Milestone Exhibit Schedule:

Riley House: August 1, 2008 - December 15, 2008
Tallahassee Regional Airport: January 1, 2009 - March 15, 2009
Pinellas County African American History Museum: March 2009 - August 2009
Blanchard House Museum: September 2009 - February 28, 2010
(406 Martin Luther King Boulevard)
Spady House Museum: March 2010 - July 2010
(Delray Beach, Florida-150 NW 5th Ave.)

The Milestone Memories Exhibit will be opening at the John G. Riley Center/Museum from August 1, 2008 until December 15, 2008. Visitors may view this exciting collection Monday through Thursday between the hours of 10 am and 4 pm. Special presentations may be arranged by appointment. The exhibit will also travel to selected cities around the state. Contact the Riley Center/Museum for further information.

Banner Stands
Four banner stand presentations visually anchor the Milestone Memories exhibit. The banners chronicle important events that influenced the evolution of Florida's present-day educational system and introduce some of the people who helped to effect those changes. This exhibit element examines the influence of government and the courts on the lives of African American students and educators from the founding of the Florida Education Society in 1831, to the 2007 passage of the Floridsa Educational Equity Act. Striking images help to tell the story of the effort it took to secure an education in days gone by.

Digital Photo Display
This feature of the Milestone exhibit uses modern technology to present historic images in an informative and innovative manner. This display will take the viewer on a short journey to see some of the African American schools that stood in every corner of the state.

Video Production
This poignant presentation features the oral histories of people who attended Florida African American schools during the days of segregation. These thoughtful first-person accounts bring both pleasant and painful memories to life in a manner that is universally understood.

Desk
Two school desks appear in the non-traveling exhibit that can be seen only at the Riley House Center/Museum. The larger piece dates back to the 1940s and is on loan from Mrs. Gladys Caswell who served as the Assistant Principal at the James S. Rickards High School (Tallahassee) before her retirement. The smaller desk was typical of those used in the 1920's. It was donated to Riley by the Leon County School District.

Text books
These small treasures were recently discovered at an antique shop located in Alford, Florida. They include well-loved versions of: Using Words - An English Spelling Program by Lillian E. Billington, copyright 1940 and Spelling Goals Five by May B. Lambader, William Kottmeyer and Rose Wickey, copyright 1951.

Scale Model of a Rosenwald School
In 1900, Booker T. Washington initiated a program at the Tuskegee Institute to help build African American schools in Alabama. Julius Rosenwald, president of the Sears, Roebuck and Company, stepped forward to support the program. Anxious to do more, Rosenwald established a charitable organization in his own name on 1920. The Rosenwald Foundation closed during the Great Depression of the 1930's, but not before they had paid for the construction of more than 5,000 buildings. In today’s dollars, the Fund’s contributions would total close to $63 million. This scale model of a Rosenwald School was hand-crafted by Mr. Hunter Hill - a retired educator who taught at the Lincoln School in Tallahassee, Florida. Its dimensions were taken from copies of original blueprints. The piece is on loan from Mr. Hill and can only be seen at the Riley House.

Lunch Items
During most of the operational years of Florida’s African American schools, there were no cafeterias. Children would bring their lunch or it would be prepared by instructors or community volunteers. The exhibit displays replicas of some of the foods consumed by students in the late 1800's and provides information about this unique facet of life at an African American school.

Posters and Hand-outs
Several posters - covering topics relating to significant events, African American schools located in Florida and influential educators - are incorporated into the exhibit. Copies of these educational materials will be made available upon request.

Activity Book
This publication gives today's students an opportunity to "read more about it." The book invites students to travel back to the 1880's when life was simpler and devoid of the conveniences we take for granted. Suggested activities range from cooking "hoe cakes" and building a scale model of a Rosenwald school to multiple choice quizzes and story-telling. The book will be available for a nominal fee at all exhibit locations and in the Riley Center/Museum Gift Shop.