The African Diaspora
This San Francisco museum exhibits contemporary art from artists across the African diaspora.
18 Black Museums To Visit Across The U.S.
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12
The Charles H. Wright Museum Of African American History
This Midwestern museum is home to 35,000 artifacts including rare documents that reflect the role Black people played in Detroit’s labor movement.
18 Black Museums To Visit Across The U.S.
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13
Trap Museum
Get in touch with the culture that supplied your farmer’s market playlist at the Miami or Atlanta location of the Trap Music Museum.
18 Black Museums To Visit Across The U.S.
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14
Black History Museum And Cultural Center of Virginia
The Black History Museum & Cultural Center celebrates the accomplishments and legacies of Black Virginians.
18 Black Museums To Visit Across The U.S.
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15
New Orleans African American Museum
This museum is located in the heart of the Southern city’s Treme district.
18 Black Museums To Visit Across The U.S.
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16
Studio Museum in Harlem
This staple of Harlem’s cultural scene was founded in 1969.
18 Black Museums To Visit Across The U.S.
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17
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Dubbed the “Blacksonian,” this D.C. museum attempts to successfully display the “past, present, and future” of Black Americans.
18 Black Museums To Visit Across The U.S.
Learn More
18
Bronzeville Children’s Museum
Get a family friendly take on Black history at this Chicago facility.
18 Black Museums To Visit Across The U.S.
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TOPICS:  Art black history museums History
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