Eartha M.M. White Historical Museum

The Eartha M.M. White Historical Museum is a tribute to the life and work of Eartha Mary Magdalene White (1876-1974), a woman who barely stood 5 feet tall, a humanitarian, entrepreneur, and social activist. Dr. White gracefully and strategically navigated through a world where African-American women were second class citizens. She was one generation removed from enslavement in the Deep South but crossed color lines and achieved levels of success that rivaled White men in her era. White's vision to create a museum that is accessible to all people and a symbol of excellence within the Black community has evolved into the ongoing and active work of research, documentation, exhibiting, and development of programs to perpetuate her multi-faceted legacy. The museum is housed in the landmark Globe Theatre building in historic LaVilla, a neighborhood in downtown Jacksonville, Florida. The exhibit areas are a replica of what the building looked like when it was White's residence and office space during the last forty-two years of her life (1932-1974). Eartha's Victorian era furnishings are the backdrop of the museum accentuated with captioned photographs, text panels, documents, and a wide variety of memorabilia accumulated by Eartha White. They all tell the story of the impact of her work in Jacksonville and uncovers rare facts about her mother a former enslaved woman from the Amelia Island area and the namesake of the mission, Clara White.