African American Heritage Tour
DAY 1
CLARKSDALE TO MOUND BAYOU 24 miles
MOUND BAYOU TO CLEVELAND 10 miles
CLEVELAND TO GREENVILLE 36 miles
Total – 70 miles
Start your adventure in Clarksdale., the former home of blues greats W.C. Handy, Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson and Howlin’ Wolf. Head for the Clarksdale Station and Blues Alley, the renovated railroad depot that houses the
Delta Blues Museum, to bone up on the blues, take a look at Muddy Waters’ modest cabin and purchase a blues CD. Browse the shops along Delta Avenue and take a stroll down Issaquena and Sunflower Avenues, home to many historic blues sites. Continue along Highway 61 South to Mound Bayou, the oldest African American town in the United States. One of the nation’s most historic black culture sites,
Mound Bayou is the oldest town in America founded by emancipated slaves. A driving tour and brochure are available to explore the rich history center of African American social life following the Civil War. Pick up a one of a kind collectible from
Peter’s Pottery, operated by the talented Woods brothers. Stop in
Cleveland for shopping at the Historic Cotton Row District, then take a detour to
Dockery Farms, the plantation where the first blues tunes may have been played. Continue south to
Greenville for dinner, followed by an evening in the blues clubs along Walnut Street or casino gaming along the waterfront.
DAY 2
GREENVILLE TO JACKSON 117 miles
Go to Jackson and begin at the
Old Capitol State Historical Museum, featuring exhibits related to the history of Mississippi government. Next stop—the
Smith Robertson Museum and Cultural Center celebrating African American history, heritage and art in the first public school for African American children in Jackson. Enjoy lunch in the
Farish Street Historic District, once a center of African American business and entertainment. Call ahead to reserve a tour of the inspiring Medgar Evers Home, the site of the civil rights leader’s assassination in 1963. Visit the
Medgar Evers Library, where a life-sized, bronze statue of Evers is the centerpiece. Wrap up the day with a tour of the impressive Tougaloo College Art Collection, which contains more than 1,000 pieces.
DAY 3
JACKSON TO PORT GIBSON 50 miles PORT GIBSON TO LORMAN 10 miles LORMAN TO NATCHEZ 30 miles Total – 90 miles
Head south on the
Natchez Trace Parkway to Port Gibson and the Cultural Crossroads, a workshop and gallery for award-winning quilters. Then travel to the Matt Ross Administrative Building on Main Street for the civil rights photo exhibit, “No Easy Journey.” Alcorn State University, the nation’s first land grant college for African Americans, is in nearby Lorman and home to several antebellum structures listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Continue to Natchez, the oldest settlement on the Mississippi River and a city rich in African American history. Natchez is home to more than 500 antebellum mansions, churches and public buildings, many designed and built by slave artisans and craftsmen. Other stops include Forks of the Road, site of one of the antebellum South’s two largest slave markets; the
Natchez National Historical Park and the historic homes
Melrose and the
William Johnson House; and the
Natchez Museum of African American History and Culture. Browse the treasures at the Angelety House and Mostly African Market, many of which are imported from Africa. Enjoy an evening at
Natchez Under the Hill and its shops, restaurants and
casino gaming.
DAY 4
NATCHEZ TO HATTIESBURG 145 miles
HATTIESBURG TO MERIDIAN 91 miles
Total – 236 miles
Leave Natchez for
Hattiesburg, home of Osceola McCarty, who gave her life savings to establish a scholarship fund for minority students attending the University of Southern Mississippi. Drive through the Mobile Street Historic District downtown, a cultural resource of Hattiesburg’s African American heritage, developed into a major business district between 1895 and 1910. From Hattiesburg, travel to
Meridian to tour Con Sheehan Block, built on Main Street. In 1870 it was a hub for dentists, shop owners, doctors, pharmacists and other businesses owned and operated by African Americans. Visit Wechsler School, built in 1884, as the first brick public school built for African Americans in Mississippi. Tour the
E.F. Young, Jr., Manufacturing Company, the oldest African American-owned manufacturing company in the U.S. Drive to Okatibbee Cemetery and the graveside memorial to Meridianite James Chaney, a somber reminder of the sacrifices made during the Freedom Summer of 1964. Overnight in Meridian.
DAY 5
MERIDIAN TO COLUMBUS 119 miles
Drive north to
Columbus and visit “Catfish Alley,” a central meeting and business district for the Columbus African American community in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Tour
Union Academy, established in 1877 as the first free African American school in Columbus. After lunch, visit
Missionary Union Baptist Church, built in 1833. It’s the oldest African American church in northeast Mississippi. See the Bridge Street Bridge, designed by Horace King, an African American bridge builder, and completed in 1844. Have dinner and overnight in Columbus.
DAY 6
COLUMBUS TO KOSCIUSKO 88 miles
KOSCIUSKO TO OXFORD 117 miles
Total – 205 miles
Travel to
Kosciusko and drive by the building where Oprah Winfrey stood before her first audience at the Buffalo Community Center and recited her Easter speech. Then visit Oprah’s original home site. Depart for Oxford to visit the
Center for the Study of Southern Culture on the campus of the University of Mississippi. There you will discover the music, literature and folk life that are the very soul of Mississippi. The Blues Archive includes B.B. King’s personal collection of over 10,000 recordings. Explore the campus where James Meredith was the university’s first African American graduate in 1963.