Jim Crow Museum Skip to Top Navigation Skip to Content Skip to Footer Visit Museum Make a Gift Donate Artifacts Jim Crow Museum The Jim Crow Museum will temporarily close to the public beginning November 26, 2025, as we prepare for our relocation and the grand reopening in Fall 2026. During this period, all tours, group visits, and walk-in admissions will be paused. The museum space will transition into an active workspace, where our team will focus on essential tasks, including collections preparation, packing, and supporting the development of the new facility. This temporary closure is necessary to ensure the safety of the artifacts and allow staff to meet key project milestones. While we recognize the importance of engaging with campus and community groups, we appreciate your understanding and support during this transition. We look forward to welcoming you back to a reimagined and expanded Jim Crow Museum next fall. Expanding the Museum For nearly two decades the Jim Crow Museum has used contemporary racist and primarily anti-Black artifacts to tell the story of African American resiliency. It is a teaching model which has been wildly successful, and now is the time to expand that story. As we embark on the construction of a new museum, archive, and research facility, we need champions who will help us keep our work moving forward. Together, a better world is possible. Give Now Explore Expansion Plans Groundbreaking!!! Museum Expansion update Dec. 12, 2024, BIG RAPIDS, Mich. – Ferris State University today broke ground on a new Jim Crow Museum, a one-of-a-kind resource that will be a space for teaching, learning, and meaningful conversations about race that inspire understanding, healing, and positive change. Read the Press Release Telling a Larger Story Museum Expansion Project Help the Jim Crow Museum tell a larger story. Support the museum's expansion into a state of the art facility that will foster critical encounters with artifacts of intolerance and their dreadful impact. Support the Expansion Teaching Tolerance With Objects of Intolerance The Jim Crow Museum is the nation's largest publicly accessible collection of artifacts of intolerance. The Museum contextualizes the dreadful impact of Jim Crow laws and customs. The  Museum uses objects of intolerance to teach tolerance and promote a more just society. The museum is located on the campus of Ferris State University in Big Rapids, MI. Plan Your VisIt Explore the Museum Virtually Experience the power of a visit to the Jim Crow Museum virtually. The museum's virtual tour gives you the opportunity to discover many of the highlights from our collection. Start Your Exploration Critical Encounters: Featured Exhibits What was Jim Crow? Jim Crow was the name of the racial caste system which operated primarily, but not exclusively in southern and border states, between 1877 and the mid-1960s. Jim Crow was more than a series of rigid anti-black laws. It was a way of life. Explore What was Jim Crow? The Brute Caricature The brute caricature portrays black men as innately savage, animalistic, destructive, and criminal -- deserving punishment, maybe death. Black brutes are depicted as hideous, terrifying predators who target helpless victims, especially white women. Explore The Brute Caricature ATTACKING SEGREGATION During the Jim Crow period, African Americans were confronted by institutional discrimination and acts of individual discrimination, and generally treated as second-class citizens. Nevertheless, black people made significant contributions that enriched the United States. Explore ATTACKING SEGREGATION Jim Crow Museum in the News 01/26/2026 Help move the Jim Crow Museum collection 01/26/2026 Ferris State’s Jim Crow Museum looking for volunteers to help move artifacts More Museum News Questions for the Museum 4/2/26 The History of Racist Postcards 3/4/26 The Story of Whipped Peter 2/2/26 Jo Ann Robinson 1/5/26 Who was Bob Moses? 12/1/25 What was the significance of segregated restrooms during the Jim Crow period? 11/3/25 Did Black America save the Cadillac brand in the 1930s? 10/24/25 First Black person to appear in a film 8/13/2025 The Ace of Spades game controversy 2/4/2025 The New Jim Crow Song More Questions for the Museum More to Explore Visit Learn Connect About Donate Explore Support the Museum Help us keep the powerful experience of visiting the Jim Crow Museum accessible to all. Consider supporting the museum today. Make a Gift Donate artifacts to the museum Proud Members of Connect with Us Jim Crow Museum 1010 Campus Drive Big Rapids, MI 49307 [email protected] (231) 591-5873