Celebrate African American History in Atlanta

Atlanta History Center

There are so many ways to learn about the heritage and contributions of African Americans in Atlanta. Make sure to also check out places to road trip to learn about black history.

Call or check websites before visiting for COVID-19 safety precautions.

Events:

Virtual: Center for Puppetry Arts

Explore the African diaspora using music, song and movement with this retelling of two folktales: The First Music and Abiyoyo with “Stories of Color” for ages 6-12. Ages 4-8 will enjoy learning about trickster tales with “Anansi the Spider: A West African Folktale.” Feb. 10, 12, 24 and 26.

Black History Festival at Shorty Howell Park

Celebrate with cultural education and exposure, vendor booths, music and food. Feb. 12.

African American Burial Grounds Tour at Oakland Cemetery

These walking tours include the final resting places of a few Atlanta pioneers, including Carrie Steele Logan, William Finch Maynard Jackson and more. Feb. 20 and 21.

Virtual: Sit-In

This animated short from the Alliance Theatre celebrates the power of youth to change history. Through Feb. 28.

Black History Month at Children’s Museum of Atlanta

Learn about Black history with important figures, hands-on science activities, art and real-life stories. Through Feb. 28.

High Museum of Art

See Driskell’s works featuring the American landscape and the African diaspora in “David Driskell: Icons of Nature and History.” Through March 14, view the photography collection exploring underrepresented communities and stories in African American culture with “Dawoud Bey: An American Project.”

Sites:

Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park

This National Park Service site includes Martin Luther King Jr.’s birth home, church and tomb, with opportunities to learn more about his life and legacy with a self-guided tour. Visit the site’s first outdoor exhibition “Celebrating 40 Years.” All buildings are temporarily closed due to COVID-19 safety precautions.

APEX Museum

This museum’s mission is to interpret and present history from an African American perspective with “Women in STEM,” “Africa the Untold Story,” “The MAAFA” and more. They are currently open on Saturdays from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. with timed ticket admission.

Center for Civil and Human Rights

Learn about the Civil Rights Movement in the U.S., as well as current human rights challenges today with informational exhibits. See the digital exhibition “We Share the Dream: King’s Beloved Community” to explore Dr. King’s campaigns to unite humankind or take an interactive virtual tour.

Atlanta History Center

With “Black Citizenship in the Age of Jim Crow,” view art, historical artifacts, photographs and more that illustrate the African American struggle for full citizenship and racial equality that unfolded in the 50 years after the Civil War. They also offer online exhibitions.

The King Center

Established by Coretta Scott King in 1968, The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change preserves Dr. King’s legacy. View the crypt of Dr. and Mrs. King’s, constructed from Georgia marble, and see the Eternal Flame symbolizing the continued effort to realize Dr. King’s dream.

Atlanta University Center Historic District

Go on a self-guided tour of this National Historic Landmark, which includes some of the country’s major higher education institutions for African Americans, such as Atlanta University, Clark and Morehouse.

Noble Hill-Wheeler Memorial Center

Built in 1923, this was the first school in northwest Georgia constructed with Rosenwald funds for the education of Black children. The site is now a Black history museum and cultural center.

George Washington Carver State Park

In 1950, when the Allatoona Dam was completed in Cartersville, Governor Talmadge established the nearby 345-acre George Washington Carver Park, the first “Georgia State Park for Negroes.” Well-known entertainers, including Ray Charles and Little Richard, performed at the park.

The Herndon Home Museum

This museum was the residence of Alonzo Herndon, a former slave owner who founded what would become the Atlanta Life Insurance Company, and his legacy changed the black middle class in America. Temporarily closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Clark Atlanta University Art Galleries

The school began gathering art pieces in 1942, when exhibition opportunities for African American artists were limited due to segregation. Juried exhibitions have presented more than 900 artists from across the country, and related programs teach and stimulate interest in African American art. Temporarily closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dorchester Academy

Beyond Atlanta

Gospel Pilgrim Cemetery

Explore this site where many of Athens’ prominent African Americans were laid to rest, starting in 1882.

Paine College Historic District

Founded in 1882 by trustees from the Methodist Episcopal Church South and the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church in America, this institution was coeducational from the beginning with its goal of educating African American youth.

Dorchester Academy

This school was founded in 1871 as a school for freed slaves and now serves as an African American history museum and community center.

Go on a Road Trip

If you’re interested in traveling and spending more time learning about Black history and the Civil Rights Movement, go on a road trip around Georgia to see significant spots. The National Park Service created a national We Shall Overcome travel itinerary with churches, private residences and public sites of protest that spoke to the history. Check out Georgia’s three spots and learn more at nps.gov/subjects/travelweshallovercome/we-shall-overcome.htm. Explore important destinations and sites in Georgia, along with the history and stories, at civilrightstrail.com/state/georgia.

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