jack hadley black history museum

We visited Jack's museum - but he was on vacation. What a shame as I'm sure he would have lent some additional information to the displays. He captures several areas of Black culture in different sections of the museum, including sports, entertainment, military, and of course, civil rights. He also has a large section that covers the local history, and it is indeed a rich one. The museum is housed in the now closed Douglass High School - a black school that thrived in the 50s and 60s - so it felt like walking into someone's home, with each room set up to display different artifacts he has collected over the years. These include newspaper clippings, photographs, display ads, uniforms, antiques, furniture, and other memorabilia. It is well worth the visit, and includes a short video that explains the most famous graduate of the closed high school, a Henry Flipper. The staff was friendly and helpful.

By chance, we decided to tour the museum. When we arrived, we were the only ones there and met the curator... Mr. Jack Hadley. It was his vision and passion that brought the museum to life. The historical accounting ranged from slavery to modern day, from sports to music, from education to war, from notable women to phenomenal children, so on and so on. The museum continues to expand. The true mind behind the museum is Mr. Hadley. My son typically cares less about these kinds of tours but even he took an interest as Mr. Hadley told story after story. It was exciting to hear and see the mass quantity of pictures and paraphernalia. It was all educational and inspirational. .

The thousands of photos, letters and objects assembled by Mr. Jack Hadley effectively convey a story needing to be told in a comfortable, warm and intimate environment. This museum is obviously a labor of love for Mr. Hadley, a sincere, gracious and proud man. We were fortunate to receive a personal tour from Mr. Hadley. He spent well over an hour with us illuminating the web of stories behind the artifacts, many of a deeply personal nature.