Important Places

Tulsa, Oklahoma

Black Wall Street (Greenwood District)

The Greenwood District of Tulsa was the wealthiest Black community in America, known as 'Black Wall Street,' until it was destroyed in the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.

New York City, New York

Seneca Village

A thriving community of Black property owners in Manhattan that was demolished in 1857 to make way for Central Park, erasing one of New York's first Black neighborhoods.

Tuskegee, Alabama

Tuskegee Institute

Founded by Booker T. Washington in 1881, Tuskegee Institute became a leading center for Black education, vocational training, and scientific research under George Washington Carver.

Washington, D.C.

Howard University

Founded in 1867, Howard University became one of the most prestigious historically Black universities, educating leaders like Thurgood Marshall, Toni Morrison, and Kamala Harris.

Little Rock, Arkansas

Little Rock Central High School

The site where nine brave Black students integrated an all-white school in 1957, facing violent mobs and requiring federal troops, becoming a symbol of the fight for equal education.

Birmingham, Alabama

16th Street Baptist Church

A central meeting place for civil rights activists that was bombed by white supremacists on September 15, 1963, killing four young girls and galvanizing the nation.

Selma, Alabama

Edmund Pettus Bridge

The bridge where peaceful marchers were brutally attacked by police on 'Bloody Sunday' in 1965, an event that led directly to the passage of the Voting Rights Act.

Harlem, New York City

The Apollo Theater

The legendary Harlem venue that launched the careers of Ella Fitzgerald, James Brown, and countless Black artists, becoming the most famous stage in African American entertainment history.

Hampton, Virginia

Fort Monroe

The site where the first enslaved Africans arrived in English North America in 1619, and where during the Civil War, escaped enslaved people were declared 'contraband' and given refuge.

Memphis, Tennessee

Lorraine Motel

The motel where Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968, now home to the National Civil Rights Museum, preserving his legacy and the history of the movement.

Washington, D.C.

National Museum of African American History & Culture

The newest Smithsonian museum, opened in 2016 on the National Mall, dedicated to telling the complete story of African American life, history, and culture.

Charleston, South Carolina

Mother Emanuel AME Church

One of the oldest Black churches in the South, founded in 1816 and rebuilt after being burned. In 2015, a white supremacist killed nine worshippers, sparking renewed calls for racial justice.

Detroit, Michigan

Motown Records / Hitsville U.S.A.

The small house in Detroit where Berry Gordy founded Motown Records in 1959, launching the careers of the Supremes, Stevie Wonder, and Marvin Gaye and changing American music forever.

Boston, Massachusetts

Boston's Black Heritage Trail

A 1.6-mile walking trail through Beacon Hill featuring 15 historic sites that tell the story of Boston's 19th-century Black community, abolition movement, and Underground Railroad.

American Beach, FL & Bruce's Beach, CA

Historically Black Beaches

During segregation, Black families were banned from most public beaches. Communities created their own, including American Beach in Florida and Bruce's Beach in California.