“If a race has no history, it has no worthwhile tradition, it becomes a negligible factor in the thought of the world, and it stands in danger of being exterminated.”
— Carter G. Woodson, The Mis-education of the Negro (1933)

This tour was created out of a community effort to protect the truth that the strength of the United States has always been tied to the contributions of African Americans — contributions forged through struggle, resilience, and achievement that cannot be erased. Across the country, lessons about race and Black history are being cut back or reshaped, leaving fewer spaces where the full story can be told. Out of that reality came a determination: if classrooms and public spaces are silenced, then communities must take the lead in keeping history alive. The Black Wall Street Heritage Tour is one of those responses — a journey that opens the door for the next generation to learn what is often left untold, while giving adults the chance to stand in that story, reflect on it, and carry it forward with purpose. It was born not just as a trip, but as an act of resistance through memory, culture, and truth.

Since 2021, at least 18 states have passed laws that limit how teachers can talk about race, slavery, and racism in classrooms (Najarro, 2023). At the same time, only 12 states in the nation require African American history to be taught in schools, and some of those have even added new rules that weaken those requirements (Lyons, 2024). These changes mean fewer opportunities for young people to encounter Black history in public education, and fewer chances for our stories to shape the nation’s collective memory.

The Black Wall Street Heritage Tour is a way to push back against that silence. On this journey, travelers walk the same streets where Black businesses once thrived, visit churches and cultural landmarks that gave the community strength, and hear stories that no textbook can truly capture. From moments of quiet reflection to times of joyful celebration, the tour creates space for learning, dialogue, and connection.

At its core, this is about communities refusing to let their stories be erased. The Black Wall Street Heritage Tour makes sure Greenwood’s legacy lives on — not just as memory, but as proof of what people can build, protect, and pass down. And while this story rises from the Black experience, its lessons belong to everyone. It is both a tribute and a call to action: for us, our children, and our neighbors to carry forward the history that others may try to erase.

— Written by Kevin Hamilton, Founder of Travel Daddy Tours