Tag Archives: African American

Freedom Riders National Monument

September 14, 2021 Raven About The Parks 2 Comments

Overview

On May 4, 1961, an interracial group of “Freedom Riders” boarded two buses in Washington, D.C. bound for New Orleans to test whether southern bus stations were following the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that ended segregation in interstate travel. On Sunday, May 14, the Greyhound bus was met by an angry mob in Anniston, Alabama that broke windows and slashed tires. Eventually police officers cleared a path for the bus, but it was forced to stop just five miles outside town where a bundle of flaming rags caused an explosion and fire inside the vehicle. Everyone escaped the bus although there were attempts to trap the seven Freedom Riders on board. Joseph Postiglione’s iconic photo of the burning bus appeared in newspapers across the country, encouraging more Freedom Riders and changes to laws.

Highlights

Greyhound bus depot, Trailways bus mural, site of bus burning

Must-Do Activity

President Obama established Freedom Riders National Monument in 2017, so the park is still under development, but they do already have an outstanding Junior Ranger program. The National Park Service (NPS) has temporary displays inside its visitor center in the historic Anniston bus station and outside is a beautiful mural of a Greyhound bus and an audio recounting of the 1961 events by Hank Thomas, a survivor. Down the road on Highway 202, the bus burning site is currently just an informational display in a field. We were there for the 60th anniversary events, when 400 luminaria were placed to represent the total number of Freedom Riders. Several other murals can be found around Anniston, including a second bus at Noble and 9th Street with Charles Person’s audio description of events that took place that same day. We also recommend the excellent Freedom Rides Museum (admission charged) in Montgomery, Alabama, where similar violence took place on May 20, 1961.

Best Trail

None

Instagram-worthy Photo

In the alley next to the NPS visitor center, in front of the life-sized mural of a 1961 Greyhound bus is a lamp dedicated in August 2013 to the bravery of the Freedom Riders.

Peak Season

Spring

Hours

https://www.nps.gov/frri/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

None

Road Conditions

Street parking is free outside the NPS visitor center. To access the bus burning site, be sure to park off Old Birmingham Highway and not along the busy Highway 202 shoulder.

Camping

South of Interstate 20, campgrounds can be found in Cheaha State Park and Talladega National Forest, which also provides dispersed camping and great backpacking opportunities.

Related Sites

Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument (Alabama)

Martin Luther King, Jr., National Historical Park (Georgia)

Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument (Mississippi)

Greyhound bus depot that serves as NPS visitor center

Explore More – Who was the future U.S. Congressman who took part in the 1961 Freedom Rides?

List

Top 10 African American NPS Sites

February 25, 2021 Raven About The Parks Leave a comment

Civil Rights leaders and African American pioneers are remembered at numerous sites in the National Park Service (NPS) system. All February we have been adding posts about sites dedicated to famous Americans in honor of Black History Month. Below is a ranking of our favorite places that we have visited. Click here to check out all of our Top 10 Lists.

10. Mary McLeod Bethune Council House National Historic Site (District of Columbia)

This Victorian townhouse served as headquarters for the National Council of Negro Women (1943-66)

9. African Burial Ground National Monument (New York)

A memorial to the African slaves and freedmen that lived in New York City in the 1700s

8. Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site (Virginia)

Tour the 28-room home of an African American philanthropist in Richmond

7. Frederick Douglass National Historic Site (District of Columbia)

Be sure to stop at Frederick’s original man cave “The Growlery” after your tour inside his home

6. Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park (Maryland)

A museum opened here in 2017 to interpret this incredible woman’s life

5. Booker T. Washington National Monument (Virginia)

Learn about the daily life of a slave in antebellum Virginia who grew up to found Tuskegee Institute

4. Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site (Kansas)

Thought-provoking exhibits fill the classrooms of an old school in Topeka

3. George Washington Carver National Monument (Missouri)

The story of a Renaissance Man born a slave in southwestern Missouri

2. Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site (Arkansas)

Learn about school integration at the visitor center kitty-corner from this architectural beauty

…and finally our #1 African American NPS site:

1. Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site (Alabama)

Civil Rights pioneers in the military are celebrated at this site created in 1998

Honorable Mentions

There are seven new National Monuments created in the last decade dedicated to African American history that we look forward to visiting:

Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument (Alabama)

Camp Nelson Heritage National Monument (Kentucky)

Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument (Ohio)

Freedom Riders National Monument (Alabama)

Harriet Tubman National Historical Park (New York)

Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument (Mississippi)

Reconstruction Era National Monument (South Carolina)

Georgia

Martin Luther King, Jr., National Historical Park

February 23, 2021 Raven About The Parks Leave a comment

Overview

Sweet Auburn is a neighborhood in Atlanta, Georgia where Martin Luther King, Jr. was baptized and ordained as a minister in Ebenezer Baptist Church. The National Park Service (NPS) was granted 39 acres here in 1980 to honor the Civil Rights leader who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. Following his assassination in Memphis, Tennessee, King’s funeral was held at Ebenezer Baptist Church on April 4, 1968. It is free to visit the NPS museum, birth home, and affiliated Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change.

Highlights

Museum, Ebenezer Baptist Church, MLK birth home, Reflection Pool tomb

Must-Do Activity

Inside the NPS museum, immersive audiovisual bubbles take visitors through the life of this prominent Civil Rights protestor. A short walk is required to enter his boyhood home (which is wheelchair accessible). Silence is mandatory while inside. Outside the neighboring King Center, the Reflection Pool contains the tombs of Martin Luther King, Jr. and his wife Coretta Scott King, as well as an eternal flame.

Best Trail

None

Instagram-worthy Photo

When reviewing this picture, Tiff swore she thought Gandhi was holding a selfie stick and was wearing sunglasses.

Peak Season

Spring and fall

Hours

https://www.nps.gov/malu/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

None

Road Conditions

A large, free parking lot is located north of the NPS visitor center.

Camping

Campgrounds are located outside Atlanta at the Corps of Engineers’ Lake Sidney Lanier and Forest Service’s Chattahoochee National Forest.

Related Sites

Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial (District of Columbia)

Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument (Mississippi)

Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area (Georgia)

Explore More – How was Martin Luther King, Jr.’s mother also tragically killed by gunshot in 1974?

Virginia

Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site

February 18, 2021 Raven About The Parks Leave a comment

Overview

If you visit Richmond National Battlefield Park in Virginia, do not miss the other National Park Service (NPS) site in that city. Maggie L. Walker was an African American philanthropist that started the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank in 1902 and was the only female bank president in the U.S. at the time. As a member of the Independent Order of St. Luke since age 14, she also helped establish a newspaper and department store to help the local African American community.

Highlights

Museum, film, house tour, Jackson Ward National Historic Landmark District

Must-Do Activity

The 1930s-era home of this Civil Rights advocate can only be entered on an NPS ranger guided tour. Walker lived in the oft-expanded, 28-room house from 1904 until her death thirty years later, and almost every piece of furniture in the house is original. The NPS visitor center at 600 N 2nd Street is very small, but they do show a short film inside the tiny museum, which provides a good introduction before the tour.

Best Trail

None

Instagram-worthy Photo

The master bathroom includes a bidet, which is not something we have seen on any of the other NPS house tours we have taken (and we have been on a lot!).

Peak Season

Summer

Hours

https://www.nps.gov/mawa/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

None

Road Conditions

Street parking is required as there is not a designated lot.

Camping

Pocahontas State Park and Forest offers a campground with running water just outside Richmond, Virginia.

Mary McLeod Bethune Council House National Historic Site (District of Columbia)

Fort Monroe National Monument (Virginia)

Explore More – The Walker family owned the house until the NPS took ownership of the 1.25-acre property in what year?

District of Columbia

Mary McLeod Bethune Council House National Historic Site

February 16, 2021 Raven About The Parks Leave a comment

Overview

In 1875, Mary McLeod Bethune was born the 15th of 17 children to former slaves in South Carolina. Throughout her life she fought for civil rights, founding the Daytona Educational and Industrial School for Negro Girls in Florida (which later merged to become Bethune-Cookman College). In 1943, she purchased a Victorian townhouse in Washington, D.C.’s Logan Circle area to serve as her residence for six years and headquarters for the National Council of Negro Women (until a fire in 1966).

Highlights

House tour, film, National Archives for Black Women’s History, Logan Circle Historic District

Must-Do Activity

Mary McLeod Bethune Council House National Historic Site was designated by Congress in 1982. Since 1994, the National Park Service (NPS) has managed the property displaying historic photographs and original furnishings in some of the 15 rooms. After a self-guided tour of the house, go check out a 12-foot tall statue of Mary McLeod Bethune located in Lincoln Park on East Capitol Street.

Best Trail

You can pick up an informational booklet at this site for the Washington, DC Black History National Recreation Trail.

Instagram-worthy Photo

This is the only NPS site we have visited where the first thing you do upon arrival is ring the doorbell.

Peak Season

Spring and summer

Hours

https://www.nps.gov/mamc/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

None

Road Conditions

As with most NPS sites in Washington, D.C., it is easier to walk or take the Metro than find parking for your car.

Camping

There are no NPS campgrounds in the Washington, D.C. area, so it might be best to head for Shenandoah National Park in Virginia.

Related Sites

Carter G. Woodson Home National Historic Site (District of Columbia)

Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality National Monument (District of Columbia)

Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial (District of Columbia)

Explore More – Before her death in 1955, Mary McLeod Bethune worked on civil rights issues for how many U.S. Presidents?

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