In the hundreds of antique shops nestled into the corners of north Florida, history takes on many forms. Vintage photographs tell the stories of mid-century Floridians, bikini-clad and smiling. Tarnished war medals illustrate battles lost and won.
Black Americana, a category of antiquity that encompasses antique items relating to African American history, silently echoes the lesser-known story of Florida’s racialized past.
“There should be a specific place for African American culture,” said Kayla Cofey, a 24-year-old Gainesville resident browsing the booths of Antique City Mall in Micanopy, Florida.
As of February 2025, Florida has no publicly accessible holding place for artifacts relating to Black History in the state. Consequently, items like mammy dolls, cloth caricatures with midnight skin and large red lips, are frequently found in local antique shops.
Describing the initial eerie feeling she gets from seeing mammy dolls or other items of Black memorabilia, Cofey said that once that feeling wears off, she's left wondering about the stories behind these artifacts. A self-described “curious” antiquer, she would prefer if the people who purchased these items shared them with the world.
“[They could] be like, ‘Okay, this, I literally got this for five bucks out of the store,” she said, “but there's so much history behind it.’”
Marsha Becraft, the owner of Elsie Bell’s Antique Mall in Palatka, Florida, has witnessed first-hand the demand for these historical antiques at her shop alone.
“We have people that actually are on a waiting list for anything collectible in the African American items,” she said.
Becraft purchased the antique mall from its previous owners in 2024 and has since built a clientele that extends from Florida to the rest of the United States. A lifelong lover of antiques, she has seen items like Jim Crow-era advertisements fly off her shelves and into the homes of private collectors.
She believes that these items should be preserved as a piece of history and put into a modern context where they are no longer viewed as offensive.
With the intention of having a space to preserve Black History, in May of 2023 Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed The Florida Museum of Black History Task Force.
The group submitted a report outlining its recommendations for a museum in St. Augustine, Florida. As proposed, it includes plans for the collection of artifacts for permanent exhibitions, but the timeline for its establishment is still unclear.
To Becraft, objections to the existence of these heirlooms in marketplaces are an issue of perspective.
“There are people that would like to see [them] destroyed. They're usually not Black people. They're usually not African American people. They're white people that got on a soapbox and decided that it's offensive,” she said. “If you destroy it, it's lost forever.”
As the grandmother of a multicultural family, Becraft admits she does not understand why these items would not be used to reflect that of a diverse world.
“I don't find it offensive,” Becraft said, “We're all different.”
David A. Canton, who holds a doctorate in history and is Director of African American Studies at UF, understands the fascination with these antiques amongst private collectors and the average consumer alike. While he admits these items aren't for everyone, notable celebrities like Oprah and Spike Lee tout collections of their own.
“This stuff’s not going anywhere,” he said, “so it's up to what individuals want to do about it.”
Canton explained that there are two emerging arguments regarding how these items are handled.
Some see the collection of these items among African Americans as a way to confront and learn from tough history. Others argue the very existence of these items as a way to further perpetuate racist stereotypes.
Having once purchased an edition of “Little Black Sambo” to use as an educational tool, Canton believes the bigger issue is a gap in understanding the history behind these antiques.
Canton emphasized the importance of acknowledging the caricatures as racist portrayals of Black Americans.
“Black People don't look like pickaninnies,” he said, “The lips, the super dark skin, all that went into that.”
For Canton, this educational component is the first step.
“These debates get simplified and politicized, and weaponized,” Canton said, “It's about humanity.”
Without a museum, these are the conversations not yet happening in the state of Florida.
The creation of these artifacts, their individual histories and how they end up as collectables in antique shops is a small piece of the larger puzzle.