Events & Exhibits > Permanent Exhibits

The permanent exhibits of the Museum are developed from diverse collections of Black history. Many of the artifacts involved have been provided by former slaves and their decendents. Exhibits in the main building are displayed in chronological order. Other exhibits are displayed throughout the Museum complex. Components of the main exhibit include:

African Peoples
The Middle Passage
The Underground Railroad
Skills and Trades
Personal Accomplishments and Celebrations
Organizations
Music
Black Press
Military

Present in many of the exhibits are elements of the Underground Railroad, a vital part of Black history in North America. With a misleading name, the Underground Railroad is often mistaken for a physical structure. It was actually a network of people and places linked to form an escape route to help secretly usher slaves to freedom. Slaves typically journeyed from the southern US to the northern US and Canada. The Museum includes a church which was a final station on the route and the start of freedom for many.