Jack Hadley Black History Museum

09/09/2026

08/20/2026

As students across Thomas County settle into a new school year, we’re excited to see local history heading back to school with them! 📚🎉

More than 4,000 Pre-K through 5th grade students are receiving THOMASVILLE AT 200: A Bicentennial Activity Book, created to introduce young learners to Thomasville’s history through stories, illustrations, and hands-on activities.

We’re especially proud that our own Meme Greitzer, Curator of Engagement, helped create the book alongside Jennifer Vanderbeek of Thomasville Center for the Arts, Sarah Byrne of the Jack Hadley Black History Museum, and Kitty Spivey of Pebble Hill Plantation. It’s a great example of what our community partners can accomplish together and a fun way to help the next generation connect with Thomasville’s past during its Bicentennial year. 🏛️✏️

Read more about the project:
https://thomasvillehistory.org/city-of-thomasville-thomasville-bicentennial-committee-distributes-activity-books/

08/05/2026

07/31/2026

Explore our current exhibit, African Americans in Tallahassee: The World Wars and Post-War Life

Discover the remarkable stories of Tallahassee's African American community during World War I, World War II, and the years that followed at the John G. Riley Center & Museum. Through historic photographs, artifacts, replicas, and oral histories, this exhibition explores the courage, sacrifice, and perseverance of local and regional African Americans who served both overseas and on the home front.

From military service and community resilience to the enduring pursuit of equality, the exhibition offers a powerful look at how global conflict shaped lives in Tallahassee and helped lay the groundwork for the Civil Rights Movement.

On view through December 2026, join us for a tour to explore an important chapter of local and national history. Plan your visit today!

Learn more at https://www.rileymuseum.org/

07/28/2026

07/14/2026

Imperial Hotel (Thomasville, Thomas County)
Built in 1949 and operated until 1969 by Harvey and Dorothy Lewis Thompson, the Imperial Hotel was Thomasville’s only hotel that exclusively accommodated Black travelers prior to integration. The hotel featured a restaurant on the first floor and a barbershop, eight guest rooms and communal baths on the second floor. The Imperial Hotel was one of ten hotels featured in the Green Book, a travel guide for African American tourists, detailing hotels, restaurants and shops that would serve them during the Jim Crow era.

The Imperial Hotel officially closed its doors to tourists in 1969. The building was then used as offices and briefly served as headquarters for a chapter of the NAACP. The building has remained vacant and unused since 2001, leaving it in a severe state of neglect. Recent efforts to stabilize the building have been successful, yet the long-term future of this important African American cultural resource remains in question.

06/15/2026

June 14, 1877-Lt. Henry Ossian Flipper became the first African American cadet to graduate from the United States Military Academy at West Point. He was born enslaved in Thomasville, GA on March 21, 1856. After the Civil War Flipper enrolled at Atlanta University and as a freshman was appointed to West Point where there were already four black cadets. Despite the difficulties caused by his white classmates Flipper persevered and graduated becoming the first African-American commissioned officer in the regular United States Army. As a second lieutenant Flipper was the first non-white officer to command the Buffalo Soldiers of the 10th Cavalry. Flipper described his experience at West Point in the 1878 book “The Colored Cadet at West Point”. Flipper served with competency and distinction during the Apache Wars and the Victorio Campaign but was haunted by rumors alleging improprieties. Flipper was found guilty of “conduct unbecoming an officer and gentleman” in 1881, court-martialed and dismissed from the service based on a relationship and correspondence with a white woman. After losing his commission in the Army Flipper remained in Texas working as a civil engineer in El Paso. In 1898 he volunteered to serve in the Spanish–American War but requests to restore his commission were ignored by Congress. He spent time in Mexico and on returning to the United States he served as an adviser to Senator Albert Fall on Mexican politics. When Senator Fall became Secretary of the Interior in 1921 he brought Flipper with him to Washington, DC to serve as his assistant. In 1923 Flipper went to work in Venezuela as an engineer in the petroleum industry. He retired to Atlanta in 1931 and died there April 26, 1940. He was buried in an unmarked grave in Atlanta. “Negro Frontiersman: The Western Memoirs of Henry O. Flipper” was published in 1963. The Department of the Army issued Flipper a posthumous Certificate of Honorable Discharge in 1976. After his discharge was changed a bust of Flipper was unveiled at West Point and annually the Henry O. Flipper Award is given to graduating cadets who exhibit “leadership, self-discipline and perseverance in the face of unusual difficulties”. His remains were reinterred in his hometown with full military honors in 1978. President William Jefferson Clinton issued a pardon in 1999. Flipper Park, Flipper Cemetery, and the Lt. Henry O. Flipper United States Post Office branch in his hometown are named in his honor.