AAMP - African American Heritage Tour of Annapolis

HAPPY BLACK HISTORY MONTH!! In celebration of Black History month, the Alpha Academy mentoring program had two sessions. On our second session, held February 18th, we took our mentees on a walking tour where they learned about the rich BLACK history that built the city of Annapolis.

The tour was led by Janice Hayes-Williams & Stacie Williams of Our Local Legacy Tours. The version of the tour that we went on was called the "Up Town Tour".

We started at Asbury United Methodist Church on West St., we visited and learned about the Stanton Center and its importance to the community being one of the first 1 room school houses in Annapolis for black boys and girls.

Our next stop was the Civil Rights Foot Soldiers Memorial and learned about the March on Washington where 500 residents from Annapolis and Anne Arundel County loaded buses to attend the March on Washington on August 28th 1963 to fight for jobs and freedom. We learned about how this was one of the major turning points in the Civil Rights Movement.

Next we were given special access to tour the Banneker Douglas museum and learn about the artifacts and paintings inside as well as the history of the building and what it meant for black people in Annapolis, and many other historical facts on the way.

We also visited the State House, took a tour of the inside, and learned about Thurgood Marshall and about his statue located right out back.

This was an amazing session that had our mentees mind blown with the rich history they learned, and they had plenty of questions for our tour guides. We encourage all who have not taken any of the Black History Walking Tours to schedule one for you and your family in 2023. It is truly an experience!