A new booklet that helps people discover Black history in Hampton Roads is available at welcome and visitors centers.
“A Trail of Trials and Triumphs: Unveiling Black History in Hampton Roads” suggests tours of historical sites and organizes the stops in the best order for the day.
Amelia Ross-Hammond, a member of the Virginia Beach City Council, developed the guide with Kurt Krause, former president of the Virginia Travel Association. Ross-Hammond is also the founder and chairperson of the Virginia African American Cultural Center.
“I believe knowledge is power, and we deliberately chose the title ‘Trials and Triumphs’,” Ross-Hammond said. “It was important that we also share the overcoming so that message for our younger kids, for any of them who see this, is that we can also achieve.”
The project evolved from a tourism brochure about important historical sites in Virginia Beach. The cultural center produced it in partnership with the Virginia Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau during the days of the pandemic.
“We weren’t allowed to congregate together, but this gave people an opportunity to learn about the culture and history of African Americans in this area,” Ross-Hammond said. “You could still go — just your family in your car — using this and visit these different spots.”
Ross-Hammond met Krause, then the president and CEO of Visit Norfolk, during a chamber of commerce trip, and they spoke about expanding the project.
They set to work in 2023 to produce a guidebook about African-American history and heritage in Hampton Roads that would curate tours to historic locations — like the one-room Pleasant Ridge School in Virginia Beach, the Portsmouth Colored Community Library Museum and the Newsome House Museum in Newport News. There are also multiple locations connected to the Underground Railroad.
“All of our destinations in Hampton Roads had some type of brochure, and, relative to the other brochures they distributed, their historic Black brochure was one of the most popular for all travelers,” Krause said. “But travelers don’t know borders.”
Support for the project included funding through the General Assembly and local governments, as well as efforts by tourism organizations.
Krause said the guides are available locally as well as at welcome centers leading into the region. The Virginia Tourism Corporation is helping distribute the materials at those centers.
He and Ross-Hammond hope to produce more copies of the book and incorporate technology into future incarnations so people can collect information with their phones as they visit sites.
“We are blessed with just a bundle of great attractions and stories,” he said.
Ross-Hammond said she’s excited for people to use the book, explore and learn.
“If this gets into the hands of people visiting our area, they will see the wealth of African-American history we have in Hampton Roads,” she said.
