421 views • posted 02/03/2023 • updated 09/15/2023
The Black Heritage Trail is a National Recreation Trail (NRT) that embodies the contributions of African Americans from Columbus.
Designated in 2000
• View more details for this trail
in the NRT Database
• Learn about the NRT Program.
The Columbus, Georgia Black Heritage Trail is an urban trail, portions of which provide excellent scenic views of both the Chattahoochee River and the urban historic district.
The Black Heritage Trail shows parts of Columbus you may never have known, but it also opens your eyes to the legacy of slavery, segregation, and the civil rights movement. It allows you to see both the beauty and despair that echoes through African American communities throughout Columbus and the South.
The trail travels throughout downtown and midtown Columbus and identifies 30 African American heritage landmarks, buildings, and stories of noteworthy events that date back to the 1800's. The NRT symbol is affixed to the 14th Street pedestrian bridge that crosses the Chattahoochee River from Alabama to Georgia.
Some of the stops along the way include the Friendship Baptist Church, the First Interracial Law Firm in Columbus, the Columbus Urban League , and the Mildred L. Terry public library, the first public library for blacks in a segregated Columbus, the Springer Opera House, Prince Hall Masonic Lodge where Martin Luther King Jr. spoke, and the Ma Rainey (known as the Mother of the Blues) Museum. Below is the complete list of stops:
Although you can follow the Black Heritage Trail in Columbus on a self-guided tour, there are probably many places you'll miss and facts that aren’t readily available. Columbus Georgia Tours / Vicinity Tours offers the only Black Heritage Tour in Columbus. It is two full hours packed with information on the sites of historic importance to African American culture in Columbus. For more information on the Black Heritage Trail visit: https://www.exploregeorgia.org...
Metropolitan Baptist Church – 1633 5th Avenue; Established in April 1890.
14th Street Bridge over the Chattahoochee River
Old Slave Cemetery – 6th Avenue and 6th Street (Northeast corner)
