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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.
