About The Program

The Virginia Foundation for the Humanities (VFH) and the Virginia Tourism Corporation (VTC) have collaborated to develop the African American Heritage Program as an educational and economic resource for the Commonwealth. The initiative is designed to encourage tourism to African American heritage sites and organizations in Virginia while increasing knowledge of the African-American experience.

With funding provided by the Virginia General Assembly, the VFH is committed to creating a stronger basis for the interpretation of African American history by developing a database of African American Heritage. The VTC is dedicated to designing the trail and promoting the sites to potential visitors. Together, we are devoted to making Virginia one of the top travel destinations in the South for tourists interested in African American heritage.

components Of the Program:

African American Heritage Database
A comprehensive and continually expanding resource database of biographical materials and information on significant African American historic sites, that can be used by anyone interested in the experience of African American people in Virginia, or in the contributions African Americans have made to Virginia’s history.

African American Heritage Trails
A partnership between the VFH and the Virginia Tourism Corporation designed to encourage as many people as possible to visit Virginia’s African American historic sites. Drawing on information from the Database, this component of the program will result in a variety of publications and cooperative marketing efforts.

African American History in Virginia Grants
An effort to provide crucial financial support to organizations involved in the interpretation of Virginia’s African American heritage, and to support the goals of the Database Project and Heritage Trails Program.