Celebrate Black History and Family in Atlanta

Atlanta is one of the biggest destinations for African American heritage tours in the United States because of its rich Black history especially as one of the centers of the Civil Rights motion. The city holds the largest Black History Month parade in the United States yearly. It is likewise a place for numerous archaeological sites and destinations connected to African American heritage covering centuries from the colonial United States to the present. Lots of contributions of Black Americans to our country in addition to the history of innovation, music, food, civil rights, politics, and more can be connected with somebody from or someplace in this Georgian metropolitan city. The city of Atlanta has long been understood for Black excellence.

Here are some recommendations of things you can do and websites you can go to if you are preparing to have an Atlanta African American heritage tour:

Take a Stroll at Sweet Auburn.

Auburn Avenue, situated at the community fondly called Sweet Auburn, is known to the world as the center for Black business and its role in the Civil Rights movement of the United States. In the second half of the 1950s, it was acknowledged as the 'wealthiest Negro street worldwide' by Fortune Magazine. It has long been a sanctuary for the African American community and numerous popular Black Americans in numerous fields originated from this neighborhood. You can begin your African American heritage trip at the Auburn Avenue Research Library, head across the street to the APEX Museum, then make your way down to For Keeps Bookstore prior to heading to the MLK Birth Home. The Auburn Avenue Research Library is Georgia's first public library to offer specialized books and publications, and archival collections committed to the study and research of African-American culture and history. The APEX Museum offers visitors a glimpse of the Southeast's history through the viewpoint of African Americans. Display screens consist of the origins of the slave trade, significant contributions of the African American individuals, and the replicas of the very first African American-owned business. The highlight of the Auburn tour is the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park, which includes different homes essential to his life, and works as a Civil Rights activist. The park includes a Visitor Center which displays the wagon that carried MLK's coffin during his funeral service. Across the street from the Visitor Center is The King Center which houses his tomb, alongside his spouse's resting location. Simply a block away from the center is Dr. King's birth house, most likely the most historic house in Sweet Auburn.

Explore the Historic Churches of Auburn Avenue

Faith and churches constantly played a considerable role in the lives of many African Americans. It is no different in the Black neighborhood of the city of Atlanta. More than just spiritual houses of worship, churches have been centers of the political, social, instructional, and financial life of many African Americans in the city. There are many noteworthy churches, most of whom are of the Baptist churchgoers, located in Auburn Avenue. The most historical of these churches is the Ebenezer Baptist Church. It is where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., in addition to his father and grandfather, once preached as pastors. Another historical church in the neighborhood is the Big Bethel AME Church. It was the location of Atlanta's very first public school for African-Americans, and, in the basement, Morris Brown College. Big Bethel is also the earliest African-American church on Auburn Avenue. The Wheat Street Baptist Church played a great role in the Civil Rights motion as well as in the early developmental stages of a young Martin Luther King Jr. William Holmes Borders, the church's pastor, was a crucial figure in the fight for the desegregation of the city's public transportation in 1957 and an effective impact to MLK's youth.

Visit the Madam C.J. Walker Museum

Neighboring Auburn Avenue, the Madam C.J. Walker Beauty Shoppe Museum located in Hilliard Street, is another must-visit African American historical site in Atlanta. This was the site of the previous beauty parlor of Madam C.J. Walker, born Sarah Breedlove, considered the United States' first self-made female millionaire. She accumulated her wealth by developing and making appeal products specially made for Black ladies and after that training more than 20,000 employees and representatives to distribute the products and services to her clients.

Understand the Civil Rights Movement Deeper

A terrific method to dig deeper through the history of the civil rights movement in the city of Atlanta and the entire of the United States is by visiting the National Center for Civil and Human Rights located in downtown Atlanta. The museum honors the American civil rights movement, and it brings existing global human rights problems to the spotlight, through interactive display screens and exhibitions divided into 3 main sections: civil rights, human rights, and the MLK collection. The most famous exhibition is the collection of Dr. Martin Luther King's personal valuables including initial drafts of his popular speeches and letters to his friends and coworkers encouraging them to combat for justice and equality.

Enjoy Delectable and Sumptuous Soul Food

The city is littered with lots of restaurants owned by African Americans. Whether you are searching for classic, home-cooked-style meals, a contemporary take on traditional Southern cuisine, or something elegant from a celebrity chef, Atlanta has something for your palate. Fro breakfast, lunch, supper, and whatever in between, you will never ever run out of food choices that serve the authentic taste of the South.

Trip Iconic Historically Black Colleges and Universities

The development of college among African Americans from the Civil War to the Civil Rights movement is finest exhibited by the traditionally Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) established in the city of Atlanta. 4 of these HBCUs belong to the Atlanta University Center, a consortium of independently owned African American college institutions that played a crucial function in the history of the city. Consisted of four present members of the AUC are Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College, Morehouse School of Medicine, and Spelman College. These organizations boast numerous notable alumni who excelled in numerous fields such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the N.A.A.C.P.'s Walter White, writer, and civil rights activist James Weldon Johnson, opera singer Mattiwilda Dobbs, filmmaker Spike Lee, Atlanta's first African American mayor Maynard H. Jackson Jr., social activist Julian Bond, Children's Defense Fund founder Marian Wright Edelman, star Samuel L. Jackson, United States senator Raphael Warnock, actress Keisha Knight Pulliam and director Kenya Barris.