African-American Heritage Sites facts for kids

Capt. Charles Young

The National Park System helps us learn about the past. It protects important places and stories, including the history and contributions of African Americans. Over the years, many African Americans have played key roles in the National Park Service.

Some of the first African Americans who helped shape the National Parks were:

• Early Leaders
  • Charles Young: He was a Captain in the 9th Cavalry Regiment, also known as the Buffalo Soldiers. In 1903, he became an early Superintendent of Sequoia National Park. He led two groups of Buffalo Soldiers to protect the giant trees and the park. While there, they built a road to the Giant's Grove, making it easier for people to visit the park.
  • Robert Stanton: He was the Director of the National Park Service from 1997 to 2001. This was a very important leadership role.
  • Other Superintendents and Deputy Directors: People like Robert Stanton (National Capital Parks, 1970–1971), Georgia Ellard (Rock Creek Park, 1977–1988), Garry Traynham (Allegheny Portage, 1990–1995), and Donald Murphy (Deputy Director, 2002–2005) also held important leadership positions. They helped manage and care for our national parks.

Parks That Tell African American Stories

Many national parks and historic sites across the United States help tell the stories of African American history and culture. These places preserve important moments and achievements.

Here are some of the parks that highlight these stories:

• African Burial Ground National Monument, New York, NY: This site protects the remains of over 400 enslaved and free Africans buried in the 17th and 18th centuries.
• Booker T. Washington National Monument, Hardy, VA: This park tells the story of Booker T. Washington, who was born into slavery and became a famous educator and leader.
• Boston African American National Historic Site, Boston, MA: This site preserves historic buildings and tells the story of Boston's 19th-century African American community.
• Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site, Topeka, KS: This site commemorates the landmark Supreme Court case that ended segregation in public schools.
• Cane River Creole National Historical Park, Natchez, LA: This park explores the history of Creole culture, including the lives of enslaved and free African Americans.
• Colonial National Historical Park, Yorktown, VA: This park includes stories of early African Americans in Jamestown.
• Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park, Dayton, OH: This park includes the home of Paul Laurence Dunbar, a famous African American poet.
• Frederick Douglass National Historic Site, Washington, D.C.: This site preserves the home of Frederick Douglass, a former enslaved person who became a powerful abolitionist and writer.
• Fort Davis National Historic Site, Fort Davis, TX: This fort tells the story of the Buffalo Soldiers who served there.
• Gateway Arch National Park, St. Louis, MO: This park shares the stories of Black frontiersmen who explored the American West.
• George Washington Carver National Monument, Diamond, MO: This park honors George Washington Carver, a brilliant scientist and inventor.
• Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Salt Flat, TX: This park also shares the history of the Buffalo Soldiers in the American West.
• Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, Harpers Ferry, WV: This park includes the story of Frederick Douglass's visit and his efforts against slavery.
• Lincoln Home National Historic Site, Springfield, IL: This site tells the story of Abraham Lincoln, who led the country during the Civil War and worked to end slavery.
• Little Rock Central High School, Little Rock, AR: This site remembers the "Little Rock Nine," who bravely integrated the high school in 1957.
• Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site, Richmond, VA: This site honors Maggie L. Walker, a pioneering African American businesswoman and community leader.
• Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site, Atlanta, GA: This park preserves the birthplace, church, and tomb of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a leader of the Civil Rights Movement.
• Mary McLeod Bethune Council House National Historic Site, Washington, D.C.: This site honors Mary McLeod Bethune, an educator and civil rights activist.
• New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park, New Orleans, LA: This park celebrates the history of jazz music, which has deep roots in African American culture.
• Nicodemus National Historic Site, Nicodemus, KS: This site preserves the history of the only remaining African American settlement in the western United States.
• Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial, Put-in-Bay, OH: This memorial includes the stories of Black sailors who fought in the War of 1812.
• Petersburg National Battlefield, Petersburg, VA: This battlefield tells the story of the United States Colored Troops who fought bravely in the Civil War.
• Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial, Concord NWS, Concord, CA: This memorial remembers the African American sailors who died in a tragic explosion during World War II.
• San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, San Francisco, CA: This park explores the history of African Americans in maritime industries.
• Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail, Montgomery, Lowndes & Dallas Counties, AL: This trail marks the route of the historic Civil Rights marches for voting rights.
• Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve, Jacksonville, FL: This preserve includes Kingsley Plantation, which tells the story of enslaved people in Florida.
• Tuskegee Airman National Historic Site, Tuskegee, AL: This site honors the Tuskegee Airmen, the first African American military aviators.
• Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site, Tuskegee, AL: This site preserves the historic campus of Tuskegee University, founded by Booker T. Washington.