MEDIA ADVISORY: Secretary Laurel M. Lee Invites Press to Special Media Preview for Exhibit Opening at the Museum of Florida History

TALLAHASSEE, FL –

Secretary of State Laurel M. Lee and the Museum of Florida History in commemoration of Black History Month, invite the press to a media preview and opening reception of the special exhibit Spirits of the Passage: The Story of the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

DATE AND TIME:    Thursday, February 17, 2022, 4:00–7:30 p.m.

LOCATION:              Museum of Florida History, R. A. Gray Building

DESCRIPTION:      

The Museum of Florida History presents the temporary exhibit Spirits of the Passage: The Story of the Transatlantic Slave Trade, produced by the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum in Key West. This powerful exhibition explores the largest forced migration in history and takes visitors through the history of the slave trade and its lasting impact on American society. This exhibit is an emotional journey that focuses on the human consequences of the slave trade and the resilience of enslaved African people.

Dr. Madeline Burnside, Chief Curator, Mel Fisher Maritime Museum, and Michelle Hearn, Senior Curator, Museum of Florida History, will be on hand for interviews and questions.

The exhibition features more than 125 artifacts, most recovered from the Henrietta Marie, an English slaving vessel that sank off the coast of the Florida Keys in 1700. In addition to the artifacts from Henrietta Marie, the Museum of Florida History is proud to share archaeological artifacts from the Angola Maroon settlement which have never before been displayed in a museum.  Angola was a community on the Manatee River made up of free Blacks and Black people who had fled slavery.  The National Park Service added the site of Angola to its Underground Railroad Network to Freedom in 2018.  The Spirits of the Passage exhibit has travelled to museums throughout the nation, including the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum in Jackson, the Reading Public Museum in Reading, Pennsylvania, and the Frazier Museum in Louisville, Kentucky.   

Promotional materials will be available.

Interested press should contact Mallory Morgan at 850.245.6522.

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ABOUT THE MUSEUM OF FLORIDA HISTORY:

Opened in 1977, the Museum of Florida History, as Florida’s official state history museum, collects, preserves, exhibits, and interprets evidence of past and present cultures in Florida, and promotes knowledge and appreciation of this heritage. The Museum of Florida History is located in the R. A. Gray Building at 500 South Bronough Street, Tallahassee, Florida. As the State's History Museum, it focuses on artifacts and eras unique to Florida's development and on roles that Floridians have played in national and global events. Hours are Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; Sunday and holidays, noon to 4:30 p.m.  Free parking is available in the garage next to the R. A. Gray Building.