Centuries of Black history comes to life at Sacramento's Sojourner Truth museum
SACRAMENTO — February marks Black History Month and a museum that is a bit of a hidden gem in Sacramento has been working for decades to bring Black history to life.
Tucked into Florin Square, a hub of Black and minority-owned small business, is the Sojourner Truth African Heritage Museum. It is the capital city's only museum dedicated to exhibiting African American history.
We got our tour through the eyes of a teenager, the daughter of curator Shonna McDaniels.
Nasara McDaniels-Keys, at just 18, has made it her passion to learn as much as she can at the museum, and then teach others by leading tours. Through the eyes of a teenager, she gave a fresh look at thousands of years of Black history on display.
"This is Harriet Tubman. This is Sojourner Truth. This is Frederick Douglas," she said showing us the walls covered in murals depicting some of history's most impactful Black leaders and abolitionists.
Dating all the way back to a 14th-century African emperor, Nasara showed us first their display on Mansa Musa, a story she had never learned in class.
"Mansa Musa goes down to be one of the richest people in history and he's not really talked about," she said.
Fast-forwarding to the 20th century, one wall of the museum depicts The Great Migration, when six million Black people moved North to flee Jim Crow laws and segregation in the American South.
"When they would migrate they would use this book right here, The Green Book. That helped African Americans navigate to know what hotels to go to, what restaurants to go to, and which one not to go to," said Nasara.
The museum has a diverse wealth of knowledge.
"Did you know that the first cowboys were Black?" Nasara asked, showing CBS13 the exhibit on Black cowboys.
Nasara said, unlike the pages of a textbook, here, history comes to life.
"Most of the time in the school systems it's taught that African American history starts with slavery. Here at the museum, we teach others that that's not true. A lot of it is not really taught within the education systems. Knowing this knowledge myself, that's very impactful. To be able to teach others, that is very impactful as well," said Nasara.
One piece of history often not taught in school is Sacramento's own. The Oak Park home turned "Dunlap's Dining Room" now has a room at the museum.
"It was the first African American restaurant in Sacramento," said Nasara.
And of course, the museum has history about its namesake, abolitionist Sojourner Truth.
"This is Sojourner Truth's will," Nasara showed CBS13. "And this would have been a replica dress of what she would have worn during those times."
It is rich heritage on full display. Inventions, too, like the world's first cell phone, created by Black inventor Henry T. Sampson.
"I really feel like I am still learning along the way because there is always information out there you don't know," said Nasara.
She added that one trip to the Sojourner Truth museum simply isn't enough.
"My biggest takeaway is to come back as much as possible so that you can come and really take in the information," she said.
For information on the exhibits and to book your own tour, head to the museum's website. Tickets for adults are only $4 and the museum is open Wednesday-Saturday. Guided tours are available for booking.
