FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 3rd, 2023

LOUISIANA OFFICE OF TOURISM ANNOUNCES PLANNING MEETINGS TO RELAUNCH THE AFRICAN AMERICAN HERITAGE TRAIL


Monroe, LA– The Louisiana Office of Tourism will conduct a series of meetings across the state to plan the redesign of the Louisiana African American Heritage Trail. Originally launched in 2008, the trail will be changed through a site nomination process. These meetings will provide an overview of the new trail and explain the nomination process. All sites on the trail must be nominated, even sites on the current trail.


The Louisiana African American Heritage Trail will start from the arrival of ships carrying the enslaved arriving in Louisiana in 1719 and continue all the way through the Civil Rights period. This will include slavery, sharecropping, Reconstruction, and the Jim Crow era, positioning the state for the Modern Civil Rights Movement. The trail will explore the themes of music, literature, entrepreneurship, invention, agriculture, commerce, and much more.


“The new Louisiana African American Heritage Trail will focus on stories and sites visitors to our state can experience,” said Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser. “Just as in the Louisiana Civil Rights Trail, there are more stories to be told and more contributions needing recognition. I encourage everyone to get involved, attend a meeting in their area, and help ensure this trail includes all the stories, people and locations that play a critical role in this huge part of Louisiana’s history.”


Monroe Meeting Details:

Monroe Regional Meeting
When: Thursday, October 12, 2023 at 10 am
Where: Northeast Louisiana Delta African American Heritage Museum
1051 Chennault Park Dr.
Monroe, LA