NC African American History & Culture Tour
Extend your stay after the Summit with a guided day of North Carolina's most important Black history and cultural landmarks — brunch in Durham, Hayti and Black Wall Street, the Pauli Murray Center, and Raleigh's Pope House, Shaw University, and NC Freedom Park.
Registrants must provide their own transportation for the Sunday history & culture tour (and for the Thursday law school tours). Stops are spread across Durham and Raleigh, so plan to drive, carpool, or use a rideshare service. You can find or offer a ride with other registrants on the Connect page.
Find or offer a ride →Tentative schedule
SundayTimes, seating, and site access are being confirmed. Final itinerary depends on interest and logistics.
- 10:00 AM – 11:15 AMDame's Chicken & Waffles455 S Driver St, Durham, NC 27703Start with brunch. Confirm group seating. Sunday hours are listed as 10 AM–2:30 PM.
- 11:15 AM – 11:25 AMDrive to Hayti Heritage CenterApprox. 2–3 miles / 8–12 min — short transfer.
- 11:30 AM – 12:00 PMHayti Heritage Center — exterior/context stop804 Old Fayetteville St, Durham, NC 27701Closed Sunday, but the exterior is still meaningful. Official site lists Sunday as closed.
- 12:00 PM – 12:10 PMDrive to Black Wall Street / Parrish StreetApprox. 1–2 miles / 5–10 min — short transfer.
- 12:10 PM – 12:45 PMBlack Wall Street / Parrish StreetParrish Street, downtown DurhamOutdoor walking / context stop.
- 12:45 PM – 1:00 PMDrive to Pauli Murray CenterApprox. 2–3 miles / 8–15 min — depends on parking.
- 1:00 PM – 1:45 PMPauli Murray Center / childhood home906 Carroll St, Durham, NC 27701Best if private Sunday tour is confirmed. Private group visits may be requested by mutual agreement with at least 2 weeks' notice.
- 1:45 PM – 2:35 PMDrive to RaleighApprox. 25–30 miles / 40–50 min — build in cushion.
- 2:35 PM – 3:20 PMPope House Museum511 S Wilmington St, Raleigh, NC 27601Strong Sunday anchor. Open Sundays 1–4 PM; free admission, donations appreciated.
- 3:20 PM – 3:30 PMWalk / drive to Shaw University / Estey HallApprox. 0.2–0.4 miles / 5–8 min walk — keep it short.
- 3:30 PM – 4:00 PMShaw University / Estey Hall — exterior stop721 S Wilmington St, Raleigh, NC 27601Exterior / context only. Shaw requires pre-registration and does not allow self-guided campus tours.
- 4:05 PM – 4:35 PMNorth Carolina Freedom ParkCorner of Lane & Wilmington Streets, RaleighEssential Sunday-friendly outdoor reflection stop.
- 4:35 PMReturn / Depart
Stops and landmarks along the route
A preview of the sites on the itinerary, from Durham's Black Wall Street to Raleigh's Freedom Park.
Four blocks that anchored the most prosperous Black business district in the country in the early 1900s.
Photo: DiscoA340 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Founded in 1907 and still operating — one of the oldest Black-owned banks in the United States.
Photo: Alexisrael · CC BY-SA 3.0
The 1891 St. Joseph's AME sanctuary, heart of Durham's historic Hayti community. Exterior stop on Sunday.
Photo: Ildar Sagdejev · CC BY-SA 4.0
National Historic Landmark and childhood home of the lawyer, activist, and priest whose arguments shaped civil rights law.
Photo: Nyttend · public domain
Home of Dr. M.T. Pope — the only African American house museum in North Carolina. Open Sundays 1–4 PM.
Photo: Willthacheerleader18 · CC0
Built in 1874 — the first building in the nation constructed for the higher education of Black women.
Photo: Daderot · public domain
Opened in 2023 in downtown Raleigh, with the Beacon of Freedom rising over walls of words from Black North Carolinians.
Photo: LikeGrantTookRichmond · CC BY-SA 4.0Photos are freely licensed images from Wikimedia Commons (public domain, CC0, or Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike), credited above.
Tell us you're interested
Zero commitment — this helps us decide whether to run the tour and how many buses to book.