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Top African American Heritage Tour Destinations in Washington DC, Maryland, and Virginia

by John L. Travel Writer

The nation’s capital, and its surrounding states of Maryland and Virginia, is an area rich in heritage and culture. The location is popular for many historical sites and landmarks. Every year, thousands of travelers flock to this region to see the sites associated with the US government and history. The majority of them are drawn to the many classical and colonial structures, estates, and memorial related to the starting of the country such as the Independence Hall, the Star-Spangled Banner House, the Liberty Bell, the US Capitol, and Mount Vernon. Not as popular, however, as deserving of visiting are some of the African American heritage destinations located in and around DC, Maryland, and Virginia. Here are some of the notable sites that you can check out on an African American heritage tour of Washington DC and its surrounding states.


African American Civil War Museum, Washington DC

This one of a kind museum pays tribute to the brave men and women of color who defended the Union Army throughout the Civil War under the United States Colored Troops for their freedom, emancipation, and the avoidance of the division of the United States. The United States Colored Troops not just faced shooting from their foes however they likewise conquered discrimination and partition from a few of their white comrades. The museum's goal is to preserve and retell the story of the African American soldiers who battled during the Civil War. The museum's displays include photos, news articles, and reproductions of period clothes, and uniforms and weapons of the Civil War. It also preserves the heritage of these soldiers by keeping the records of their genealogies over the century through the Civil War Memorial Registry.


National Museum of African American History and Culture, Washington DC

Quickly among the most checked out Smithsonian museums in Washington DC, the National Museum of African American History and Culture invites countless guests every year. Devoted by no less than the very first African American president of the United States, Barack Obama, when it opened, the museum stands out in the National Mall filled with limestone and marble-clad buildings with its exterior covered with a metal scrim weave that appears like bronze. The institute homes over 40,000 artifacts and things of significance to African American heritage, 3,500 of which are completely displayed in its halls. Some significant products on screen are items excavated from a sunken servant ship, a servant recognition badge from the 1850s, a Bible owned by Nat Turner, a segregated drinking fountain, a trainer airplane utilized by the Tuskegee Airmen, and Muhammad Ali's boxing gloves amongst other valuable products. Lines at the entrance of this museum can be long, so it is great to purchase tickets beforehand or try to find African American Heritage trips that use free tickets to NMAAHC.


Carter G. Woodson Home, Washington DC

This Italianate brick row house in 1518 Ninth St. NW was the house of Carter G. Woodson, considered the 'father of African American history' when he pioneered the documentation and recording of the lives and contributions of African-Americans to US history. He rose to prominence when he became the second African American to achieve a doctorate from Harvard University. He also founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life, an organization aimed to 'promote, research study, maintain, interpret, and distribute info about Black life, history, and culture to the international community.' The website now keeps his home and the original headquarters of the company he founded. A block away from your home, situated at 1538 9th St. NW, is a park and memorial in his honor. The monument is a bronze statue of Woodson sitting on a circular stone bench with a manuscript on his left hand celebrating his contribution to recording the history of African-Americans.


Frederick Douglass Home, Washington DC

Although born in Baltimore, Maryland, Frederick Douglass spent much of his later years in his grand Victorian home on a hill in Anacostia, this historical estate provides a scenic view of the United States Capitol and the Washington DC skyline. The house-turned-museum commemorates the life and works of Frederick Douglass who was a slave-turned-orator and one of the very first African Americans who became prominent to the United States federal government and society. By visiting this historic estate, visitors find out about the life of Frederick Douglass from his youth, working on a shipyard in Baltimore, his emancipation to flexibility, to his increase to influence as much as his death. Some of his personal items on screen include his writing-table, spectacles, walking sticks, his piano, and the kitchen area table.


Mary McLeod Bethune's Home, Washington DC

The Mary McLeod Bethune Council House, situated in the Logan Circle neighborhood, maintains the home of Bethune, an African-American educator, stateswoman, philanthropist, and civil rights activist. She developed the National Council for Negro Women, a company that intends to advance the quality of life of African-American ladies and their households. Your home in Washington DC became the council's first head office. The NCNW inhabited the first and 2nd floors, while Bethune survived on the 3rd floor. The house still preserves and displays the staying of Bethune's personal valuables after a fire damaged some of her initial home furnishings. Aside from Bethune's life, your home, and the archives honor the lives of ladies who have actually made crucial contributions to the African-American community. Nearby the house is a memorial dedicated to Mary Mcleod Bethune. The monument shows Mary McLeod Bethune in the later years of her life leaning on a walking stick offering a scroll to two children. The scene depicts the understanding and love for learning she gave to the young generation so that they discover the value of education.


Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture, Baltimore MD

The Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture positioned in the heart of downtown Baltimore, being a Smithsonian-affiliate, is identified as the finest resource for information and motivation about the lives of African Americans of Maryland. It was named after among the most wealthy African American attorneys in the 1980s, Reginald F Lewis. This museum utilizes many exhibitions on African-American history, musical performances, workshops for kids, lectures, and extensive resources on genealogy.


National Great Blacks in Wax Museum, Baltimore MD

Could be dubbed as the Madame Tussaud's of African-American people, this museum established by Dr's Elmer and Joanne Martin offers the visitor the opportunity, not simply to "fulfill" and discover out about distinguished black Americans in history however check out the culture and heritage of globally-known African figures too. The institute boasts its collection of more than 150 life-sized and life-like wax figures of individuals of color who played crucial parts in the United States and world history. In addition to these images, it likewise displays various artifacts on African-American history such as the entertainment of a slave ship that as quickly as docked the ports of Baltimore. The exhibits likewise give the visitors a look at the contribution of African-Americans to different fields from war and politics to civil liberties movements throughout the world to science and innovation and the arts and literature.


Frederick Douglass - Isaac Myers Maritime Park, Baltimore MD 

This shipyard-turned-museum celebrates the contributions of African-Americans to the country's maritime market. The museum is housed in a historic waterside structure and is properly Commemorating the life of two prominent individuals of color, Frederick Douglass and Isaac Myers, and the essential contribution of Maryland's African-American neighborhood to the maritime trade, this museum is properly housed in a historic structure fronting the Inner Harbor. By exploring this museum, travelers will have the possibility to find and discover the life of these two notable sons of Baltimore as shipyard employees in a recreation of the first African-American shipyard. The center also tells the story of Frederick Douglas from slavery to liberty up till he wound up being a renowned orator and among the leaders of the slavery abolition motion. The life and works of a free-born African-American in the individual of Myers is likewise celebrated through display screens and displays.


Colonial National History Park, Jamestown VA

Jamestown is the very first English settlement developed in the New World in 1607, and just a few years later in 1619, the first slave ships to show up in North America docked in its port. Currently, the Colonial National Park is situated in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia. The part includes several sites associated with the Colony of Virginia, from the site of the first landing of the English to the website of the fight of Yorktown where the British were lastly beat in the American Revolutionary War. The park consists of the Colonial Parkway, a 23-mile beautiful parkway linking Yorktown, Historic Jamestown, and Colonial Williamsburg.


These are simply a few of the places where you can explore and discover more about the abundant history of African Americans in the United States. Whether you are an individual of color or someone who wants to understand more of their life, works, and struggles, an African American Heritage tour is worth taking. Group Tours USA offers customized tours for groups to many cities in the country. Contact them now and see how they can make your travel goals possible.



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About John L. Freshman     Travel Writer

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Joined APSense since, October 20th, 2020, From Kirksville, United States.

Created on Nov 3rd 2020 02:26. Viewed 399 times.

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