The Boston Black Heritage Trail

Preview Steps

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• Step 1: Welcome to the Boston Black Heritage Trail. Managed and overseen by the National Park Service, this walk showcases the history and stories of a Black community that thrived in Beacon Hill around the time of the Civil War.

• Step 2: This community struggled and organized for equal rights and access to equal education. Community members championed the movement to abolish slavery and even housed freedom seekers on their journey along the Underground Railroad.

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  Step 3: The walk begins at the Robert Gould Shaw and Massachusetts 54th Regiment Memorial, opposite the State House, on Beacon Street.

• Step 4: The memorial commemorates one of the first Black fighting units to serve in the Civil War. Through their bravery, the regiment helped erode northern public opposition to the use of Black soldiers.

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  Step 5: The monument was sculpted by Augustus Saint-Gaudens. The setting was designed by Charles McKim.

• Step 6: McKim, Mead, and White architects also designed the Public Library and Symphony Hall.

Download the app to get all the steps for this walk.