Places of historic importance to African Americans are featured in three recent publications from regional tourist groups, all available free.
Philadelphia’s “Share the Heritage” is a 32-page booklet that covers historic people and sites, from Paul Robeson, the singer, actor and political figure, and Marian Anderson, the first black artist to star at the Metropolitan Opera, to Crystal Bird Fauset, a social worker elected to Congress in 1938, as well as arts and culture, places of historic importance, galleries, shops and night spots.
Information: Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau, 800-611-5958.
Virginia is offering “African-American Heritage Events and Cultural Interests.” Designed for children, it packs a lot in, starting with the cover picture of a 19th- or early 20th-Century wooden sculpture of a kneeling woman from the Hemba culture in the area that is now part of Zaire.
Inside the folder is a brief history of James Armistead, a black hero of the Revolution.
Historic and educational sites, with phone numbers and hours, are arranged by town.
Information: Virginia Division of Tourism, 800-321-3244.
The “St. Louis Multicultural Guide: Our People, Our Heritage, Our Legacy” covers African, Asian, Hispanic and Indian points of interest in 48 pages. A narrative on each group’s role in the city opens the book, with the African-American section touching on the Missouri Compromise, the Dred Scott case and the founding of Sumner High School, where Arthur Ashe and Dick Gregory were graduates.
Information: St. Louis Convention and Visitor Commission, 800-916-0040.
