Black History in NYC Photo Tour

Join us on a casual tour exploring African American Historical sites around New York City.    This is a no drop, 51 mile route.   We will begin on the Queens side of the Queensboro Bridge and make our way through sites in Queens, back through Brooklyn and Downtown

From Queensbridge Plaza we will move East to see:

Malcolm X’s home –  Malcolm X was an African American Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a popular figure during the civil rights movement. He is best known for his time spent as a vocal spokesman for the Nation of Islam.   He lived in the East Elmhurst house with his wife, Betty Shabazz, and their four daughters in the 1960s. One of several attempts on his life was made during the time he lived there. The house was firebombed on Feb. 14, 1965.   It was only a week later that Malcolm X was assasinated by three gunmen as he was speaking at the Audubon Ballroom in Manhattan.

Louis Armstrong Home and Museum – The Louis Armstrong House, formally known as 34-56 107th Street, is a historic house museum in Corona, Queens, New York City. It was the home of Louis Armstrong and his wife Lucille Wilson from 1943 until his death in 1971

Lewis Latimer House/museum – Lewis Howard Latimer (1848-1928), was an African-American inventor, electrical pioneer, and a son of fugitive slaves. With no access to formal education, Latimer taught himself mechanical drawing while in the Union Navy, and eventually became a chief draftsman, patent expert, and inventor.  He played a critical role in the development of the telephone, and invented the carbon filament, a significant improvement in the production of the incandescent light bulb.

Flushing Burial Ground – This site honors both the local Flushing community, and the hundreds of people who are buried here. Once a site for active recreation, the site was rediscovered as a pauper’s burial ground and rebuilt in 2006 to honor the dead. A reflective memorial area and rolling hills mark a place to remember the 500-1000 Native Americans and African Americans who were laid to rest here until 1898.  Between 1840 and 1898, 500 to 1000 people, primarily African Americans, Native Americans, and victims of four major epidemics in 1840, 1844, 1857 and 1867 were buried on this site.

Then we will move into the Borough of Brooklyn

Weeksville –    The Weeksville Heritage Center is a historic site on Buffalo Avenue between St. Marks Avenue and Bergen Street in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, New York City. It is dedicated to the preservation of Weeksville, one of America’s first free black communities during the 19th century.

Jackie Robinson’s House –  The Jackie Robinson House is a historic house at 5224 Tilden Avenue in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Built c. 1912-1916, it is prominent as the home of baseball great Jackie Robinson from 1947, when he was awarded Rookie of the Year, through 1949, when he was voted Most Valuable Player

Ebbets Field Home Plate –  Ebbets Field was a Major League Baseball stadium in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, New York. It is known mainly for having been the home of the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team of the National League, from 1913 to 1957, but was also home to five professional football teams, including three NFL teams, from 1921-1948. Ebbets Field was demolished in 1960 and replaced by the Ebbets Field Apartments, later renamed the Jackie Robinson Apartments.

Grazing Prospect Park before Making our way over the Manhattan Bridge and into Manhattan to see:

African Burial Ground  –  This national park, African Burial Ground is the oldest and largest known excavated burial ground in North America for both free and enslaved Africans. It protects the historic role slavery played in building New York

Seneca Village –  Before Central Park was created, the landscape along what is now the Park’s perimeter from West 82nd to West 89th Street was the site of Seneca Village, a community of predominantly African-Americans, many of whom owned property. By 1855, the village consisted of approximately 225 residents, made up of roughly two-thirds African-Americans, one-third Irish immigrants, and a small number of individuals of German descent. One of few African-American enclaves at the time, Seneca Village allowed residents to live away from the more built-up sections of downtown Manhattan and escape the unhealthy conditions and racism they faced there.

Mother A.M.E. Zion Church  –   The Mother A.M.E. Zion congregation was formed in 1796 by African-American members of the predominantly white John Street Methodist Church. Although that church was abolitionist in its orientation, racial segregation was still enforced in other ways.

Hotel Theresa – In the mid-20th century, it was a vibrant center of African American life in the area and the city.  The building, now an office building known as Theresa Towers, was designated a New York City landmark in 1993 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2005

Apollo Theatre – The theater, which has a capacity of 1,506, opened in 1914 as Hurtig & Seamon’s New Burlesque Theater, and was designed by George Keister in the neo-Classical style.  It became the Apollo in 1934, when it was opened to black patrons – previously it had been a whites-only venue.  In 1983, both the interior and exterior of the building were designated as New York City Landmarks, and the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places. It is estimated that 1.3 million people visit the Apollo every year

Before wrapping up with a chance for some hefty refueling at

Minton’s / Cecil  –  Minton’s playhouse is the birthplace of BeBop