TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa Bay History Center will chronicle 500 years of local Black history in a new exhibit opening June 2.
"Travails & Triumphs" contains 100 illuminating artifacts, including a post-Civil War property log that, for the first time, lists residents of color as Tampa property owners.
There's also a beautiful letterman jacket from Middleton High, up until the 1970s, a segregated school for Black students only.
"It's sometimes not a particularly happy story," said historian and curator Rodney Kite-Powell. "But it's about how people dealt with the hardships and hopefully came out triumphant."
The interactive exhibit also explores Tampa's Central Avenue, which, much like St. Petersburg's 22nd Street, was once a rich cultural hub for Black families.
On June 19th, as a celebration of Juneteenth, the Tampa Bay History Center will be free admission to all.
For more information on the Tampa Bay History Center, go here.
