African-American heritage tours

by Jamie Rhein on

With Leap Year we get an extra day for Black History Month. Even so, February is not enough to highlight all the places one might go to find out about African-American contributions. With just a few hours left, here are several tours designed to provide a scope of African-American history and culture. You don’t need to wait until next February–these are any time of year offerings.

In Washington, D.C., the company, Sightseeing Tours–The African American Tour specialists has three walking tour options: Walking in the Footsteps of Martin Luther King Jr. Tour; Duke Ellington’s Jazz Tour; and the Historical Educational Tour of U Street. U Street was the heart of the African American community from 1920-1950. The photo is of the Duke Ellington Mural on U Street. The company also has bus tours. The African American Heritage and Culture tour covers 200 years of history.

The African-American Heritage Tour in Durham, North Carolina includes North Carolina Central University, the first public liberal arts school for African-Americans and Stagville, a former plantation that is now a center for study about African-American life during slavery.

For a do-it-yourself itinerary of African-American sites in Mississippi, here are some suggestions. One place to stop is the Smith Robertson Museum and Cultural Center in Jackson. Here’s a place to learn about the “work, lifestyle and contributions of African Americans. One of them is Richard Wright who wrote the book Native Son.

The Quest for Freedom, Living History Tour in Columbia, Pennsylvania covers includes stops on the Underground Railroad.

In Savannah, Georgia, the African Influence Tour includes slavery, Gullah culture, Underground Railroad landmarks and the oldest African-American Baptist church in the United States.

The African-American Heritage tour in Detroit, Michigan has a menu of three tour options that encompass the scope of historical sites and landmarks.

The Black Heritage Trail tours in Boston, Massachusetts are offered by the Museum of African American History and cover the 19th century African-American community in this city.

What I’ve listed here are not all of the African-American Heritage tours by a long shot, but they are a place to start.

World Heritage Sites New Tentative List: Places We Love–You decide

by Jamie Rhein on

For the past weeks, we’ve have highlighted the 14 sites on the new Tentative List for U.S. World Heritage in a “Places we Love series.” Regardless,if they’re chosen within the next ten years–as long as it could take to become official, they are all worth a visit. But, people’s tastes differ. Some like history, while others are wild about nature. Buildings set some folks on fire, while for others, they are a yawn.

Of the 14 sites, which one would you choose? Check them out once more if you need to using the gallery and then make your choice on the survey. In March, we’ll let you know what Gadling readers think. Maybe the committee will listen to us. Each photo has a brief description culled from the previous posts.

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Southwest’s video response to “Pretty Girls” debacle

by Grant Martin on

Earlier this week, Soutwest Airlines came under fire again in the story about two young women begin escorted off a flight between Florida and California after causing a ruckus. In the public outcry and subsequent debate that followed, many people came to the defense of the embattled airline (check the Digg comments for some of the berating), but many of the facts still weren’t clear. Were the women actually causing problems? Were they really mistreated on the flight?

Well, in an effort to straighten out the matter, Paula Berg, PR from SWA has been in contact with the community including myself and one Mr. Cranky Flier pointing out their stand. Additionally, they’ve now posted a video on Youtube stating their stance. Despite the strange setting and verbage chosen by PR, the message basically confirms what most of us were suspecting: the women were being disruptive and Southwest chose to refund their return trips. Easy enough. Take a look:

[Via The Cranky Flier — although, I beat you to the punch on the first article. Ha!]

Wolves: Oscar winning material and no longer endangered

by Jamie Rhein on

At the end of this year’s Oscar winner for Short Film–Animated, “Peter and the Wolf,” the wolf goes free even after he made Peter not too happy. (Sorry if that ruins it for anyone.) The tolerance for the wolf is one that has been hard won.

Tolerance hasn’t been totally won, although, through the Endangered Species Act, government regulations have helped the gray wolf population grow in the Northern Rocky States. The population has grown so much that Interior Deputy Secretary Lynn Scarlett said the gray wolf is a “conservation success story.” For this reason, the wolf is being dropped from the list of endangered species, perhaps never to return.

When we went to Yellowstone National Park a few years ago, we did catch site of a gray wolf, one of the animals we were looking for. Unfortunately, wolves like to eat livestock, so farmers and ranchers in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming aren’t thrilled with wolves who encroach on what they rely on for a living.

The wolf saga is an example of the push and pull between environmentalism and business. The tourist industry doesn’t have much pull in this battle, but maybe the wolves will get a hint that hanging around Old Faithful isn’t a bad idea.

Photo of the Day (2-27-08)

by Jamie Rhein on

One reason I like this photo is because of the boy wearing the red sweater. He brings the photographer into the shot with his glance. The second reason I like this shot is the mix of clothes the kids are wearing. It reminds me of any village where I’ve traveled where kids have access to western style clothes but mix it up with traditional items.

The book, a Lao alphabet book, is from a project called Big Brother Mouse that fosters literacy in Laos. The book was left with two older kids in the village. According to the description by uncorneredmarket who posted the shot, it seemed the kids hadn’t seen a book before and were delighted–a fine interaction indeed.

If you’ve had a fine interaction, share it with us with your photos by posting them at Gadling’s Flickr photo pool.