African American Heritage
Day Tour 1: Detroit Attractions
Tour Overview
 From the
anti-slavery movement of the 1800s, to the civil rights unrest of the 1960s,
to the development of new musical genres, Detroit's African American heritage
is full of significant and influential people, places, and events. It is a rich heritage that continues today,
with the election of African American Kwame Kilpatrick as mayor in 2001, the
youngest mayor in the city's history.
The sites and attractions below will open your eyes to the impact of
African Americans on Detroit, as well as the impact of Detroit on African
Americans.
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Tour Map
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First Congregational Church of Detroit
33
East Forest Avenue, Detroit
Website
 Detroit
played a crucial role in the Underground Railroad as the last stop in a long
journey for fugitive slaves before crossing the river to Canada and
freedom. At the forefront of the
national anti-slavery movement was the First Congregational Church. Visitors to this beautiful church can take
part in an Underground Railroad Flight to Freedom Program Tour, a
re-enactment of slaves escaping the south (call ahead for reservations). On your way to First Congregational Church,
you will pass Second
Baptist Church, another Underground Railroad and anti-slavery
historic landmark. From 1836 to 1865,
Second Baptist received over 5,000 fugitive slaves who were given food,
clothing, and shelter on their way to freedom in Canada. It is
also here that in 1859 Abolitionist Frederick Douglass spoke minutes before a
meeting with Revolutionary John Brown in a Detroit home to plan methods of
freeing slaves.
Charles
H. Wright Museum of African American History
315 East
Warren, Detroit
Website
 Dr. Charles Wright, a Detroit obstetrician and gynecologist, established
the City's first International Afro-American Musuem in 1965. Three decades and three addresses later, a
new Museum of African American History was opened in the heart of Detroit's Cultural
Center. The 120,000 square
foot, state-of-the-art facility is considered one of the largest African
American history museums in the world.
The buidling house a core exhibition called And Still We Rise which
takes visitors on a journey through 3.5 million years of courage,
deterimination, ingenuity, and spriitual energy of African Americans as they
pursued emancipation and full rights of citizenship. In addition to And Still We Rise, the
museum showcases a number of other interesting limited-run exhibittions.
Detroit Institute of Arts
5200
Woodward Avenue, Detroit
Website
 The DIA has
been a hallmark of Detroit culture since its founding in 1885. The museum covers over 600,000 square feet
and houses one of the largest and most diverse collections of multicultural
art in the United States. The museum's
extensive collection of African American art includes works by Romare Bearden
and Detroiter Charles McGee. To top it off, visitors are treated to
Mexican artist Diego Rivera's Detroit Industry fresco cycle, considered
Rivera's most important work in the U.S. Rivera
painted 27 fresco panels, many of them modeled after the Ford Rouge
Plant, on the walls of the large garden court inside the DIA.
Motown Historical Museum
2648
West Grand Boulevard, Detroit
Website
 In 1959,
upstart African American songwriter and record producer Berry Gordy Jr. purchased
a humble two story home in Detroit, moving his family into one half and
setting up a studio in the other. He
christened it "Hitsville U.S.A." and from this building grew Motown
from a startup business to what became by the mid-70s the largest independent
record company in the world. The
Motown Historical Museum includes models of eight houses on West Grand
Boulevard acquired by the company to house its growing operations until it
moved its offices to a high-rise in downtown Detroit in 1968. Among the many displays, visitors are
treated to a tour of the studio where Motown greats such as Martha Reeves and the
Vandellas, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, the
Temptations, the Four Tops, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Diana Ross and the
Supremes, and the Jackson Five actually recorded their hits.
Tour Map
Number of Destinations: 4
Overall Tour Time: 1 day
Extended Tour --
International Gospel Music Hall of Fame & Museum
18301 West
McNichols, Detroit
Website
 We can assure you that squeezing the above attractions into one day
will be quite a challenge. However, if
you are unable to arrange an Underground Railroad Tour at First Congregational,
or you decide to bypass one of the other attractions, a visit to the
International Gospel Music Hall of Fame & Museum would be a great
substitute. Founded in 1995 as a
non-profit organization by DoRohn Entertainment's president and gospel artist
David Gough, the International Gospel Music Hall of Fame and Museum preserves
and celebrates the work of the world's legendary and influential gospel music
artists and entertainers. The museum is housed in the DoRohn Entertainment
studios and is open for tours by appointment, so call ahead. Your visit will be worthwhile. The museum includes a collection of
recordings, documents, photographs and memorabilia from gospel music legends past and present. In addition, you will get to experience a
recording session in a real studio.
Choose gospel songs from an extensive list of sound tracks, record
your voice over the track, and even have a CD burned of your session!
More
Information
Click on the links below for more information on other worthwhile attractions
in the Windsor area:
African American Heritage Day Tour
2: Windsor Attractions
African American Heritage Day
Tour 3: The Henry Ford
City of Detroit
Cultural Center
Detroit Repertory Theatre
Downtown
Hines Drive
Music Heritage
Windsor Tour
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