The history and culture of the African American people are inextricably bound to the greater legacy of the United States.
The African Americans contributions to the history and culture of the United States are considerable and deeply woven into our collective national heritage. Numerous national parks preserve these stories and their places of origin. In addition, some parks tell them as part of the site’s broader story, while others are dedicated to interpreting the events that shaped our history. Throughout the last five centuries, museums have played an important role in preserving and documenting the historical eras, leaders, and injustices that shaped the Black experience.
Buffalo Soldiers National Museum
Texas
The history of African American involvement in wars in the United States dates back to the colonial period. After the Civil War, the Buffalo Soldiers, a regiment of freed and formerly enslaved Black soldiers, were formed. The name, Buffalo Soldiers, was inspired by their heroic service on the western frontier; some theorize it originates from interactions with Native Americans. Buffalo soldiers protected settlers of the American West. The Buffalo Soldiers National Museum in Houston, founded in 2001 by a black Vietnam War veteran, tells the stories of these warriors who played a pivotal role in U.S. military campaigns, World War I and II and the Civil and Vietnam Wars.
National Museum of African American Music
Tennessee
The National Museum of African American Music (NMAAM) chronicles African American musical traditions from the 1600s to the present day, ranging from gospel songs to spiritual hymns, jazz, and blues to R&B and hip-hop. In downtown Nashville, the NMAAM, which opened on January 30, 2021, is the world’s only institution solely dedicated to honoring and preserving African Americans’ role in shaping American music. The museum’s 56,000 square feet feature seven interactive galleries with more than 1,500 artifacts, objects, and memorabilia, including a dress worn by Whitney Houston. Each gallery is devoted to a different historical period that influenced African American music, such as the Reconstruction era, Great Migration, and Harlem Renaissance.
National Memorial for Peace and Justice
Alabama
The National Memorial for Peace and Justice is a public memorial in the United States dedicated to veterans of slavery and racial terror. Established in April 2018, The six-acre site overlooks Montgomery, the former capital of Alabama’s domestic slave trade, and commemorates more than 4,400 lynch victims between 1877 and 1950. Each of the 800 steel columns that compose the open-air memorial is inscribed with the names of lynching victims from every county and jurisdiction where a lynching took place in the United States. Several blocks away, at the site of one of America’s most famous slave auctions, the companion Legacy Museum is located at a place that once housed enslaved Africans. The exhibits here explain the history of American racial injustice, from slavery to mass incarceration today.
The sensational places with distinguished museums are the best tourist attractions and offer the best way to learn more about African American culture. We are sure you won’t be able to resist the temptation to visit these top three places any longer! So get ready to plan a trip to these fascinating destinations with Soul Food Guide.