The Sacramento History Museum has rolled out Black Soil: Our roots run deep, a new exhibition that puts the work and legacy of Black farmers and agricultural workers front and center. Created in partnership with the Sojourner Truth African Heritage Museum, the show weaves archival materials with contemporary art to trace a long story of labor, land and memory from plantations to present-day Sacramento fields, as reported by Sacramento Press.
“This exhibition is a reminder that Black history is not just written in books — it’s planted, tended, and passed down through the land and into our hands,” said Shonna McDaniels, artist, curator and founder of the Sojourner Truth African Heritage Museum, according to Sacramento Press. The outlet notes that the debut lines up with Black History Month and underscores the agricultural impact of crops such as tobacco, cotton, rice and peanuts, even dipping into local foodways like ice cream.
What’s On View
Housed in the Agriculture Gallery on the museum’s first floor, Black Soil brings together historical artifacts and fresh new work, including a striking shovel installation created by artists to symbolize the labor of enslaved ancestors, as listed by Sac Cultural Hub. Organizers credit contributions from artists Milton Bowens, Daphne Burgess, Curtis Wayne Riley Jr., Helen Plenert and photographer Kareem Daniels, with several pieces developed in conversation with Sacramento State’s Sankofa research team and community farms such as Yisrael Farm. The installation moves between science, craft and memory, linking innovations associated with George Washington Carver to the stories of growers working in the region today.
When and Where
The Black Soil exhibition is on view through March 29, 2026, in the Agriculture Gallery on the first floor of the Sacramento History Museum in Old Sacramento, according to Sacramento Press. For hours, tour information and program listings, visit the Sacramento History Museum.
Black Soil offers Sacramento a rare chance to see the agricultural contributions of people of African descent placed squarely at the center of a civic museum. By pairing oral histories and local growers’ knowledge with symbolic art, from repurposed shovels to photographic studies, the show encourages visitors to think harder about how land and labor continue to shape neighborhood foodways and community identity.
