The National Park System preserves the history and contributions of African Americans as part of the nation's history. Over the years, the staff of the National Park Service has reflected the nation's social history. Among the first African Americans who influenced the course of the National Parks were:
Early Superintendents (not fully inclusive) Charles Young: He served as an early Superintendent of Sequoia National Park in 1903. As a Captain in the 9th Cavalry Regiment, he was directed to take two troops of Buffalo soldiers to the Giants Grove of Sequoia and protect the trees and the park from damage. While there, the two companies completed construction of a road to the Giant's Grove, making public access possible.Sequoia National Park Robert Stanton, National Capital Parks (East) (1970–1971)Historic Listing of National Park Service Officials, USDI, NPS, May 1, 1991, by Harold Danz. Updates after publication by Public Affairs. Georgia Ellard, Rock Creek Park (1977–1988) Garry Traynham, Allegheny Portage (1990–1995) Deputy Directors Donald Murphy, (2002–2005) Director Robert Stanton, (1997–2001)
Parks The National Park Service has preserved many sites that are directly related to African American History, Heritage, or Culture.
Name City State African Burial Ground National Monument New York New York Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial Arlington County Virginia Booker T. Washington National Monument Hardy Virginia Boston African American National Historic Site Boston Massachusetts Brown v. Board of Education National Historic SiteTopeka Kansas Cane River Creole National Historical Park Natchez Louisiana Colonial National Historical Park (Jamestown African Americans) Yorktown Virginia Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park (Paul L. Dunbar House) Dayton Ohio Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument (Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ) Chicago Illinois Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument (Graball Landing on the Tallahatchie River and Tallahatchie County Second District Courthouse) Tallahatchie County MississippiFrederick Douglass National Historic Site Washington D.C. Fort Davis National Historic Site (Buffalo Soldiers) Fort Davis Texas Fort Scott National Historic Site (Kansas 1st Colored Dragoons) Fort Scott KansasFort Smith National Historic Site (from slavery to Parker's Court) Fort Smith ArkansasGateway Arch National Park (Black Frontiersman) St. Louis MissouriGeorge Washington Birthplace National Monument (Washington's Slaves, Indentured Servants, & Free Blacks) Washington's Birthplace Virginia George Washington Carver National Monument Diamond Missouri Guadalupe Mountains National Park (Buffalo Soldiers) Salt Flat Texas Harpers Ferry National Historical Park Harpers Ferry West VirginiaHopewell Furnace National Historic Site Berks County Pennsylvania Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve New Orleans Louisiana Lincoln Memorial Washington D.C. Little Rock Central High School Little Rock Arkansas Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site Richmond Virginia Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site Atlanta Georgia Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Washington D.C. Mary McLeod Bethune Council House National Historic Site Washington D.C. New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park New Orleans Louisiana Nicodemus National Historic Site, Nicodemus Kansas Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial (Black Sailors) Put-in-Bay Ohio Petersburg National Battlefield Petersburg Virginia Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial, Concord California Richmond National Battlefield Park Richmond Virginia San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park (African American Maritime History) San Francisco California Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail Montgomery, Lowndes, & Dallas Counties Alabama Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve (Kingsley Plantation) Jacksonville Florida Tuskegee Airman National Historic Site Tuskegee Alabama Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site Tuskegee Alabama Virgin Islands National Park St. John Virgin Islands
See also Canada African-Canadian Heritage Tour List of black Canadians North American Black Historical Museum Slavery in Canada United States African American Historic Places African Americans in France General African diaspora Black people List of topics related to Black and African people
References
Bibliography Savage, Beth L. (Ed.) African American Historic Places, National Register of Historic Places National Park Service, Preservation Press, 1994
External links
NPS African American Heritage – Places of Struggle, Community and Triumph African American Heritage – NPS Cultural Resources African American Sites – NPS