Plan a Visit to a Museum Celebrating African American Women

These Black women made historic and civic contributions to the U.S.

tourists walk past a statue of harriet tubman

A visit to Macon, Georgia, can include the Tubman African American Museum. These museums named after and featuring African American women showcase their cultural and civic contributions.

Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Mindy Sink,

AARP

Published January 22, 2025

Museums offer an opportunity for learning about famous and not-so-famous people in history. You may have heard of Harriet Tubman and Mary McLeod Bethune, but do you know the story of Justina L. Ford, M.D., or Lillie Carroll Jackson? To learn more about these African American women, consider visiting a museum that has a connection to them.

People older than 60 are the most frequent visitors to art museums, history organizations, and botanical gardens, according to the American Alliance of Museums’ 2024 Annual Survey of Museum-Goers Data Story Update.

The museums listed below are worth a visit as a destination named after an African American woman who made a historic, civic, or artistic contribution. This is not a comprehensive list of museums, but it’s a starting point. Contact or check museum websites in advance to determine any closures or the need for reservations.

You can hear Bessie Smith sing as part of the “Chattanooga’s Black Soundtrack” exhibit.

Carl Van Vechten/Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images

Bessie Smith Cultural Center and Chattanooga African American Museum, Chattanooga, Tennessee

Bessie Smith was from Chattanooga and trained with notable blues singer Ma Rainey. Smith became known as the “Empress of the Blues” and recorded with the likes of Benny Goodman and Louis Armstrong. She had hits such as “Down Hearted Blues” and “Tain’t Nobody’s Biz-ness if I Do.” Although the museum is named after this hometown hero, Smith’s is one of many displays in the “Chattanooga’s Black Soundtrack” permanent exhibit. As part of the exhibit, you hear her sing and see rare footage of Smith. The rest of the museum includes “Walk Through Time: The Chattanooga African American Experience” and other rotating exhibits about African American history. This building is wheelchair accessible with a ramp at the entrance to the single-story building. Admission: $10 for adults, $7 for adults 65-plus, and free to members.

the inside of an old home, full of museum artifacts

The Black American West Museum & Heritage Center is housed in the former home of Justina L. Ford, M.D., in Denver. Here, the Homestead Room.

Cyrus McCrimmon/The Denver Post via Getty Images

Black American West Museum & Heritage Center, Denver

Although this museum, housed in the former home of Justina L. Ford, M.D., is not named after Ford, her story and that of her home are part of the museum’s exhibits. Originally from Chicago, Ford moved to Denver with her husband in 1902. After being denied access to practice medicine in local hospitals, she and her husband bought a two-story brick home in Denver’s Five Points neighborhood where she delivered a reported 7,000 babies. The home was saved from demolition in 1983 and moved to its current location nearby in 1984. Paul W. Stewart founded the Black American West Museum in 1971; it relocated to this home in 1989. The museum primarily tells the stories of African Americans who settled in the West. Only the first floor of this two-story house is wheelchair accessible; visit sign-ups are required. Admission: $15 for adults, $12 for adults 65-plus.

Schedule a tour in advance of Juanita J. Craft’s former home in Dallas.

Courtesy The Dallas Public Library Juanita Craft Collection

Juanita J. Craft Civil Rights House and Museum, Dallas

Juanita Craft is recognized for her involvement with the NAACP and serving on the Dallas City Council. She was a champion for civil rights pushing for the integration of the University of Texas Law School and North Texas State University (now the University of North Texas). The museum is a small white clapboard house where Craft met with President Lyndon B. Johnson and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. to discuss civil rights matters. Visitors must schedule a tour of the house museum in advance. The museum is accessible. Admission: Free.

The former home of Lillie Carroll Jackson is part of Morgan State University in Baltimore.

Courtesy of the Lillie Carroll Jackson Civil Rights Museum

Lillie Carroll Jackson Civil Rights Museum, Baltimore

Lillie May Carroll Jackson was a Baltimore native who was known for fighting segregation and Jim Crow laws. The museum is in the former home of Jackson’s family and is a part of Morgan State University. Time spent here is an opportunity to learn — through photos, timelines, and stories — about the robust Baltimore chapter of the NAACP. An elevator makes all three floors of this museum accessible. Admission: Free for self-guided tours.

Mary McLeod Bethune Council House National Historic Site, Washington

Born in 1875 in South Carolina, Mary McLeod Bethune became a teacher. After moving to Florida with her husband, she founded a school for girls that eventually became Bethune-Cookman University. Bethune became the first African American woman college president. As she excelled professionally, Bethune was fighting for rights for African American women and was elected as the eighth president of the National Association of Colored Women (NACW) in 1924. She then founded the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) in 1935 and advised four presidents. The National Park Service site, which is not wheelchair accessible, served as the headquarters for the NCNW from 1943-1966. Admission: Free.

outside of a red brick building. lettering over the door says the national council on negro women. a historical site sign hangs outside

The house honoring Mary McLeod Bethune was the headquarters for the National Council of Negro Women in Washington, D.C.

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Modjeska Monteith Simkins House, Columbia, South Carolina

Modjeska Monteith Simkins, a native of Columbia, was a teacher until 1929. In 1931, she began a career in public health, later becoming the only African American full-time state health worker. She was involved in civil rights and hosted Thurgood Marshall at the home when local hotels denied rooms to African Americans. Visitors to this house will learn about her involvement with the NAACP and the civil rights movement. This one-story home is accessible with a ramp at the back of the house. Admission: $15 for adults; $14 for adults 65-plus.

Sojourner Truth African Heritage Museum, Sacramento, California

Born into slavery in 1797 as Isabella Baumfree, Sojourner Truth is best known for her speech, “Ain’t I a Woman?” at the Women’s Rights Convention in 1851. Founded by artist Shonna McDaniels in 1996, the Sojourner Truth African Heritage Museum is a traditional exhibition space and learning center highlighting African American art, history, and culture. This museum is accessible; reservations are recommended. Admission: $8 for adults; $6 for adults over 60.

an adult bends down next to a child, pointing out something on a mural

A mural at the Tubman African American Museum tells the story “From Africa to America.”

Matt Odom/Vist Macon

Tubman African American Museum, Macon, Georgia

Harriet Tubman, who was born into slavery in 1822 in Maryland, escaped in 1849. She is best known as the “conductor” of the Underground Railroad, a secretive network that helped people to escape slavery and find freedom. Although Tubman did not have a connection to Georgia, the museum is named in her honor for her bravery. Inside this former warehouse is a large and colorful mural telling the story of “From Africa to America,” the stories of African American inventors, and a statue of Tubman with information about her life as an abolitionist and suffragist. The building is accessible. Admission: $10 for adults; $9 for adults 55-plus and AARP members.

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