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African American Heritage

Baltimore is a city where legends are made and legacies are born. During the 1930s and 1940s, jazz legends like Pearl Bailey, Count Basie and Duke Ellington performed at the legendary Royal Theatre on Baltimore's Pennyslvania Avenue. Baltimore-born composer and pianist Eubie Blake is honored, along with many of his colleagues, at the Eubie BlakeCultural Center on North Howard Street.

DAY ONE

Begin your day with a visit to the National Great Blacks In Wax Museum, America's first and only wax museum of African American history and culture. The museum houses more than 100 life-size and lifelike wax figures presented in dramatic and historical scenes, and takes you through the pages of time with wax figures featuring special lighting, sound effects and animation. Frederick Douglass, Harriett Tubman and Benjamin Banneker, as well as many other national figures, chronicle the history of African people from around the globe. The experience is highlighted by a dramatic walk through a replica of a slave ship complete with Middle Passage history.

At the Eubie Blake National Jazz Museum and Cultural Center, you will enjoy a display of memorabilia and artifacts honoring the life of Baltimore-born composer and pianist Eubie Blake. The gallery features permanent exhibitions highlighting the legacy of other Baltimore jazz greats such as Cab Calloway and Chick Webb.

Find keys to Baltimore's past and future while visiting the Orchard Street Church. Founded in 1825, legend has it that the Orchard Street Church was a stop on the Underground Railroad. The building, complete with escape tunnel, houses the 19th-century church and the Baltimore Urban League, an organization committed to enhancing the social and economic conditions of African Americans in the Baltimore metropolitan area.

End your day with a performance by the nation's oldest continuously operating African American community theater, the Arena Players. The company produces five main stage productions each year, including both classic works and contemporary plays by African American writers.

For a unique historical perspective on African American bus travel, please consider having one of our African American owned member caterers provide you or your group with a box lunch to enjoy during your tour. Please contact Class Act Catering, Inc. at 410-368-1334 or The Forum Caterers at 410-358-1101 to receive information and proposals.

DAY TWO

Don't miss the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture. The largest museum of its kind on the East Coastl shares globally, and with integrity, the human drama of Maryland's African American experience.

The history of African Americans in Baltimore is one of power, courage and tenacity. Our city has been home to many "freedom fighters" - individuals who chose liberty, transformation and human rights over comfort and personal security.

Frederick Douglass moved to Baltimore City from Maryland's Eastern Shore as an 8-year-old boy. Douglass taught himself how to read and write, though doing so was against state law.

Learn more about Douglass by starting your day in Fell's Point at the Frederick Douglass Marker dedicated by the city of Baltimore in 2003. The marker celebrates the life of the great abolitionist, publisher and orator. While in Fell's Point, see other sites including 18th-century buildings associated with Douglass -- where he lived, worked, worshipped and learned to read. Don't miss the five historic townhouses he built that still stand today.

Built in 1851, the Baltimore Civil War Museum is housed in the President Street railroad station, which was a stop on the Underground Railroad. The site also played a pivotal role in the Pratt Street Riot, the first incident of bloodshed in the Civil War, and features exhibits on Baltimore's Colored troops that served in the war.

Today, be sure to see the NAACP National Headquarters. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the oldest, largest and strongest civil rights organization in the United States, moved its headquarters to Baltimore in 1986. The building includes a library that holds national civil rights archives, and its grounds feature a memorial garden to writer Dorothy Parker.

On your drive back into the city, come by way of Pennsylvania Avenue. West Baltimore's Pennsylvania Avenue became the center of black culture and life. In and around "The Avenue," blacks owned and operated businesses. During the '30s, '40s and '50s, The Avenue became best known as a center for African American entertainment. At the heart of this reputation was the Royal Theater. Efforts are now underway to revitalize Pennsylvania Avenue and the communities surrounding it.

The St. Francis Academy, established in 1828, is the oldest continuously operating black educational institution in the United States. Founded by Mother Mary Lange and the Oblate Sisters of Providence, the building has served as a dormitory for the nuns, a girl's boarding school, a girl's day school, and an orphanage. Today it provides a quality education for children of color in the inner city. Learn why miracles still happen here!

All itineraries listed on this website are merely suggestions. For other suggestions, please contact the Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors Association's knowledgeable tourism staff. For customized itineraries, please contact any of our member receptive tour operators who can also provide step-on guide services.

Having played a prominent role in history, Maryland's African Americans continue to serve as progressive leaders of the nation. Believing in the need to celebrate Maryland's African American heritage on a national level, former Governor William Donald Schaefer appointed a commission to study the museum's impact.

Careful analysis of the state's existing historical inventory and tourism studies revealed that such a project was long overdue. Important historical sites, objects and oral histories were at risk of being lost forever.

In addition, tourism statistics revealed that African Americans are the largest minority population in the United States and Maryland, annually spending $25 billion on tourism. The Maryland Office of Tourism and Development stressed that "the new African American museum is a worthwhile investment. The investment will not only promote African American heritage in Maryland, but will benefit and enhance the state tourism industry." Projected to generate $9.5 million in direct spending to the state, the museum expects nearly 300,000 visitors in its first year, leveling to 150,000 thereafter.

In 1998, the commission became the Maryland African American Museum Corporation, a 501(c)(3) organization. With the leadership of Governor Parris N. Glendening and Delegate Howard "Pete" Rawlings, the state legislature provided $30 million toward the construction of the museum, as well as 50 percent of the museum's long-term operating budget. In addition, the museum has also been named a Smithsonian Affiliate, providing access to priceless collections, programs, membership and other benefits.

With interactive permanent exhibitions, exciting changing exhibitions and engaging programming, the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture is poised to become a major regional attraction.

The museum's facilities include:

200-Seat Theater
This state-of-the-art theater will host a variety of events for the whole family, including theatrical, dance and musical performances; film festivals; lectures; panel discussions; and receptions.

Resource Center
Visitors will use the Resource Center to learn about the African American experience from the past to the present, both throughout Maryland and internationally. Learning stations with touch-screen computers, printers and Internet access will link guests to current and historical information via the nation's most comprehensive websites.

Museum Shop and Café
Visitors may relax in the Museum Shop and Café while they enjoy a variety of unique Maryland dishes. Afterward, they may browse the museum's extensive collection of books, jewelry, music and special gift items.

Oral History Recording & Listening Studio
This one-of-a-kind studio will allow visitors to listen to oral histories and stories - as told by Maryland's famous and not-so-famous African Americans. Visitors will also be able to record their own.

www.AfricanAmericanCulture.org
Sponsored by Washington Gas, the museum's website will enable visitors to learn more about exhibitions, collections, educational and cultural programs, membership, and giving programs. www.AfricanAmericanCulture.org will also link to other resources around the nation and world, allowing visitors to experience the dynamic African Diaspora.

The Frederick Douglass — Isaac Myers Maritime Park is now open!

The Park is the Living Classrooms' newest laboratory of learning and will celebrate Maryland's African American maritime and shipbuilding history.

The project, honoring the entrepreneurial spirit and lives of Frederick Douglass and Isaac Myers, represents the successful preservation of one of the city's most historic waterfront properties. The Park is a wonderful transformation of the gateway to Fell's Point into a center for learning and cultural tourism and serves as new and expanded space for the Crossroads Middle School, the Living Classrooms charter school, which is challenging and enriching East Baltimore youths through its unique and comprehensive hands-on learning curriculum.

Other key elements of the Park include:

> Exhibits and monuments dedicated to the lives of Frederick Douglass and Isaac Myers
> A shipbuilding workshop
> A working marine railway
> A student-operated café and gift shop
> An outdoor amphitheater for educational and cultural programs
> Dockage for historic ships
> An expanded waterfront promenade

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