Tampa's Black History Museum

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Tampa's Black History Museum

The Tampa Bay History Center and the Tampa Housing Authority manage Tampa's Black History Museum at Encore.

This museum preserves and celebrates the heritage of Tampa's African American community with exhibits, programs, and events.

09/02/2026

Join us Sept. 18 for “Remember the Time!,” a free celebration of the University of South Florida’s Black alumni at Tampa’s Black History Museum.

The evening commemorates USF’s 70th anniversary and the 65th anniversary of Ernest Boger becoming the university’s first Black student.

Enjoy alumni testimonials, table games, live musical selections by Aris Clark, hits from the 1960s through the 1990s with DJ Marvelous, Cuban sandwich minis and light refreshments.

Doors open at 5:30 p.m., and the program begins at 6 p.m. This event is free and open to the public.

Photo courtesy of University of South Florida, “Ernest Boger, USF’s First Black Student” (1961). USF Photograph Collection. Image 51.

08/03/2026

The Black History Book Club concludes its summer season with a discussion of Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston on Aug. 31.

This free event begins at 5:30 p.m. at 1213 N. Central Ave., at Tampa’s Black History Museum. Copies of the book are available through the Tampa Bay History Center Museum Store or online retailers.

See you there!

06/29/2026

Our Black History Book Club had a special guest join us from Paris.

Author Jake Lamar joined the group live on Zoom for a warm, thoughtful conversation about his novel “Bourgeois Blues.” We’re grateful to everyone who joined, asked questions, and helped make the discussion so memorable.

The Black History Book Club meets every other month on the third Monday. Check out VisitTBHM.org for details about our next selection.

06/12/2026

Thank you to everyone who joined us for “The Heart of the Turf.”

Roda Ferraro, director of the Keeneland Library and curator of “The Heart of the Turf: Racing’s Black Pioneers,” led a thoughtful program on the Black horsemen and horsewomen who shaped thoroughbred racing from the mid-1800s to today.

We are grateful to Ferraro for sharing this history, to Tampa's Downtown for sponsoring the reception, and to every guest who joined the conversation.

Learn more about upcoming programs at Tampa’s Black History Museum by visiting our website.

06/01/2026

Hear the story behind "Bourgeois Blues" from Jake Lamar himself.

Join the next Black History Book Club on June 29, 2026, for a special conversation with author Jake Lamar. Lamar, a Harvard alumnus, writer and journalist, will join readers for a discussion of his autobiographical work exploring race, class, social mobility and coming of age in the 1970s and 1980s.

This free event begins at 5:30 p.m. at Tampa's Black History Museum located on 1213 N. Central Ave.

05/14/2026

Through historic photographs and artifacts, "The Heart of the Turf: Racing’s Black Pioneers" brings forward the stories of African American jockeys, trainers and caretakers whose labor, expertise and victories helped define American Thoroughbred racing.

Join Tampa’s Black History Museum on Monday, June 8, 2026, for a special presentation with Roda Ferraro, director of the Keeneland Library and curator of the exhibit, followed by discussion, Q&A and a reception sponsored by Tampa's Downtown.

Doors open at 5 p.m. RSVP: https://bit.ly/42Ue5ow

(Clemon Brooks with Nashua at Spendthrift Farm in 1964, Keeneland Library Collection.)

04/20/2026

The Black History Book Club continues its spring season with a discussion of "Race Matters" by Cornel West on April 27.

This free event begins at 5:30 p.m. at 1213 N. Central Ave., at Tampa’s Black History Museum. First published in 1993, "Race Matters" examines race, democracy and moral responsibility in American public life.

Copies of the book are available for purchase at the Tampa Bay History Center Museum Store or through your local library.

See you there!

Address

1213 N Central Avenue
Tampa, FL
33602

Telephone

+18132290097

Website

https://tampabayhistorycenter.org/tampas-black-history-museum/

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