The Meek-Eaton Southeastern Regional Black Archives Research Center and Museum is a specialty museum and archives which houses regalia and printed material relevant to the history of Africans and African Americans. Of particular interest are the collection, preservation, and dissemination of information significant to African Americans and their experiences and contributions in Florida and throughout the Southeastern United States.
The Center was created in 1971 by the Florida Legislature and charged with the mission of serving the State by collecting, preserving, displaying and disseminating first-source information on and about African Americans from ancient times to the present.
The center was officially founded in 1976, by noted historian and pioneering archivist and curator, the late Dr. James N. Eaton, Sr. It opened to the public in 1977 in FAMU’s historic Carnegie Library. Built in 1907, Carnegie Library is the oldest brick building on Florida A&M University's campus and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The new Carrie Meek - James N. Eaton, Sr. Expansion Facility, which adjoins historic Carnegie Library, opened to the public in 2006. The center houses a current collection of more than 500,00 documents, letters, photographs, films, official national and state records, slave papers, military documents, church records, rare books, maps, newspapers, manuscripts, magazines, etc. The center's museum services include local, national, and international displays, from ancient Africa to present, on various people, groups, and subjects significant to African-American history and culture. Some exhibits are permanent, while others are temporary and rotating.