At the Tallahassee museum, a father absorbs the indignities suffered by his forefathers, then seizes a teachable moment.

Tallahassee – Studson Jefferson Jr. made his way through the Black Archives' slavery room one exhibit at a time.

He walked slowly past the branches of a dried cotton plant. He examined an aged leather whip tightly braided into an efficient tool of corporal punishment. There was a rusted iron collar that was used to punish and control men and women who exhibited rebellious tendencies.

And then came a black and white photograph, circa 1863. Gordon had been a slave in Mississippi who escaped to the Union Army. The master's whip had rendered Gordon's defiant back a rugged terrain of scars.

"I can feel his pain even though I didn't know him," Jefferson told his teenage son. He fought the urge to cry. "It should bother you. These people went through this to get us where we are today."

The "Slavery in the Old South" exhibit often evokes emotional responses from its visitors. There are purely historical items: a 100-year-old Topsy Turvy doll, newspapers from the day, books, and authentic Civil War muskets, bullets and cannon balls. And pieces that are patently cruel: original cast iron shackles, chains, a slave breeding bed, a human feeding trough.

Jefferson, 65, of Donaldsonville, Ga., and his son, Sheldon, 16, visited the museum as part of the 2011 Robinson family reunion. Relatives traveled to Tallahassee, where ancestral roots were planted in the early 1900s when two brothers migrated from North Carolina and purchased land to farm. On their second day here, 40 family members boarded a chartered bus and headed to the Black Archives, one of the largest repositories of African-American culture and history.

"I wanted our family to have a sense of what our forefathers went through for us to enjoy the simple things of life that they may take for granted such as riding a bus, going into a restaurant or attending any university without being ostracized," said Patricia Lee, the reunion coordinator.

The Black Archives annually attracts more than 160,000 visitors who explore African-American life by viewing rare artifacts from Africa, slavery and the period of racial segregation.

Stories of trial and triumph are told through displays on education, medicine, science, business and sports. There is the 1964 U.S. Olympic track uniform and bronzed cleats of "Bullet" Bob Hayes, a Florida A&M University graduate. There are documents from the Afro-American Life Insurance Company, established in Jacksonville in 1901. The company was one of the few options African-Americans had to purchase insurance.

African-American contributions in politics, art, music and entertainment are also illustrated throughout the self-guided tour. Original portraits from "Highwaymen" painter Robert Butler hang throughout the museum.

"When you walk in, you can feel the history from room to room," Lee said. "It takes you back to that actual period, and you can visualize and feel what people must have experienced during that time."

Family reunions, summer campers and international visitors come here, immersing themselves in historical sagas that connect black history to the broader American narrative.

The center's most popular collection, "Komics, Koon and Klan," showcases authentic Klan robes, minstrel sheet music, albums and other racialized imagery from early 19th century popular culture. Visitors are often shocked to see advertisements that used racial stereotypes and caricatures to market household items, souvenirs, postcards, playbills, children's books and toys. Guests say the exhibit helps them better understand African-Americans' struggle for equality.

Other exhibits include:

Frank Pinder Ethiopian Cross Collection

African-American Antiques

Blacks in Science

Madame C.J. Walker Black Beauty Collection

Dr. Annie Henry Black Like Me Doll Collection

Children's Museum & Activity Center

"The museum creates a very intimate and personal experience that inspires, and hopefully moves people to a higher consciousness of inclusion and social harmony," said Archives Director Murell Dawson.

"I've gone on civil rights tours from Florida to Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia and I've visited a lot of African-American museums, but this one far surpasses all that I've seen," Patricia Lee said.

Officially known as the Carrie Meek-James N. Eaton Sr. Southeastern Regional Black Archives Research Center and Museum, the center was founded in 1976 by the late Eaton, a Florida A&M University history professor. A four-story addition was opened in 2005. The Union Bank, Florida's oldest bank built in 1841, serves as the center's satellite facility.

Housed in the historic 1908 Carnegie Library on Florida A&M University's campus, the Black Archives is a popular attraction on the "Florida Black Heritage Trail," which stretches from the Northwest Florida city of Pensacola to Key West. The trail's cultural landmarks include:

The National Park Service's Kingsley Plantation, whose central house and slave quarters still stand.

Eatonville, the country's oldest black township and home of Zora Neale Hurston.

American Beach, a historically black oceanfront property in Jacksonville.

The residence of Mary McLeod-Bethune, founder of Bethune Cookman-University.

If You Go

Black Archives' admission is free. Open Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Groups of 10 or more can call 850-599-3020 to schedule a guided tour.

Visit www.visitflorida.com/articles/the-florida-black-heritage-trail to learn more about the Florida Black Heritage Trail.

Yanela Gordon for VISIT FLORIDA

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Yanela Gordon for VISIT FLORIDA