Uncrowned Queens

The John Gilmore Riley Center & Museum holds several photographic images of these women who lived within the City of Tallahassee and in surrounding legacy communities such as Lake Hall, Lake Jackson, Miccosukee, and Lake McBride. After extension research, the John Gilmore Riley Center casts light, posthumously, on women who lived in Tallahassee and Leon County and contributed in a myriad of ways to their growth, stability, and development over their lifetime. These women exemplify success gained no doubt from coping strategies and mother-wit passed down to them by their mothers and grandmothers, many of whom were slaves or in other forms of servitude.

The exhibit, “Uncrowned Queens” will recognition these African American women who serviced in height of royalty, though often overlooked and unsung during their lifetime. These women, “Matriarchs of Courage”, are among many women, too many to include in this production, who without their devotion towards children, homes, community, and institutions in Tallahassee, both Black and White, would have faced adversities and periods of discomfort in many ways.