Parks
America's national parks weave together a mosaic of African American history. A large patchwork of National Park Service sites were founded because of their pivotal places in history. Other sites highlight the untold stories—the no-less-important, every-day-remarkable stories of African Americans in history.
Click to link below to start planning your visits to these sites!
Other Places
You don't need to visit a park to explore African American history! National Historic Landmarks and sites on the National Register of Historic Places also preserve and share African American heritage. Explore a sampling of these important places below.
Places of African American Heritage
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South CarolinaMcCrory's Five and DimeBlack student protesters brought the sit-in movement to McCrory's in 1961. The movement led to desegregation of public accommodations.
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ColoradoWinks PanoramaA historic African American resort in Pinecliffe, CO, Winks Panorama was a peaceful mountain oasis for Black vacationers between 1925-1965.
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MichiganDetroit Assoc. of Colored Women's ClubsBlack women's club members purchased this home in 1941, adding an extra door and changing its address to avoid racist housing restrictions.
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Kansas/MissouriFreedom's Frontier NHALearn the stories of 19th c. Americans living in KS and MO who struggled to define freedom during the Bleeding Kansas and Civil War years.
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FloridaKingsley PlantationThis plantation site tells the complex and arbitrary stories of race and enslavement in early Florida.
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New YorkLorraine Hansberry ResidenceThe pioneering Black lesbian playwright, writer, and activist, Lorraine Hansberry lived here while creating her most important works.
African American Civil Rights Network
The AACRN encompasses properties, facilities, and interpretive programs that tell the stories of the African American Civil Rights Movement.
Underground Railroad Network to Freedom
The 695+ sites in the Network to Freedom, honor, preserve and promote the history of resistance to enslavement through escape and flight.
Explore More Places of African American Heritage
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- Locations: Boston National Historical Park, Boston African American National Historic Site
A leading community activist and entrepreneur, John J. Smith operated a barbershop that became an important center for abolitionist activity. He and his wife Georgiana also participated in the equal school rights movement in the 1850s.
- Locations: Boston National Historical Park, Boston African American National Historic Site
A prominent clothing dealer and community activist, John Coburn served as treasurer of the New England Freedom Association and co-founded the Massasoit Guards, a Black military company in 1850s Boston.
- Locations: Boston National Historical Park, Boston African American National Historic Site
George Middleton led the Bucks of America, a local Black militia during the American Revolution. After the war, he became an activist and community leader, helping found the African Society and serving as the 3rd Grand Master of the Prince Hall Masons.
- Locations: Boston National Historical Park, Boston African American National Historic Site
Clara Vaught, a Black formerly enslaved woman, housed freedom seekers who made their way to Boston in her home.
- Locations: Boston National Historical Park, Boston African American National Historic Site
The Smith Court Residences provide a window into the family life, occupations, and activism of African Americans in 19th century Boston.
- Locations: Boston National Historical Park, Boston African American National Historic Site
Built in 1824 and considered one of the finest public schools in Boston, the Phillips School educated only white students until 1855 when it became one of the first integrated schools in the city.
- Locations: Boston National Historical Park, Boston African American National Historic Site
Tucked away off today’s Joy Street on Beacon Hill, Smith Court served as a center for Boston’s free Black community throughout the 1800s and into the early 1900s.
- Locations: Boston National Historical Park, Boston African American National Historic Site
Lewis and Harriet Hayden established their home as the most active Underground Railroad safe house in Boston, sheltering scores of documented freedom seekers including William and Ellen Craft.
- Locations: Boston National Historical Park, Boston African American National Historic Site
Built in 1806, the African Meeting House served as a church, school and gathering place for the political activism and cultural life of Boston’s free Black community in the 19th century.
- Locations: Boston National Historical Park, Boston African American National Historic Site
The Abiel Smith School opened in 1835 and served as a focal point in the Black community’s struggle for equal school rights in 19th century Boston.
Last updated: March 17, 2022