BlackVoices History Quest, Black History In Your Backyard: Boston Edition

You can plan a trip with your family to these places with the helpful map, courtesy of MapQuest, below!

If we missed a place that you know and love, let us know in the comments, tweet it to us using the hashtag #BHMQuest or post it on our Facebook wall. We'll keep adding to this map and gallery as the month goes on.

Boston Museum of African American History

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The Boston Museum of African American History painstakingly documents the rich history of African-Americans in Boston and Massachusetts (another branch is located in Nantucket) and celebrates the black community's invaluable contributions to American life in the Bay State. The museum's Boston campus consists of two adjoining structures in the city's Beacon Hill neighborhood. Opened in 1835 and dedicated to educating the African-American children of Boston, the Abiel Smith School houses the bulk of the museum's exhibits as well as the museum store, which sells a variety of items reflective of the exhibits. The African Meeting House, described by Frommer's as "the oldest standing black church in the United States," offers exhibits that examine Boston's role in the abolitionist movement that helped bring an end to slavery in America. On display during Black History Month and continuing through the end of March is "Portraits of Purpose," an exhibit that celebrates Boston's African-American activists, artists, authors, educators, elected officials, entrepreneurs and patriots of the late 20th and 21st centuries. In addition to its exhibits -- most of them displayed on a rotating basis -- the museum regularly schedules lectures, seminars and educational programs to inform the public about the ways in which Boston's vibrant African-American community has enriched the life of the city, state and nation.

--Don Amerman

Address: 46 Joy St., Boston, MA 02108
Telephone: 617-720-2991
Hours Of Operation: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday; closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day.
Cost: $5 for adults 18 through 61; $3 for students 13 through 17 and adults 62 and older; members and children 12 and younger admitted free.