Destinations for Black History Month

Virginia is a culturally and historically rich state with many important events and landmarks that have been preserved.  Recognizing February as Black History Month, here are just a few of the destinations available for you and your family to explore.

You can immerse yourself in history on the Trail to Freedom. This self-guided walking and driving tour follows the journey of the over 10,000 former area slaves as they crossed the Rappahannock River to Union lines camped in Stafford County beginning in April of 1862. Visit various historical markers complete with historic photos chronicling the compelling stories along their journey northward to freedom from Fredericksburg to Stafford County. Follow the trail, read their words, and hear their stories.

A former slave, Booker T. Washington was born in April 1856 on the 207-acre farm of James Burroughs. After the Emancipation Proclamation was issued in 1863, Washington walked to Hampton to pursue his education. Later, as an adviser, author and orator, his past would influence his philosophies as the most influential African American of his era.  The Booker T. Washington National Monument in Hardy, is a tribute to his life.  It features a visitor center with exhibits on Washington’s life and legacy, and an audio-visual presentation interpreting his career and accomplishments.

The Williamsburg Bray School is the oldest existing building dedicated to the education of Black children in the United States.  On Friday, February 10, 2023, the Williamsburg Bray School building was relocated from its location on the edge of the William & Mary campus to its permanent home in Colonial Williamsburg’s Historic Area. The structure will reside at the intersection of Francis and Nassau streets near the site of the First Baptist Church excavation.

If you visit Colonial Williamsburg this winter you can enjoy fireside chats with historic tradespeople, and plan to enjoy lunch or dinner nearby at historically inspired cuisine at the local taverns.  They even have special offers for attractions and lodging.

If you’re interested in art and music, maybe you’ve heard of the Hanging Tree Guitars.  For more than fifty years Freeman Vines has transformed materials culled from tobacco barns, mule troughs, and radio parts to create hand-carved guitars, each instrument seasoned down to the grain by the echoes of its past life. In 2015, Vines befriended photographer and folklorist, Timothy Duffy and the two began to document Vines’ guitars and his life story. Soon after, Vines acquired the lumbered boards of the tree on which Oliver Moore was lynched in 1930. Confronting the silences and memories of this dark episode in his local history brought Vines face to face with the toll of racial terror on his own life and work.  You can view a traveling exhibit about Vines’ art and life for free at Piedmont Arts in Martinsville until March 18, 2023.