African American History Driving Tour by Bus (Closed-Top)

What your day looks like

Washington, DC has been a center of African-American history and culture since the creation of this “Federal District”. Visit the sites rooted in our nation’s history thanks to the contributions of freed and enslaved African-Americans. Find out how they shaped our city and our country. Stand exactly where Civil Rights heroes and icons stood, and changed the history of our great Nation! This tour explores the rich and often untold history of African Americans in our Nation's Capital. Beginning in the 17th century when African-Americans were first brought to the North American colony of Jamestown, Virginia, in 1619; they have contributed to the creation and flourishing of our Nation's Capital. This tour highlights significant areas starting with a drive to Cedar Hill in the historic community of Anacostia, the home of the famous freed slave and abolitionist Frederick Douglass, a renowned civil rights activist, lawyer, and writer during his life. After taking a glimpse into the past with the visit to the home of Frederick Douglass, we will visit Howard University, which is one of the oldest black universities in the United States. On the way to Howard University, we will drive by Lincoln Park to visit the statue of educator, activist, and founder of the National Council of Negro Women, Mary McLeod Bethune. Following the visit to the beautiful Howard University campus, we will drive through LeDroit Park, Shaw Neighborhood and historic “U” Street. These areas of D.C. showcase the vibrant and unique local culture that still thrives in these neighborhoods. Home to the largest urban African-American community in the United States in the early 1900's it created its own “Black Broadway,” a home to entertainment legends from past and present. Journey into downtown DC to the site of the national headquarters of the National Council of Negro Women, Freedom Plaza on Pennsylvania Avenue, and the M.L.K. Memorial. As we head downtown, we will enter Logan Circle and see the historic Metropolitan AME Church and the Mary McLeod Bethune Council House. Finally, you will stand where Civil Rights heroes and icons stood and changed the history of our great Nation at the temple-like Lincoln Memorial. The view across the Mall, as well as the one into our past that the tour provides, will give you a glimpse into the richly intricate pattern that African Americans brought to the stunning tapestry that depicts American history and will leave you breathless. This tour concludes with reserved entry into the National Museum of African American History and Culture.