Exhbit Sneak Peek: Journey 450 years of the African-American Experience

Baptismal record for the black child born in Spanish Florida.

Journey looks at the African-American experience in St. Augustine over it's 450 years of existence as a European colony and American city. The exhibit starts with the first slaves to reach the shores and follows through the civil rights protests in the 1960s.

The first part of the exhibit features colonial Florida. On display are two documents from the St. Augustine Catholic Dioceses Archives that have never before been on display. Visitors can learn about Fort Mose, the slave trade and early Florida settlers.

MLK JR's fingerprint card!

The second part of the exhibit focuses on the Civil Rights Movement and Lincolnville. The exhibit features the original Woolworth's counter from the 1960s sit-ins and the fingerprint card from Martin Luther King, Jr's arrest in St. Augustine. The display on Lincolnville traces the areas roots as a small marshy settlement until today, including some stunning contemporary art.

Throughout the entire exhibit are panels featuring specific St. Augustine residents and visitors that played an important role or illustrate a particular lifestyle. These offer a great insight into the lives of people in the past and give unique insights into their respective time periods.

Emily Jane and Robbie visited on #MuseumSelfie Day.

One great piece of the exhibit is an interactive table with articles on specific topics. The tables allow visitors to pull up more information, photos and more. You can also send the text to your phone to read later!

Interactive table featuring more information on the exhibit's topics.

Overall, Journey takes a look at a little known but very important part of St. Augustine's rich history. When you've finished checking it out, you can also pick up your passport and check out lots of other places around town important to African-American history.

The exhibit is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $5 for adults, $4 for seniors and $3 for kids 7 to 12. St. Johns county residents, military in uniform, kids under 6 and students can get for free with proper identification. For more information, please visit the exhibit's website.