Many tours focusing on African-American history are available.
Visiting Washington, D.C., can be overwhelming. There is so much to see, including monuments, museums, historical documents and neighborhoods. It can be a good idea to limit a trip to the nation's capital by selecting a certain topic to focus on. The District has several tours focusing on African-American history. Some tours are free; others cost as much as $44.
Washington Walks
See where piano great Duke Ellington lived.
"Before Harlem, There Was U Street" is a tour led by Washington Walks. The tour costs $15 per person and meets at the 13th Street exit for the U Street/Cardozo Metro stop. The tour focuses on an area of town that was the site of political riots after Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated and was home to famous African-Americans like Duke Ellington. According to the tour description on the Web site, the tour visits a memorial to African-Americans who fought in the Civil War, the first YMCA for African-Americans and homes occupied by famous African-Americans. During the tour, members of the group will also be able to see how this part of the District has become revitalized with new stores, apartments and restaurants. The tour lasts about two hours and is offered at 10:30 a.m. every Saturday from April 1 to October 30.
Tour Washington DC
The Vietnam War Memorial is one stop on the African American Heritage Tour.
Tour Washington DC offers the African American Heritage Tour to groups of 15 or more. The price is $27 per person. According to the Web site, the tour makes nine stops. The entire tour is led on a bus, but participants get off at each site and have 30 minutes to explore. The tour first visits Frederick Douglass' home. The next stop is the historic Anacostia neighborhood in the city's southeast quadrant. Next is the statue of Mary McLeod Bethune, who was vice president of the National Council of Negro Women and the NAACP. The next stop is the African-American Civil War Memorial, followed by a walk down U Street. Then participants visit the White House, the Vietnam War Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial. The tour concludes at historically black Howard University.
DC Tours
The Black Heritage Group Tour is led by DC Tours and leaves every day at 8 a.m. The tour is for groups of 20 or more. The bus will pick up the group from the hotel to start the journey. The price is $44 for adults, $33 for children. The purpose of the tour is to focus on African-Americans who have made significant contributions to the United States, according to the Web site. The tour visits 20 sites, including Frederick Douglass' home, the Martin Luther King Jr. library, the African Art Museum and Duke Ellington's home.
Cultural Tourism DC
The Capitol building is a stop on the Cultural Tourism DC tour.
Cultural Tourism DC has created the African American Heritage Trail tour. This tour is free because it is self-led. The Web site details 98 sites in 15 sections that can be visited. The tour goes more in depth into African-American history in Washington, D.C., than other similar tours. The entire District of Columbia is covered in this tour, if every site were to be visited. A tourist could easily make a side trip to any of these sites. Visiting the Capitol building will put a visitor close to Lincoln Park, where there is a statue of Abraham Lincoln freeing slaves. A trip to Dupont Circle will allow for a trip to Langston Hughes' former residence.
