WORKERS: At Frank Chesebro’s farm in the 1910, top. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE Boca Raton HISTORICAL SOCIETY
BOCA RATON, Fla. – Pearl City, Boca Raton’s historic Black community, is in the spotlight that will continue in a major exhibition through December.
The Boca Raton Historical Society (BRHS), and The Schmidt Boca Raton History Museum (SBRHM) is presenting “Black Pearls: The Story of Boca Raton’s Historic Black Community,” now on display through December in the museum’s lecture hall, in Historic Town Hall at 71 North Federal Highway in downtown Boca Raton.
Assembled by Boca Raton Historical Society Curator Sue Gillis, the new exhibit will showcase Pearl City, Boca Raton’s oldest neighborhood and its only historically Black community, and will feature “Black Pearls,” portraits of Pearl City residents by artist Reginald Cunningham on loan from the Boca Raton Museum of Art.
These portraits will be supplemented by more photographs and memorabilia of Pearl City from the collections of the Boca Raton Historical Society, plus a portable display kiosk suitable for travel to other venues.
In addition, there will be a special Town Hall Talk on Sept. 13 by Dr. Candace Cunningham, assistant professor of History at Florida Atlantic University, who specializes in African American history, Women and Gender studies, and Public History.
Cunningham’s research is on the 20th-century African American experience with a special emphasis on civil rights, education, gender, and the South.
Cunningham conducted oral histories and wrote an essay to accompany the “Black Pearls” photography exhibit and is finishing a manuscript on Black teacher activists in the Civil Rights Movement.
The Schmidt Boca Raton History Museum is the home of the Boca Raton Historical Society, whose mission is to collect, preserve, and present information and artifacts relevant to the past and evolving history of Boca Raton and to maintain a visible role in the education and the advocacy of historic preservation in the community.
Now open to the public Wednesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., the museum is in historic Town Hall at 71 N. Federal Highway. For other information call 561.395.6766 or visit BocaHistory.org.
