CAIRO — Dozens of individuals of all ages toured the Grady County Museum and History Center Thursday evening to view a new exhibit on local African American history.

Historical Society board member LaFaye Copeland, who donated many of the exhibit’s artifacts to the museum, led tours to more than 50 guests.

“People asked a lot of questions,” said Copeland, also a member of the Grady Count Board of Commissioners. “There were a lot of questions asked about Booker Hill and the library, because it had changed from one spot to another spot.”

Other topics discussed during the tours, which Copeland and museum director Don Nickerson led until past 7 p.m., were some of the first business run by African Americans in Grady County.

Copeland said she was pleased with the night’s turnout, which attracted people of all ages.

“We had some kids in there that were probably in elementary school,” she said.

Unbeknownst to Copeland at the start of the evening, the unveiling of the new permanent exhibit also happened to coincide with the 60th anniversary of the Woolworth’s sit-in in Tallahassee — one of many sit-ins protesting racial inequality that occurred around the nation in the 1960s.

“I knew it was sometime in February, but I didn’t know the date,” she said. “It just happened to be the same day.”

Also coinciding with the exhibit’s opening was Cairo High School’s annual black history program. Copeland said many of the night’s visitors toured the exhibit before heading to the program.

“We all worked together,” she said.

While the exhibit’s premier was meant to coincide with Black History month, it will remain a fixture at the museum in perpetuity.