Traveling is a learning experience, no matter where you go. Therefore this February consider visiting cities with historical sites that celebrate African American heritage. Here are the top travel destinations to learn more about African American heritage.
5 Travel Destination for Black History Month
Listed below are five Mindful Black History Month destinations for you to consider.
- Atlanta, Georgia. Through the 1950s and 1960s, Atlanta was a key city in the Civil Rights Movement. As the birthplace of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Atlanta is home to the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site. You can take a tour of his childhood home or pay your respects at the crypts of Dr. King and Coretta Scott King. You can also visit the APEX Museum and see the Black History Month Parade.
- Denver, Colorado. Learn more about African American lives out west by visiting Denver. Their Five Points district is one of Denver’s oldest neighborhoods, “is one of the few historically predominantly African American-owned commercial strips” in the U.S. and was often referred to as the “Harlem of the West” with its jazz history. There’s also the Black American West Museum and Heritage Center, which honors African American cowboys, miners, ranchers and soldiers.
- New York City, New York. To celebrate African American contributions to the arts consider visiting New York City. There’s the famous Apollo Theater, which has hosted live performances by famous black entertainers since the 1930s including Lena Horne, Josephine Baker, Bill Cosby, B.B. King, and Aretha Franklin. The Harlem Tourism and Cultural Center offers live reenactments of Duke Ellington and Zora Neale Hurston performances.
- San Francisco, California. If you plan on visiting the west coast consider taking a tour of the Museum of the African Diaspora, which features exhibits for things like African music and traditional culinary arts. Or try the African American Art & Culture Complex, which has visual arts exhibits and theatrical performances. Or consider catching a show by the African American Shakespeare Company.
- Washington, D.C. Consider visiting our nation’s capital for more African American history. You can visit the new Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial on the Mall or take a tour of the Frederick Douglass Museum & Caring Hall of Fame. There’s also the African American Civil War Memorial and Museum, the Changing America (The Emancipation Proclamation) exhibit in the National Museum of American History, and the African American Heritage Trail, which consists of 200 sites in 15 neighborhoods.