The LaVilla Museum is a museum of African American history and culture located in the 1929 Ritz Theater in Jacksonville, Florida. The museum opened in 1999.^[1]

The museum documents the culture and history of people of African descent (most slaves, some free, and not all Americans) in northeast Florida prior to that territory's entry as a U.S. state in 1845, as well as LaVilla neighborhood of downtown Jacksonville (which was once a large and thriving African American community).^[2] LaVilla was home to so many poets, artists, musicians, authors, and playwrights that it was known as "the Harlem of the South".^[3] The Ritz Theatre is one of the few remaining buildings in the LaVilla neighborhood.^[4] Although most of the 600-seat theatre was razed in the 1990s, the northwest corner is original to the building.^[5]

The highlight of the museum tour are two animatronic representations of James Weldon Johnson and J. Rosamond Johnson, LaVilla natives who composed the famous song, "Lift Every Voice and Sing".^[6] Rooms in the building evoke African American life throughout the 20th century by recreating a typical home living room, a Christian church, a barber shop, and a school room.^[2]

• List of museums focused on African Americans