Most people drive past it without ever knowing what it is — the small white building that sits beside Clemente Park in Fort Myers.
“The most popular thing that I hear is, ‘I never knew there was an African American museum here in Fort Myers,’” said Melinda Golden, program and events coordinator for the Lee County Black History Society.
For Golden, that reaction underscores how often Black history can be overlooked.
“We’re sitting in the Williams Academy Black History Museum, and in this room is a simulation of a classroom from back in the day,” she said.
The original Williams Academy, built between 1912 and 1913, was Lee County’s first government-funded school for Black or Colored students during segregation.
Named after J.S. Williams, the county’s supervisor of Black schools, it served generations of students at a time when educational opportunities were limited. Inside the recreated classroom, desks of different sizes reflect how a single teacher once taught multiple grade levels at once.
“I think African American history should be taught in schools just like American history,” Golden said. “Because it is American history.”
For her, some history hits closer to home.
“I was part of the desegregation of schools,” she said. “I had to leave my neighborhood and catch a bus at 5 a.m. just to make it to a 7:30 class.”
She said her freshman year was especially difficult, entering a community where Black students were not always welcomed.
“Once we got inside the school, the students treated us fine,” she said. “But we weren’t wanted in the neighborhood.”
Reminders of that division still exist inside the museum. Exhibits include signage tied to segregation in the area, including markers that once separated communities along nearby railroad tracks. Even so, Golden believes progress has been made.
“I hope the next generation can say things are better than what their parents experienced,” she said. “That they can see how far we’ve come, and that opportunities are easier now than they were before.”
That effort to share and preserve history continues today. The Lee County Black History Society is inviting the community to its annual Juneteenth celebration on Saturday, June 20, from 4 to 9 p.m. at the STARS Complex in Fort Myers.
“We want everyone to come out,” Golden said.
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