The origins of Black History Month began in 1915. At this period, Carter G. Woodson established the Association for the Study of African American Life and History. He would subsequently be hailed as the “Father of Black History.”
Woodson was born in 1875 to former slave parents. His official academic career began with a bachelor’s degree from Berea College in Kentucky, which was followed by a second bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree from the University of Chicago. Finally, in 1912, he received his Ph.D. in history from Harvard University, becoming just the second Black American to do so, after W.E.B. DuBois. Throughout his research, Woodson discovered that both textbooks and professors frequently neglected to recognize African American achievements.
Nearly a decade after founding the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, the historic figure desired to accomplish more. Woodson’s fraternity mates from Omega Psi Phi helped establish the Negro History and Literature Week in 1924. It quickly grew into Negro Achievement Week, which was later renamed Negro History Week in 1926. The celebration aimed to recognize and educate the public about Black people’s accomplishments.
Woodson is claimed to have picked mid-February because President Abraham Lincoln and abolitionist Frederick Douglass, two men who played significant roles in defining Black history, were born in the same week.
Boston
During the 1800s, numerous free Black people lived in Boston’s Beacon Hill district. The location functioned as an Underground Railroad destination and was home to a flourishing abolitionist community. The 1.6-mile Black Heritage Trail takes you on a self-guided stroll through Beacon Hill to learn about the neighborhood’s importance to Boston’s Black community and involvement in the abolitionist effort. Travelers traveling the path may download the map and audio tour from the NPS app and learn more on the NPS website.
Along the road, you may view the Robert Gould Shaw and Massachusetts 54th Regiment Memorial, which recognizes the first federally formed regiment of free Black soldiers during the Civil War, as well as its white commander. Moviegoers may recall the regiment from the 1989 film “Glory.” The trail’s last stops are at the Museum of African American History, which comprises of two buildings: the Abiel Smith School and the African Meeting House.
New York City
New York was among the last Northern states to abolish slavery. Despite anti-abolition sentiments in New York City prior to the Civil War, the city became an important station on the Underground Railroad. Inside Out Tours’ NYC Slavery & the Underground Railroad Walking Tour teaches visitors about the city’s history and its link to the liberation network. The 2.5-hour trip includes visits to the African Burial Ground, where the bones of an estimated 15,000 free and enslaved Black people were interred in the 17th and 18th centuries.
The Museum of the City of New York houses about 750,000 items honoring and recording life in the Big Apple. The exhibit “Changing the Face of Democracy: Shirley Chisholm at 100” looks at the life of the first Black woman elected to Congress and the first woman to run for president on a major party ticket. On February 8, the museum and the Office of the NYC Public Advocate will present “Roots and Rise: A NYC Black History Celebration.”
Atlanta
The Sweet Auburn Historic District in Atlanta witnessed much of the city’s civil rights history. During segregation, many affluent African American companies and houses relocated to Auburn Avenue, dubbed the “richest Negro street in the world.” Martin Luther King Jr., the civil rights leader, was also born here. Visitors can visit the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park, which is located in the district. The 35-acre park includes a visitor center, King’s birthplace and childhood home, Ebenezer Baptist Church, Freedom Hall, and the King Center. (Note: King’s birth house is temporarily closed for restoration, but the rest of the amenities on the park complex are open.)
Charleston, South Carolina
While this port city has had numerous historical and cultural accomplishments, it also has many tragic milestones in its black past. The International African American Museum in Charleston is located on the location of Gadsden’s Wharf, when about 40% of imprisoned Africans entered the United States. Today, the museum and garden tell the narrative of how these enslaved people arrived in our country, as well as how they shaped its history.
The museum has about 150 historical relics, 30+ works of art, approximately 50 films, and a variety of multimedia interactive displays. In the museum’s African Roots & trade section, visitors may learn about African culture and trans-Atlantic slave trade, while another exhibition focuses on Gullah Geechee culture and history. Reflect and meditate in the African Ancestors Memorial Garden before or after visiting the museum.
Columbia, South Carolina
Begin your investigation of the city’s Black heritage with the Journey to Freedom tour. Tour participants will have the opportunity to see two historical sites: the Mann-Simons Site and the Modjeska Monteith Simkins House. The Mann-Simons Site was a collection of buildings and businesses owned by the same African American family from around 1843 to 1970. Today, just one structure remains standing. You may discover more about how one family was able to acquire land before the Civil War and how the place grew.
Jackson, Mississippi
The Mississippi Civil Rights Museum is a great place to learn about Jackson’s civil rights movement. It concentrates on the years 1945 to 1976, when the movement in this state had some of its most difficult periods. The museum’s eight exhibits focus on the history and future of Mississippi’s civil rights. The Black Empowerment gallery focuses on the years 1965–1970, when Black participation in the civil rights movement was at its peak. Museum visitors may learn more about Freedom Summer, including the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, which challenged the state’s all-white Democratic Party.
Louisville, Kentucky
The most common associations with Louisville are the Kentucky Derby, bourbon, and Muhammad Ali. All of these subjects may be explored through the perspective of Black history at a variety of locations across Louisville.
Begin with the Black Heritage in Racing display at the Kentucky Derby Museum. Learn about Oliver Lewis, the first jockey to win the Derby in 1875, or Raymond Daniels and Greg Harbut, the owners of Necker Island, a 2020 Kentucky Derby candidate. On non-racing Mondays, the museum conducts the Black Heritage in Racing Tour (at an additional fee). The 90-minute tour takes you around Churchill Downs while discussing the Black history of the Kentucky Derby. The tour is not wheelchair accessible and has stairs.
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is another Southern city influenced by its Black heritage. Orange Mound was developed in 1890 on the site of a previous plantation, making it one of the city’s first African American-built communities. Former First Lady Michelle Obama named Orange Mound as a Preserve America community in 2016. Visitors can obtain a booklet on the Memphis Heritage Trail from the website and enjoy a self-guided tour of the historic district.
One of the city’s most significant occurrences occurred in April 1968, when King was assassinated at the Lorraine Hotel. Today, the historic hotel houses the National Civil Rights Museum. Visit the temporary exhibit “The Southern Heritage Classic:
Nashville, Tennessee
In May 1960, Nashville became the first Southern city to integrate its segregated public facilities. Visitors may learn more about the sit-ins at the former Woolworth Department Store that led to this historical milestone, as well as other topics, by joining United Street Tours’ Civil Rights Walking Tour of Nashville. Tourgoers will go across downtown Nashville to learn about civil rights movements from the 1960s to the present. The two-hour trip also includes a visit to the Civil Rights Room at the Nashville Public Library.
Natchez, Mississippi
The Southern city of Natchez, located along the Mississippi River, is considered the cradle of the Magnolia State and the state’s oldest city. It was also one of the nation’s main slave-trading marketplaces prior to the Civil War. Many antebellum plantation mansions and slave quarters still exist across the state. One of the venues to learn about the city’s slave trade is the Forks of the Road site inside Natchez National Historical Park, which was originally a slave market. In 2021, the city gave the site to the National Park Service.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., once known as the “Chocolate City” due to its largely African American population, is rich in Black history and culture. Several NPS-managed sites, including the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site, the Mary McLeod Bethune Council House National Historic Site, and the Carter G. Woodson Home National Historic Site, will host Black History Month activities throughout the month in honor of the 2025 theme of “African Americans and Labor.”