Museums offer us the ability to learn about topics in a visual and experiential setting. Historical sites are preserved as a reminder of the people who contributed to our history and the locations where this history was made. This list highlights museums, memorials, centers, and historic sites around the United States which are devoted to the culture, history, and experiences of marginalized groups in this country. Whether you’re looking to plan a trip, see what’s near you, or just curious to know what’s out there, check out the list below to learn more.
(Many museums around the world include pieces from a diverse set of artists and pertaining to many diverse experiences and people groups. This diversity offers us the chance to see and experience a variety of exhibits in one location. Check with museums near you to discover what is included in their collections.)
Alabama
Birmingham
Birmingham Civil Rights Institute
Danville
Jesse Owens Memorial Park and Museum
Oakville Indian Mounds Education Center
Dothan
The Carver Museum (G.W. Carver Interpretive Museum)
Florence
Florence Indian Mound and Museum
Huntsville
State Black Archives Research Center and Museum
Mobile
National African American Archives and Museum
Montgomery
The Legacy Museum/National Memorial for Peace and Justice
Moundville
Selma
National Voting Rights Museum and Institute
Tuscaloosa
Tuskegee
Booker T. Washington House at the Tuskegee Institute
George Washington Carver Museum at the Tuskegee Institute
Alaska
Arizona
Camp Verde
Montezuma Castle National Monument
Chandler
Dragoon
Flagstaff
Fort Apache
White Mountain Apache Cultural Center
Maricopa
Phoenix
Arizona Latino Arts & Culture Center
Prescott
Roosevelt
Scottsdale
Sells
Tohono O’odham Nation Cultural Center and Museum
Shonto
Somerton
St. Michaels
Tuba City
Tucson
Window Rock
Arkansas
California
Ahwahnee
Wassama Round House State Historic Park
Banning
El Cajon
Heritage of the Americas Museum
Fresno
The African American Historical & Cultural Museum of the San Joaquin Valley
Hoopa
Keene
César E. Chávez National Monument
Lake Isabella
Nuui Cunni Native American Intertribal Cultural Center & Museum
Lakeside
Barona Cultural Center & Museum
Lancaster
Antelope Valley Indian Museum State Historic Park
Long Beach
Pacific Island Ethnic Art Museum
Los Angeles
The African American Firefighter Museum
California African American Museum
Japanese American National Museum
Korean American National Museum
Marysville
Chinese American Museum of Northern California
Newbury Park
Satwiwa Native American Indian Culture Center
North Fork
Sierra Mono Museum & Cultural Center
Novato
Marin Museum of the American Indian
Oakland
African American Museum and Library at Oakland
Oroville
Pasadena
Perris
Ya’i Heki’ Regional Indian Museum
Pine Grove
Chaw’se Regional Indian Museum
Pomona
Riverside
Center for Social Justice and Civil Liberties
The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture
Sacramento
California State Indian Museum
Latino Center of Art and Culture
San Diego
San Francisco
Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco
Chinese Historical Society of America Museum
Museum of the African Diaspora
San José
Japanese American Museum of San José
Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana (MACLA)
Santa Barbara
Santa Rosa
California Indian Museum & Cultural Center
Thousand Oaks
Walnut Grove
Locke Foundation Museums (including Dai Loy Gambling House, Boarding House Muse, Jan Ying Chinese Association Museum, Joe Shoong Chinese School, and Memorial Park)
Yosemite Valley
Colorado
Breckenridge
Cortez
Notah-Dineh Trading Post & Museum
Denver
Black American West Museum & Heritage Center
Stiles African American Heritage Center
Dolores
Canyons of the Ancients Visitor Center & Museum
Ignacio
Southern Ute Cultural Center & Museum
La Junta
Manitou Springs
Mesa Verde
Montrose
Towaoc
Connecticut
Delaware
Dover
Millsboro
Newark
Paul R. Jones Collection of African-American Art (at the University of Delaware)
Florida
Clewiston
Daytona Beach
DeLand
African American Museum of the Arts
Delray Beach
Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens
Spady Cultural Heritage Museum
Fort Lauderdale
African-American Research Library & Cultural Center
Jacksonville
Key West
Maitland
Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center of Florida
Miami
Miami Hispanic Cultural Arts Center
Miami Beach
Holocaust Memorial Miami Beach
Naples
Holocaust Museum and Cohen Education Center
New Smyrna Beach
Mary S. Harrell Black Heritage Museum
Punta Gorda
St. Augustine
St. Petersburg
Dr. Carter G. Woodson African American Museum
Tallahassee
Meek-Eaton Black Archives Research Center & Museum
Taylor House Museum of Historic Frenchtown
Winter Park
Georgia
Albany
Atlanta
Clark Atlanta University Art Museum
Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Park
National Center for Civil and Human Rights
Omenala Griot Afrocentric Teaching Museum
Spelman College Museum of Fine Art
Augusta
Lucy Craft Laney Museum of Black History
Blakely
Kolomoki Mounds State Park/Museum
Calhoun
New Echota State Historic Site
Cartersville
Etowah Indian Mounds State Historic Site
Cassville
Noble Hill-Wheeler Memorial Center
College Park
Gainesville
Macon
Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park
Madison
Morgan County African-American Museum
Midway
Riceboro
Geechee Kunda Cultural Arts Center and Museum
Rome
Savannah
The Beach Institute African-American Cultural Center and King-Tisdell Cottage
Ralph Mark Gilbert Civil Rights Museum
Thomasville
Jack Hadley Black History Museum
Waleska
Hawaii
Illinois
Carbondale
African American Museum of Southern Illinois
Chicago
A. Philip Randolph Pullman Porter Museum
Chinese American Museum of Chicago
DuSable Museum of African American History
International Latino Cultural Center
National Museum of Mexican Art
National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture
Collinsville
Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site
Evanston
Mitchell Museum of the American Indian
Lewistown
Peoria
African American Hall of Fame Museum
Rock Island
Black Hawk State Historic Site
Skokie
Indiana
Bloomington
Mathers Museum of World Cultures (now part of IU Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology)
Evansville
Angel Mounds State Historic Site
Evansville African American Museum
Indianapolis
Terre Haute
Iowa
Cedar Rapids
Kansas
Cottonwood Falls
Lawrence
Haskell Cultural Center and Museum
Leavenworth
Republic
Pawnee Indian Museum State Historic Site
Topeka
Kentucky
Louisiana
Baton Rouge
Southern University Museum of Art - Baton Rouge
Charenton
Donaldsonville
River Road African American Museum
Hammond
Tangipahoa African American Heritage Museum & Veterans Archives
Houma
Finding Our Roots African American Museum
Marksville
Monroe
Northeast Louisiana Delta African American Heritage Museum
New Orleans
Opelousas
Creole Heritage Folklife Center
Robeline
Adai Caddo Indian Nation Cultural Center
Shreveport
Multicultural Center of the South
Southern University Museum of Art - Shreveport
Stephens African American Museum
Wallace
Maine
Maryland
Annapolis
Boyds
Cambridge
Harriet Tubman Museum and Educational Center
Cantonsville
Benjamin Banneker Historical Park and Museum
Church Creek
Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historic Park
Columbia
African Art Museum of Maryland
Ellicott City
Hagerstown
La Plata
African American Heritage House
Olney
Oakley Cabin African American Museum and Park
Waldorf
Massachusetts
Michigan
Big Rapids
Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia
Dearborn
Detroit
Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History
International Gospel Music Hall of Fame
Tuskegee Airmen National Historical Museum
Farmington Hills
Harbor Springs
Lansing
All Around the African World Museum
Mt Pleasant
Ziibiwing Center of Anishinabae Culture & Lifeways
Saginaw
St. Ignace
Sutton Bay
Minnesota
Cloquet
Fond du Lac Reservation Cultural Center and Museum
Comfrey
Minneapolis
Minnesota African American Heritage Museum and Gallery
Morton
Onamia
Mille Lacs Indian Museum and Trading Post
Shakopee
St. Paul
Tower
Mississippi
Belzoni
Humphreys County Cultural Museum
Biloxi
Canton
Canton Multicultural Center and Museum
Clarksdale
Glendora
Emmett Till Historic Intrepid Center
Greenville
Hattiesburg
African American Military History Museum
Holly Springs
Indianola
B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center
Jackson
International Museum of Muslim Cultures
Mississippi Civil Rights Museum
McComb
Natchez
Grand Village of the Natchez Indians
Natchez Museum of African American Culture and History
Pearl River
Vicksburg
Yazoo City
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
Acoma Pueblo
Sky City Cultural Center and Haak’u Museum
Albuquerque
National Hispanic Cultural Center
New Mexico Holocaust Museum and Gellert Center for Education
Aztec
Gallup
Jemez Pueblo
Los Alamos
Nageezi
Chaco Culture National Historical Park
Santa Fe
Institute of American Indian Arts
Museum of Indian Arts and Culture
Museum of Spanish Colonial Art
Poeh Museum and Cultural Center
Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian
Silver City
Western New Mexico University Museum
Taos
Zuni
New York
Akwesasne
Auburn
Buffalo
El Museo Francisco Oller y Diego Rivera
Castile
William Pryor Letchworth Museum
Glen Cove
Holocaust Museum & Tolerance Center of Nassau County
Hempstead
African American Museum of Nassau County
Howes Cave
Liverpool
Skä•noñh Great Law of Peace Center
New York City
African Burial Ground National Monument
Americas Society/Council of the Americas
Children’s Cultural Center of Native America
The Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural & Educational Center
Gallery Korea/Korean Cultural Center NY
The Hispanic Society Museum and Library
The Malcolm X & Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial & Educational Center
Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts
National Jazz Museum in Harlem
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Center
North Salem
Hammond Museum & Japanese Stroll Garden
Onchiota
Six Nations Iroquois Cultural Center
Oneida
Peterboro
National Abolition Hall of Fame & Museum
Salamanca
Seneca Iroquois National Museum and Onöhsagwë:de’ Cultural Center
Sanborn
Victor
North Carolina
Asheville
Cherokee
Frisco
Gibsonville
Charlotte Hawkins Brown Museum
Greensboro
International Civil Rights Center and Museum
Henderson
Henderson Institute Historical Museum
Morganton
North Carolina School for the Deaf Historical Museum
Mt. Gilead
Pembroke
Museum of the Southeast American Indian
Raleigh
African American Cultural Complex
Winton
North Dakota
Ohio
Ashtabula
Hubbard House Underground Railroad Museum
Bellefontaine
Zane Shawnee Caverns and Southwind Park
Chillicothe
Hopewell Culture National Historical Park
Cincinnati
Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center
National Underground Railroad Freedom Center
Cleveland
African American Museum in Cleveland
Columbus
Dayton
Sunwatch Indian Village/Archaeological Park
Hillsboro
Fort Hill Earthworks & Nature Preserve
Mentor
Indian Museum of Lake County, OH
Oregonia
Ripley
Wilberforce
National Afro-American Museum & Cultural Center
Xenia
Oklahoma
Anadarko
National Hall of Fame for Famous American Indians
Binger
Carnegie
Enid
Leona Mitchell Southern Heights Heritage Center and Museum
Kaw City
Lawton
Comanche National Museum and Cultural Center
Muskogee
Norman
Jacobson House Native Art Center
Oklahoma City
Okmulgee
Park Hill
Pawhuska
Sallisaw
Shawnee
Citizen Potawatomi Nation Cultural Heritage Center
Spiro
Sulphur
Tishomingo
Chickasaw Council House Museum
Tonkawa
Tuskahoma
Wewoka
Yale
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Airville
Allentown
Christiana
Christiana Underground Railroad Center at Historic Zercher’s Hotel
East Stroudsburg
Philadelphia
African American Museum in Philadelphia
Pittsburgh
Reading
Rhode Island
East Providence
South Carolina
Charleston
McLeod Plantation Historic Site
Cheraw
Southern African American Heritage Center
Clemson
Clemson Area African American Museum
Greenville
Greenville Cultural Exchange Center
Hampton
John’s Island
Gullah Geechee Heritage Corridor (This is a historic area spanning across North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida)
Orangeburg
Cecil Williams South Carolina Civil Rights Museum
Seneca
Bertha Lee Strickland Cultural Museum
Walhalla
South Dakota
Tennessee
Chattanooga
Bessie Smith Cultural Center (and Chattanooga African American Museum)
Cleveland
Clinton
Henning
Knoxville
Memphis
C.H. Nash Museum at Chucalissa
Stax Museum of American Soul Music
Vonore
Texas
Amarillo
Kwahadi Museum of the American Indian
Austin
Asian American Resource Center
Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center
George Washington Carver Museum
Southgate Lewis House (including the Jacob Fontaine Religious Museum)
Bryan
Brazos Valley African American Museum
Cleburne
Big Bear Native American Museum
Corpus Christi
Instituto de Cultura Hispanica de Corpus Christi
Dallas
African American Museum of Dallas
Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum
Juanita J. Craft Civil Rights House
Denton
Denton County African American Museum
El Paso
El Paso Holocaust Museum & Study Center
Houston
American Indian Genocide Museum (virtual/touring)
Buffalo Soldiers National Museum
Houston Museum of African American Culture
Huntsville
Samuel Walker Houston Memorial Museum & Cultural Center
San Angelo
San Angelo Hispanic Heritage Museum and Cultural Center (currently no physical building)
San Antonio
Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center
Holocaust Memorial Museum of San Antonio
UTSA Institute of Texan Cultures
San Benito
Texas Conjunto Music Hall of Fame & Museum
San Marcos
Calaboose African American History Museum
Centro Cultural Hispano de San Marcos
Tyler
Waco
Weatherford
Utah
Vermont
Abenaki Indian Museum - exhibits rotate around Vermont
Vermont African American Heritage Tour
Ferrisburgh
virginia
Alexandria
Alexandria Black History Museum
Amherst
Arlington
Black Heritage Museum of Arlington
Bastian
Wolf Creek Indian Village Museum
Berryville
Josephine School Community Museum
Bristol
Nyumba Ya Tausi-Peacock Museum
Charlotte Court House
Farmville
Halifax
L.E. Coleman African American Museum
Hampton
Hardy
Booker T. Washington National Monument
King William
Pamunkey Museum and Cultural Center
Lynchburg
Legacy Museum of African American History
Martinsville
Fayette Area Historical Initiative African American Museum and Cultural Center
Newport News
Newsome House Museum and Cultural Center
The Plains
Afro-American Historical Society of Fauquier County
Portsmouth
Portsmouth Colored Community Library Museum
Richmond
Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia
Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site
Wolf Creek Cherokee Museum & Tribal Center
Roanoke
Harrison Museum of African American Culture
Smithfield
Virginia Beach
Princess Anne County Training School-Union Kempsville High School Museum
Wytheville
Washington
Washington, D.C.
African American Civil War Museum
Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality National Monument
Frederick Douglass National Historic Site
Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial
Mary McLoed Bethune Council House
National Museum of African American History and Culture
National Museum of the American Indian
National Museum of the American Latino (currently no physical building)
west virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
Evanston