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The Aquilina C. Howell collection consists of papers of distinguished Leon County educator, Aquilina Howell. Born in Tallahassee, Florida in 1917, Howell graduated from Old Lincoln High School in 1934. She received her B.A. from Florida A&M College in 1938 and a M.A. in Curriculum and Guidance from New York University. Howell then worked in the Leon County School System as a teacher, guidance counselor, supervisor of curriculum and guidance, and Director of Secondary Education. In 1985, she retired as Superintendent for Instruction, the highest ranking black administrator at that time. The collection includes papers, correspondence, photographs, greeting and postcards, and memorabilia.
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This collection includes recordings of oral histories and events at the Riley House Museum.
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American Beach and Money Beach (Bayou) were two beaches opened to Blacks during the period of segregation. American Beach in Jacksonville, Florida was founded in 1935 as a summer haven for Blacks by Abraham Lincoln Lewis, the first black millionaire in the state of Florida. Money Bayou, located in Port St. Joe, Florida, was established later in 1951 when Daman Peters and Raymond Driesbarch purchased the land. The collection is made up of historical facts on Black Beaches; the histories of both American Beach and Money Beach are included. There are newspaper clippings, copies of deeds, postcards, touring information, obsequies of the late Damon P. Peters, Sr., and photographs.
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The Black church as an institution is one of the oldest organizations in the United States. The churches, as a whole, harbor more history than any other Black institution in America. Church was the only place Blacks could meet freely and eventually speak openly about their condition in America. Given the safe, open meeting place, and the organizational environment the Black church provided, it was only natural that groups and organizations seeking equality would grow out of it, as well as leaders of the Black community. It is no mistake that the Black church is the backbone of the Black community. This collection contains histories of local churches in Tallahassee. The pieces included in the collection are programs, slideshow information, and newspaper clippings.
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This collection was accumulated to assist anyone interested in the history and/or preservation of cemeteries. Cemeteries offer researchers genealogical, religious, socioeconomic, and cultural information about individuals or communities. The collection documents the histories of cemeteries. The collection contains walking tours of graveyards, maps of graveyards, histories of graveyards, photos, news clippings, and programs from ceremonies and events.
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Ceremonies, programs, and reunions are a vital part of a community’s history. They reflect the cultural beliefs, religious beliefs, and the socioeconomic of a community. Programs from ceremonies, programs, and reunions can be very helpful to anyone researching the history of a group or community. This collection is made up of programs that record the history of Tallahassee and Leon County. The set contains community programs that reflect the events that took place, class reunion programs from Barrow Hill, FAMU High, and Old Lincoln High School. Also included are family reunion programs, Tuskegee Airman program and retirement programs.
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Civil Rights protests deeply rooted in the African American experience. They have been both peaceful and non-peaceful. The Civil Rights movement started when the first African slaves protested their enslavement through starvation and self-mutilation. Civil Rights protests would change through the years. A selection of materials from this collection is included in this digital collection including newspaper clippings and publication about prominent civil rights figures both nationally and locally in Tallahassee, Florida.
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The Joseph Nathaniel Crooms Papers consist of documents related to Crooms Academy named for J.N. Crooms, whose parents were slaves on a Tallahassee area plantation, and who, along with his wife, Wealthy Mabel Crooms, started the school Crooms Academy and were its first principal and assistant principal respectively. The Crooms Academy began operation in 1920 and until 1970, the Crooms Academy during the same time Bethune Academy was established. Mr. Crooms worked with Mary McLeod Bethune as members of the Welricha Corp., which owned a beach front motel and restaurant on Bethune-Volusia Beach, as well as the Florida Negro Teachers Association. By the advent of his death, Mr. Crooms was considered a pioneer for black education in the state of Florida.
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The Gorham collection consists of papers of Florida A&M University professor, Thelma T. Gorham, 1913-1992. The Collection spans over Gorham’s lifetime. It includes papers, correspondence, photographs, greeting and postcards, and memorabilia. The arrangement of the collection is in both series and box identification. The series are: correspondence, educational and professional career, memorabilia, three- dimensional objects, JET Magazine collection, Ebony Magazine Collection, miscellaneous publications, miscellaneous articles collected by Gorham, photographs, audio and video, greeting and post cards, and pamphlets and brochures collected by Gorham, outside of the series are single boxes with box identification.
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“Hidden Sagas: Stories of Florida’s African American Experience” Oral History Project had its roots as a response to the Florida Humanities Council’s 30th Anniversary celebration in 2003, and three year initiative entitled “Telling Florida’s Stories: Strengthening Florida Communities.” The specific goal of this project was to collect the reminisces of black Floridians who had lived through the Jim Crow Era and witnessed the changes wrought by the Civil Rights Revolution. The driving force behind “Hidden Sagas” was to revamp the history of America’s rural communities that is often overshadowed by the vast amounts of evidence of urban centers. The roots of the African American experience begin with the land, may it be a plantation of the antebellum period or tenant farmer. It was these places that Black culture, religion, and folk life took its form. It is only natural to return to those places to seek the history of African American people.
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Leon County is in the northernmost region of Florida known as the Big Bend. The collection contains copies of Rural Resources of Leon County, Florida,
1821–1950: Volume I Historic Contexts and Case Studies, by Historic Tallahassee Preservation Board. The case studies give a brief history of Leon County through case studies done on the families that were in Leon County between 1821–1950. The collection also contains the September 1989 Proposed Historic Preservation Ordinance and Incentive Program for Tallahassee and Leon County by the Historic Preservation Task Force. The book is Tallahassee/Leon County’s plan to ensure historic preservation of the city and county.
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John G. Riley was born on September 24, 1857 in Leon County to the union of Sarah and James Riley. Born an enslaved African, Riley grew up in “slave quarters” located behind the Knott House in downtown Tallahassee. It is believed that Riley was self-educated, but further research shows Professor Riley did study at colleges and universities. Professor Riley went on to teach in Wakulla, Gadsden, and Leon counties in Florida as well as serving as principal to Lincoln Academy in Tallahassee. In addition to being a distinguished educator, Professor Riley was also a successful businessman. After building his home on East Jefferson Street in Tallahassee, Professor Riley began to buy and sell property in the capital city. His business dealings would yield profits for years after his death. The collection contains a biographical history of John G. Riley. This includes a brief history of property records, family genealogies, and a 1915 copy of Who’s Who, which cites Professor Riley.
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The John G. Riley House was built in 1890 at 419 East Jefferson Street, Tallahassee, Florida. After Riley’s death, his family continued to live there until 1973. The city bought the property and planned to build an electrical substation on the site. The Historic Tallahassee Preservation Board researched the site and in 1978 the house was added to the National Register of Historic Places. The house now serves as a museum/center in his honor. The mission of the museum is to preserve the cultural and educational history for African Americans in the Tallahassee area and the state of Florida, from Reconstruction era through the Civil War rights movements. The collection contains information concerning the development of the John G. Riley House Museum & Center as well as the day-to-day legwork of the museum & center. The files range from program information to displays to grants.
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The collection follows the history of Leon County Schools through segregation and integration and the development of new schools. The collection focuses on rural one-room schools of Leon County. The collection contains information concerning Leon County rural one-room school houses from attendance records to commencement exercises. The collection also tracks the education system for blacks in Leon County through segregation and integration. Brief histories are given for some schools.
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Old, or First, Lincoln High School was established in 1869 in Tallahassee, Florida, to educate the newly freed slaves. The school was named after Abraham Lincoln. The collection documents the history of First Lincoln High School, containing programs, yearbooks, photographs, newspaper clippings, commencement programs, school programs, and programs between Lincoln High School, Florida Agricultural and Mechanical High School, and Griffin High School.
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Funeral programs and obituaries are a great source for information. They can reveal birth dates, occupations, family history, if the individual belonged to any group or organization, the level of education, socioeconomic wealth, culture, and religion of individuals. This collection contains hundreds of funeral programs and obituaries. The majority of the programs belong to individuals who were members of the Tallahassee community. The programs date as far back as the 1800s and go into 2017.
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Tallahassee was founded in 1825 and selected as the capital because of its location, which was the halfway point between Pensacola and St. Augustine. The city depended on a plantation economy, which was fueled by slave labor; as a result, by 1860, the Black population grew to three times the size of the White population. The descendants would create a rich and unique history in Tallahassee, which this collection has recorded and preserved. The collection contains the Mr. & Mrs. Levi Simmons Papers, Martin Family Papers, Pasty Miller Papers, Benjamin J. Baker Papers, Robert Meacham, Jack Jefferson Papers, Davis and Pemberton Family Reunion Program, Katherine Nickelson Spieghts Collection, Martha Brown Collection, Dr. Alpha Omega Campbell, Lewis Washington Taylor, Cherrye L. Turner Spencer, The Gardner Family History, The Hall family of Leon County, Rev. Bernyce H. Clausell History, and Charles Henry Rollins History.
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Tallahassee was founded in 1825. The word “Tallahassee” is a Creek word meaning old field which reflects its Native American roots. The city was created as the capital of Florida due to its location as Tallahassee marked the halfway point between St. Augustine and Pensacola, then the two largest cities in Florida. Tallahassee has constantly had a multicultural population including Europeans, Africans, and Native Americans, all of which have contributed to the growth and success of Tallahassee. The communities of Tallahassee reflect racial, social economic status, religious beliefs, and or family/clan relationships. This collection contains the history of Tallahassee’s communities and neighborhoods. It focuses on the Black communities and neighborhoods which once thrived in Tallahassee.
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