New Riley Museum Exhibition Opens to Public Feb. 12

New Riley Museum Exhibition Opens to Public Feb. 12

African Americans in Tallahassee: The World Wars and Post-War Life

February 05, 2026

Your browser does not support the audio element.The City of Tallahassee's John G. Riley Center & Museum for African American History & Culture proudly announces a new exhibition that opens on Thursday, February 12, for a 10-month run - African Americans in Tallahassee: The World Wars and Post-War Life. Admission is free.

Through the lens of Tallahassee's African American community, the exhibit explores how global conflict shaped lives at home and abroad and how resilience carried them forward during the transformative decades that followed. Using biographies, historical photographs, archival documents, artifacts, audiovisual media and interpretive displays, the exhibition offers a comprehensive narrative, examining how Black men and women navigated military service, wartime labor, segregation and civic life at home, while unknowingly laying the groundwork for the modern Civil Rights Movement.

A dedicated interpretive component of the exhibition recognizes America's Semiquincentennial (250th anniversary) and situates African American service and civic participation within the nation's founding ideals. The Riley Museum is a featured destination on the Florida Department of Transportation's Great Florida Road Trip, which is part of the State of Florida's America250FL initiative.

African Americans in Tallahassee: The World Wars and Post-War Life is the third installment in the Riley Museum's four-part, four-year series documenting African American life in Tallahassee across key historical eras. The series began in 2024, with African Americans in Tallahassee: The Antebellum Period, followed by African Americans in Tallahassee: The Civil War, Emancipation, and Reconstruction in 2025. The current exhibition will remain on view through the end of the year, with the fourth installment - African Americans in Tallahassee: The Civil Rights Era - opening in January 2027.

Get a video preview of the exhibit and see what goes into setting up a new show at YouTube.com/CityofTLH.

The historic Riley House, constructed in the 1890s, is operated and maintained by the City of Tallahassee. The John G. Riley Center & Museum is located at 419 E. Jefferson Street. Since its establishment in 1996, museum staff have produced more than 50 historical publications and documentaries and have mentored more than 75 student interns.

The museum is open to the public on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Guided and self-guided tours are available during public hours, with guided tours including a visit to the Smokey Hollow Commemoration. Group tours outside public hours may be accommodated by advance reservation.

Celebrate Black History Month and learn more about local history with a visit to the John G. Riley Center & Museum, where research, education and discovery remain a focus. Its tours and exhibits bring an awareness of and appreciation for the contributions African Americans have made to the local community and society.

For more information, visit RileyMuseum.org or call 850-891-3560.