Banneker-Douglass-Tubman Museum

The Banneker-Douglass-Tubman Museum, named for Benjamin BannekerFrederick Douglass, and Harriet Tubman is dedicated to preserving Maryland's African American heritage and serves as the state's official repository of African American material culture. The museum was dedicated on February 24, 1984.

The original museum was housed within the former Mount Moriah African Methodist Episcopal Church in the heart of historic Annapolis. The Victorian-Gothic structure was included in the Annapolis Historic District in 1971 and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. The recently completed BDM addition is a four-story addition that uses the nineteenth-century brick of the church's north façade as its interior lobby wall.

VL Tubman Frederick Douglass Portrait 1
A young Frederick Douglass.
Image courtesy of the Banneker-Douglass Museum.
 

With 2024 being the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Civil Rights Act (1964), the Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture (MCAAHC) and Banneker-Douglass Museum declared 2024 as “Maryland’s Year of Civil Rights” with exciting and relevant programming, exhibitions, and partnerships to commemorate the milestone year of this groundbreaking legislation.

Plan your visit to Annapolis and Anne Arundel County and explore this and other Civil Rights programming throughout 2025.

What's New?

 

Sacred Spaces – An Art & Augmented Reality Exhibition

February 8, 2025 - December 30, 2025

Artwork with black culture collage, blue and brown watercolors
Knights Templar by Jabari Jefferson. Image courtesy of Micah E. Wood.

 

The Banneker-Douglass-Tubman Museum is proud to debut Sacred Spaces, a groundbreaking exhibition by Maryland-based artist Jabari Jefferson. This art and augmented reality experience explores the spiritual and cultural contributions of the African American community. In honor of Black History Month, the exhibition is presented by the Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture and will include an artist talk, a guided tour, and plenty of opportunities to mingle with artists, curators, and fellow art lovers. Don’t miss this chance to immerse yourself in the intersection of art, culture, and technology!

Learn more about the exhibit:
 BDTM Logo

 

Banneker-Douglass-Tubman Museum celebrated their name change honoring Harriet Tubman with Keynote by Nikki Giovanni on November 1st, 2024!

Statute of Harriet Tubman

A New Chapter - Banneker-Douglass-Tubman Museum Renaming Ceremony & Maryland 160th Emancipation Day Reception featuring Keynote Speaker Nikki Giovanni took place on Friday, November 1, 2024 at 12:00 PM.

The public was invited to celebrate this momentous occasion via live stream on the BDTM Facebook and Youtube channels on Friday, November 1, 2024, at Noon.

The event was an afternoon of reflection, celebration, and inspiration as the new Banneker-Douglass-Tubman Museum name is unveiled with the powerful words of the esteemed poet, author, and activist Nikki Giovanni. A distinguished figure of the Black Arts Movement and a graduate of Fisk University (‘67), Giovanni's work has inspired generations, earning her numerous accolades including seven NAACP Image Awards, the first Rosa Parks Woman of Courage Award, and the Langston Hughes Medal for Poetry.

 

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