A Guide to African-American Heritage : Black History Month Focuses Attention on Landmarks Across the United States

Any visitor returning to the United States after a hiatus of 10 or 20 years might quickly notice the growing wealth of exhibits, memorials, markers, special collections, restored homes, churches and other buildings commemorating African-American history and culture.

Many notable museums have been established--from the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis to the Black American West Museum and Heritage Center in Denver to the not-yet-opened Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City.

“Living History” programs--featuring guides/actors in period dress (i.e., Williamsburg, Virginia and the Henry Ford Museum Greenfield complex in Dearborn, Mich.)--have been expanded to offer au thentic re-creations of African-American life during the period represented.

But even now, as Black History Month begins, finding out about the black heritage sites in any given travel itinerary takes some planning. Some states with impressive African-American historic sites don’t yet include them in printed information for travelers. (And, despite our best efforts, we may have missed some that do.) Other states have such listings, but they’re not always available through centralized sources like state tourism departments. On the other hand, some regions are beautifully documented and planning tools are an easy toll-free phone call away.

Following is a current guide to where to go for information on many African-American landmarks across the country. When you’re planning a vacation, check these resources. Allow plenty of time. Free government tourism publications are sent fourth class and will take three or more weeks to arrive; books will often need to be ordered by your bookstore or library.

National

The National Park Service maintains many of the country’s most significant African-American history landmarks. We often think of national parks as wilderness areas, but the system includes historic sites and urban landmarks as well.

National park rangers offer tours and information not only at parks that are specifically designated as African-American historic sites, but also focus in particular on black history at other established sites. Boston’s Black Heritage Trail, for example, is a part of the Boston National Historic Park. Information about any site in the national park system may be obtained from any regional National Parks Service office, or by writing to your congressional representative.

The service also publishes an annual “Index,” a descriptive listing of National Park System areas by state. Here you’ll find listings for the Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site in Richmond, Va.--the home of an ex-house-slave’s daughter who became a bank president--and the Mary McLeod Bethune Council House National Historic Site in Washington, D.C. (named for the educator and presidential adviser), as well as for other sites listed below. In addition to the Index, brochures on the following sites are free and may be ordered by calling the local office of the National Park Service. In the L.A. area, that number is (818) 597-1036.

* Tuskegee Institute National Historic site, Tuskegee, Ala.

* Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site, Atlanta.

* Boston National Historic Park, Boston.

* George Washington Carver National Monument, Diamond, Mo.

* Ft. Davis National Historic Site (one of the posts of the late-19th-Century Buffalo Soldiers, all-black cavalry and infantry units, Ft. Davis, Tex.

* Booker T. Washington National Monument, southeast of Roanoke, Va.

* Frederick Douglass National Historic Site, Washington, D.C.

* Harpers Ferry National Historic Park, Harpers Ferry, W.Va.

Alabama

One of the most conflict-ridden states during the Civil Rights era, Alabama seemsto be a model state when it comes to African-American heritage tourism. The state’s tourism office claims to have been the first in the country to publish a guide detailing African-American historic sites when in 1983 it issued “The Alabama Black Heritage Trail.” Only Florida has as extensive and beautifully illustrated a publication devoted to the subject of black heritage landmarks.

A revised edition, titled “Alabama’s Black Heritage,” has just been issued. It has 163 entries and a cover picturing the state’s impressive new Civil Rights Memorial located in Montgomery and designed by Maya Lin, who conceived the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C. Historic sites are located by community and suggested itineraries help travelers plan one-day to one-week tours. Special festivals and events such as the Black Mardi Gras in Mobile and the W.C. Handy Music Festival, named after the famous Alabama blues man, also are detailed. To obtain a free copy, call 1-800-ALABAMA.

California

The California Parks and Recreation Department has, for several years, offered a thorough cross-cultural resource, a book titled “Five Views: An Ethnic Sites Survey of California.” One of California’s most important African-American historic sites is Allensworth State Park in Tulare Coun ty, site of a black-governed town founded in 1908, and one of several state parks relating to ethnic-American history detailed in the 265-page paperback book.

Lost sites and preserved landmarks range from Murray’s Dude Ranch in Apple Valley, founded by black businessman N.B. Murray, to the Hairdressing and Shaving Saloon in Wheatland, owned by Edward Park Duplex, one of the first black mayors in the West.

To order “Five Views,” send $14.95 plus 8% sales tax and $2.50 postage to California Dept. of Parks and Recreation Publications Section, P.O. Box 942896, Sacramento 94296. Phone: (916) 653-4000.

Colorado

Nearly one-third of the cowboys in the Old West were black, according to Denver’s new Black American West Museum and Heritage Center. Located in the Victo rian home of Dr. Justina Ford, a black Pediatrician and gynecologist who practiced in Denver during the first half of the 20th Century, the center uses photographs, artifacts and exhibits to tell the stories of black cowboys, as well as doctors, teachers, miners, farmers and politicians. For more information and/or a free brochure, call (303) 292-2566 or write the center at 3091 California St., Denver, Colo. 80205.

Florida

African-American history in Florida extends from the early 1700s, when slaves who had escaped from the American colonies settled in the Spanish territory near St. Augustine. Other significant landmarks include restored plantations, Civil War battlefields, and historic black municipalities such as Eatonville, the childhood home of Harlem Renaissance writer Zora Neale Hurston. Call (904) 487-2333 to request an order form for the 33-page, color booklet “The Florida Black Heritage Trail,” or send $2.25 ($1.50 plus tax and postage) to the Florida Museum of History, 500 S. Bronough St., Tallahassee, Fla. 32399.

Indiana

You may obtain the booklet “Pathways to African-American Heritage and Cultural Interests, Indiana” through the African-American tourism organization, Black Expo, by calling (317) 925-2702.

Freetown Village in Indianapolis is a “living history” project that stages a touring history play and presentations designed to let people participate in black family life circa 1870. There’s a dinner party complete with parlor games, a post-Civil War Christmas party and an outdoor afternoon wedding celebration. For information, write to Freetown Village, P.O. Box 26334, Indianapolis, Ind. 46226, or call (317) 631-1870.

Maryland

If you’re planning a trip to Maryland, call or write to the Banneker-Douglas Museum of African-American Life and History in Annapolis and ask for a copy of the brochure “Pathways to Afro-American Heritage and Cultural Interests, Maryland.” It’s a readable and accessible map and listing and will help you locate such interesting points as the Cab Calloway Jazz Institute, the Eubie Blake Cultural Center and the marker at the birthplace of Harriet Tubman. The Banneker-Douglas Museum is at 84 Franklin St., Annapolis, Md. 21401; phone (410) 974-2893.

Michigan

Information about Detroit attractions such as the Motown Museum; Graystone, a jazz museum, or Detroit’s African-American Museum is available from the city of Detroit’s tourism office at 800-DE TROIT.

The important “living history” attraction called the African-American Family Life and Culture Project at Greenfield Village in Dearborn is mentioned in information available from the Michigan state tourism office by calling (800) 543-2937.

Recent history lives on in Michigan at landmarks such as the Malcolm X childhood home in Lansing, the National Museum of Tuskegee Airmen at Ft. Wayne, and the fabulous Motown Museum in Detroit. But older sites such as Sojourner Truth’s grave in Battle Creek are among the 25 listed in the brochure “Pathways to Michigan’s Black Heritage.” To order a copy, send $4 to Michigan History Magazine, Michigan Bureau of History, 717 W. Allegan, Lansing, Mich. 48918; (800) 366-3703.

Missouri

This state is home to a variety of interesting black landmarks, including the George Washington Carver National Monument in Diamond, the Scott Joplin House in St. Louis, and soon (groundbreaking is set for this year), the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City. The state’s free travel guide (available by calling 800-877-1234) has a section detailing African-American historic sites, and the tourism office is working on an additional booklet focusing on those landmarks, scheduled for publication later this year.

Mississippi

Memorials to black history abound in Mississippi, home of the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale, predominantly black Jackson State University and Civil War cemeteries and battlefields. A comprehensive list of these markers is being compiled by state agencies and will be available this fall, according to a Mississippi Division of Tourism spokesman, by calling (800) 647-2290.

There’s also a brochure available from the Natchez Convention and Visitors’ Bureau, (800) 647-6724, with a detailed history of the African-American experience in Natchez, a map and list of eight historic sites of interest.

New York

For the first time, the “New York State Travel Guide” will have a one-page index listing 15 African-American historic sites in the state. The entries refer readers to fuller information in the main guide, organized by region. Sites include the Harriet Tubman House in Auburn, N.Y., and the Apollo Theater in New York City. The 1993 guide is scheduled for publication in April; call (800) CALL-NYS to obtain one.

Ohio

The fascinating landmarks here range from the Harriet Beecher Stowe House to the tiny village of Kilvert, whose residents are descended from the escaped slaves and Cherokees who founded the community in 1830. An emancipation celebration has been held annually since the Emancipation Proclamation was issued, and the state has several African-American museums and collections. For details, call 800-BUCKEYE and request the new, free “Crossroads” booklet, a 65-page full-color guide to not only landmarks but cultural sites relating to African-American, as well as Asian, Latino, American Indian and Amish communities in Ohio.

Pennsylvania

African-American soldiers fought at both Valley Forge and Gettysburg, so those national military parks might be part of anyone’s black heritage tour of the state. Sites in Philadelphia range from Cheyney State College, established in 1837 and considered the country’s oldest black college, to the Kunder House, site of the first formal protest (in 1688) against slavery in North America. The city of Philadelphia has a special booklet listing African-American historic and cultural attractions ranging from the All Wars Memorial to Black Soldiers to the Philadelphia Doll Museum, which preserves and exhibits African-American dolls. To order, call (800) 321-WKND.

Tennessee

The quintessential “Roots” site is in Tennessee, of course--the state has preserved and opened to the public the childhood home of “Roots” author Alex Haley in Henning. There isn’t a statewide listing of African-American historic sites, but you can receive brochures from several cities.

The Memphis Convention and Visitors Bureau, 47 Union St., Memphis, Tenn. 38103, (901) 576-8171, will send you information on the Haley home, Memphis’ much-lauded new National Civil Rights Museum, and its Beale Street Historic District, which claims to be the birthplace of the blues and includes such landmarks as the W.C. Handy Museum.

For information about the Bessie Smith Hall, set to open later this year, contact the Chattanooga Convention and Visitors Bureau, (800) 322-3344. From the Chattanooga African American Museum, 730 M.L. King Blvd., Chattanooga, Tenn. 37404, (615) 267-1076, you can request the free booklets “African American Historic Sites in Chattanooga” and “African American Presence in Chattanooga, 1900-1940.”

Virginia

An excellent brochure “Pathways to African-American Heritage and Cultural Interests, Virginia,” describes more than 80 sites of interest throughout the state.

There’s a Black Heritage Walking Tour in Fredericksburg, the Booker T. Washington National Monument at Smith Mountain Lake, and a variety of Afro-American museums as well as restored houses and museums honoring historically important individuals. Further, the tourism office can detail special exhibits or aspects relating to black Americans at other major state historic sites, including Jamestown, Mt. Vernon, Colonial Williamsburg and Prest-would Plantation. Begin by calling African-American Heritage of Virginia at (800) 221-6909.

Washington, D.C.

To learn about black heritage sights in D.C., send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Anacostia Museum, 1901 Fort Place, S.E., Washington, D.C. 20560 (202-287-3369) and request the “Pathways to African-American Heritage, Washington D.C.” brochure.

There is also a thorough and well-organized book, “The Guide to Black Washington, Places and Events of Historical and Cultural Significance in the Nation’s Capital,” by Sandra M. Fitzpatrick and Maria R. Goodwin (Hippocrene Books, 1990, $14.95, paper).

Brochures

The Virginia-based Pepper Bird Foundation, which takes its name from the national symbol of the Republic of Liberia, began to collect information about African-American landmarks and historic sites in 1986. The foundation decided to publish its research chapter by chapter, in brochure form, to be offered free to state tourism offices, African-American museums, colleges, schools and community organizations. In addition to states mentioned above, “Pathways” brochures are in production for Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and Ohio. To find out where to obtain a state’s brochure, write to Pepper Bird Foundation, P.O. Box 69081, Hampton, Va. 23669; (804) 723-1106.

Books

Two recent guidebooks provide descriptions and historic background on landmarks, monuments and museums across the country. Both are in bookstores, or can be ordered through bookstores: “Historic Black Landmarks, a Traveler’s Guide,” by George Cantor ($17.95, Visible Ink, a division of Gale Research, Detroit) lists 300 sites in 46 states, with maps and illustrations and a capsule account of the history behind each site. Marcia Thum’s “The Hippocrene U.S.A. Guide to Black America, A Directory of Historic and Cultural Sites Relating to Black America” (Hippocrene Books, $11.95) offers fewer details on more than twice the number of attractions. Thum includes many sites of general interest such as war memorials and art museums, and details the particular contributions by or connections to African-Americans.