My husband and I have both gotten used to him being the only black person in the room when we travel to many places. We continue to wonder & discuss between ourselves why that is. That issue is probably a bit too heavy to discuss here.
We do visit black heritage sites from time to time, but not because Mr. HomeFree is black. We do this because we are both interested in heritage, history, other humans and our world overall. We both made a commitment to be lifelong learners when we were young. No human can ever learn or experience everything that is out there, and we don’t believe people should ever stop trying. We believe in opening ourselves up. In honor of Black History Month, here are a couple of my favorite African American history sites and a couple that I look forward to seeing someday soon.
Sites I Learned From:
African American History Monument– South Carolina State House
A five-minute walk from my favorite Columbia hotel, The Marriott Columbia. There is a powerful acknowledgement that the history of black people is more than slavery. To accomplish this, the sculptor created two long walls filled with bas-relief bronze figures depicting African American contributions from the 1600s through space exploration. In case you missed it, here is my complete post about this site.
The Behold Statue- Atlanta, Georgia
This statue honors the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. “Sculptor, Patrick Morelli, was inspired by the ancient African ritual of lifting a newborn child to the heavens and reciting the words ‘Behold the only thing greater than yourself.’” More information is available from the National Park Service.
Sites I Look Forward to Learning From:
Edmund Pettus Bridge– Selma, Alabama
This bridge is part of the United States Civil Rights Trail.
Smithsonian National Museum of African American History– Washington, DC
The Smithsonian chain of museums is America’s very best. I can’t wait to make a pilgrimage here someday. Those in the know say to plan for several days because the collection is so amazing!
If you’ve been to either of the above, please share in the comments. I would enjoy hearing your thoughts on the impact these sites had on you. Do you have suggestions for other places that I should see? Help me build my list.
Leave a Reply