black history virtual tours

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12 Black History Museums You Can Explore from Home

Looking for Black History Museums you can explore from home?  The Black experience is so vast and varied that there’s no end to what can be learned about it.  This is why when I travel, I visit local African-American History Museums to get a better feel for a new destination. On a trip to Georgia, my family and I visited the Jack Hadley Black History Museum and learned first-hand what it was like for the museum’s curator, Mr. Hadley, to grow up on a plantation.

But you don’t have to travel to explore some of the best exhibits in the country.  Thanks to technology, you can visit some of them virtually . If you’re interested in learning more about African American history and culture in the United States, there’s a bevy of museums and resources available online.

Google Arts & Culture and the United States Civil Rights Trail provide virtual tours, exhibits, and access to online archives that you can explore from home.

Here are some African American History and Civil Rights Museums that you can explore from home:

12 AFRICAN AMERICAN BLACK HISTORY MUSEUMS TO VISIT VIRTUALLY

National Museum of African American History & Culture Courtesy: bakdc/ Shutterstock

You can find a complete list of all the virtual tours offered by Google Arts & Culture here .

Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (Washington, DC)

Since opening in 2016, the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture has become one of the most popular museums in Washington, DC. Visitors are educated about the Black experience by going on a trip through time. The journey starts in Africa with its history galleries that span from Slavery to Emancipation and then from Segregation to Today.  More than 3,500 exhibits are available online.

Archives of African American Music & Culture (Bloomington, Indiana)

The collections in the Archives of African American Music & Culture museum highlight African American music ranging from classical, and religious, to popular music including R&B and Hip Hop.

The Museum of African American Art (Los Angeles, California)

The Museum of African American Art interprets, promotes, and preserves art by or about people of African descent. It was founded in 1976 to increase public awareness of African American Art.

The Gordon Parks Foundation (Pleasantville, New York)

You can take a trip through time with the life work of famed African American photographer, Gordon Parks. The Gordon Parks Foundation showcases Parks’s career, which spans from the 1940s up until his death in 2006. Parks’ photographs focused on race relations, Civil Rights, and urban life.

Dance Theater of Harlem (New York, New York)

The Dance Theater of Harlem is the first Black classical ballet company and the first major ballet company to prioritize Black dancers. This school was founded more than 50 years ago. There are four online exhibits about the history of this world-famous dance company as well as some amazing photos of the company over the years.

Negro Leagues Baseball Museum ( Kansas City, Missouri )

Watch a short film that provides an introduction to the Negro League Baseball League through the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum virtual tour. The film includes interviews with former Negro League players.

Frederick Douglass National Historic Site ( Washington, DC )

While many of the museums in Washington, DC have re-opened Cedar Hill, Frederick Douglass’s Historic home is still closed.  If you would like to learn more about Douglass, an ambassador, abolitionist, writer, and former slave you can explore his home virtually.  He purchased this stunning 21-room Victorian mansion in 1878. There are a number of rooms filled with artifacts that are viewable in the online tour.

The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) – University Libraries [Online Exhibit: African Americans at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 1892-1971] (Greensboro, NC)

The UNCG’s online exhibit offers a riveting look inside the lives of some African American employees who worked on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. This exhibit features not only photos of the Black workers in the late 1800s but there are artifacts listing how much the University paid some of its African American employees.

The Black Archives of Mid-America (Kansas City, Missouri)

The Black Archives of Mid-America offers two online exhibits: one about famous dancer Alvin Ailey; and the other about the Historic 18 th and Vine Jazz District in Kansas City.

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change (The King Center) (Atlanta, Georgia)

The King Center is part of the memorial and childhood home of Dr. King. This online exhibit contains various letters and miscellaneous documents and artifacts.

DuSable Museum of African American History (Chicago, Illinois)

Created in 1961, the DuSable Museum of African American History is one of the oldest museums of African American history. Originally started as the Ebony Museum of Negro History and Art, this institute was the largest caretaker of African American culture until the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture opened.

 Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site at Moton Field (Tuskegee, Alabama)

Take a virtual tour of the primary flight-training site for the Tuskeegee Airmen , the famed African American pilots of World War II.

SIX CIVIL RIGHTS MUSEUMS TO VISIT VIRTUALLY

You can find a complete list of all the virtual tours and experiences offered by the United States Civil Rights Trail here .

• National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel ( Memphis, Tennessee ) The National Civil Rights Museum was built around the Lorraine Motel, the location where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated in 1968. The museum which traces the Civil Rights Movement in America is filled with some great gems. My favorite exhibits included: a replica of a Montgomery city bus in which Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat for a white passenger and a garbage truck to commemorate the “I Am A Man Sanitation Workers Strike.” This strike, which Dr. King helped organize, was for the improvement of working conditions for Memphis sanitation workers. 
• National Center for Civil and Human Rights (Atlanta, Georgia) The National Center for Civil and Human Rights is a multicultural center, and it highlights the Civil Rights Movement and the modern human rights movement. The museum has a Voice of the Voiceless gallery, which showcases the Morehouse College Martin Luther King, Jr. Collection.
• International Civil Rights Center & Museum (Greensboro, North Carolina) The International Civil Rights Center & Museum is located in the original Woolworth’s building where the four North Carolina A&T State University students (also known as the Greensboro Four) staged a sit-in to challenge the “Whites Only” lunch counter. This museum commemorates the Greensboro Four’s role in launching the sit-in movement.
• Martin Luther King Birth Home The Martin Luther King Birth Home is the childhood home of Dr. King.  This museum which is part of the National Park Service, allows you to see where Dr. King spent the first 12 years of his life.
• Howard University Howard University is a historically Black university located in Washington, DC. The university, which was founded in 1867, is one of the premier Black institutions for higher learning in the country.  Take a 3D virtual tour of the university which is home to several buildings that have been designated as National Historic Landmarks. 
• Mississippi Civil Rights Museum The Mississippi Civil Rights Museum , which opened in 2017 is dedicated to educating visitors about the Civil Rights Movement.  It also provides more insight into the murders of Emmett Till, a 14-year-old teen that was visiting the state when he was brutally murdered, and Civil Rights Leader, Medgar Evers who was assassinated in front of his Mississippi home.

If you want to learn more about Black History, in addition to virtual tours Black History documentaries also provide some insight into the Black experience in America.  For more Black History inspiration follow us on Instagram .

National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel

For more articles on Black History in Travel:

• 10 Best US Cities to Learn About Black History
• Top 20 Best Black History Museums in the US to Visit
• 7 Best Sites to Learn about Black History in Washington, DC

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It's now possible to visit the Smithsonian's African American history museum virtually

Elliot C. Williams

The NMAAHC launched a "Searchable Museum" this week, translating its archives and stories into an interactive digital experience. Alan Karchmer/Courtesy of the Smithsonian hide caption

Anyone who's been to the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture will speak of its elevator ride through time, which takes visitors from the present day to the 15th century and kicks off the first exhibit, Slavery & Freedom . With the launch of a new virtual platform, visitors can now travel on the elevator down to that exhibit without ever leaving their homes.

The Searchable Museum , launched Thursday, transforms the artifacts, stories, and interactive experiences of the physical exhibit into a digital platform where museumgoers can take it in at their own pace.

Eventually, the museum plans to bring all of its exhibits online. The next exhibit, Making a Way Out of No Way , will go online this spring.

"History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived — but if faced with courage, need not be lived again, " echoes Angelou's voice as a video plays, showing images from the past 600 years of Black history.

While nothing quite matches seeing or touching certain artifacts in person, the digital museum will provide an inside look into some previously off-limits areas. Visitors can, for the first time, go inside the Point of Pines Slave Cabin, one of two remaining slave cabins on Edisto Island, South Carolina, with a 3-D virtual tour.

Unlike other Smithsonian museums, the NMAAHC has required timed-entry passes to enter the site almost exclusively since it opened in 2016. Though these timed tickets are still free of charge, they can be snapped up pretty quickly: Many tickets for December have already been claimed. (During the pandemic, plenty of Smithsonians have followed suit, requiring timed entry passes to avoid overcrowding.)

The virtual project has new elements, like videos, podcasts, and behind-the-scenes looks at the research behind the exhibits. One section, called " Lesser-Known Stories ," captures stories that have been largely ignored throughout history — like the story of Nathan "Nearest" Green , the first known Black master distiller, who taught Jack Daniel how to make Tennessee whiskey; or the story of the largest known mass suicide of enslaved people, an act of resistance at Igbo Landing.

"This ongoing project provides a chance for Americans to realize our shared past, bringing the unique museum experience to their homes and on their phones," Kevin Young, the museum's director said in a press release. "Allowing the public to virtually revisit the originating struggle for American freedom in the 'Slavery and Freedom' exhibition reminds us of the centrality of the African American journey to the American experience—a story of triumph, resilience and joy over the centuries."

The site will also include links to related content elsewhere online, like a time-lapsed video of more than 31,000 slave ships during the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, between 1514 and 1860.

"This is just the start," Young told The Washington Post . "We're looking right now at phase two and stories we can tell next."

This story is from DCist.com , the local news site of WAMU.

© 2024 WAMU

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WAMU values your feedback.

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11 Self-Guided and Virtual Black History Tours

Tonya Abari is a classroom teacher-turned-intersectional freelance writer. She is originally from Maryland but is currently based in Nashville, Tennessee.

Black history is American history. And across the United States, cities are filled with rich African American history and culture. From landmark homes to nationally recognized museums, visitors and residents alike can learn how Black Americans have impacted our society. Many places offer local walking tours that deep dive into the city’s Black history and culture.

Now, many attractions and tours are on pause because of the pandemic. However, you can still celebrate Black history through a self-guided or virtual walking tour. And although Black History Month is a time to celebrate, immerse yourself in Black history year-round.

The Black Heritage Trail

Offering audio-guided and self-guided tours, the Black Heritage Trail is an interactive trail packed with information about African American history in Boston. The tour highlights Boston’s free Black community during the 18th and 19th centuries, including homes, places of worship, schools, and stops along the Underground Railroad. Can’t make it to Boston? In conjunction with Boston’s Museum of African American History, The Black Heritage Trail also offers virtual tours so that you can learn about Boston’s Black history from the comfort of your own home.

African American Heritage Trail

dctourism / CC BY-NC 2.0 / flickr

Cultural Tourism DC, in cooperation with the DC Office of Planning, created a self-guided tour of nearly 100 African American history and cultural sites in our nation’s capital. Learn a brief history of African Americans in Washington, D.C., and download the self-guided tour guide, divided into 15 unique D.C. neighborhoods, to get started!

Fort Monroe, Virginia

Located in the southern tip of the Virginia peninsula, Fort Monroe is the largest stone fort built in the United States. Completed in 1834, President Obama designated Fort Monroe as a national monument in 2011. On the eight-stop self-guided walking tour, learn about the first Africans to land at Old Point Comfort and the “Contraband Hospital” site where Harriet Tubman was a nurse and cook.

College Park, Maryland

The University of Maryland at College Park’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion created a guided African American History Virtual Walking Tour . Go for a “stroll” on this beautiful campus while exploring how Black history has shaped the university. A companion to the in-person, self-guided tour is the perfect way to learn how African Americans have not only shaped UMD but how their contributions have impacted colleges and universities all over the world.

Atlanta, Georgia

If you want to experience Atlanta Black history icons, look to Roundabout Atlanta . This family-owned and operated tour guide is all about Southern hospitality. Operating for a decade, this travel company offers private, Black history tours in Atlanta. Experience sites like the birthplace of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. or the expansive Tyler Perry Studios.

Bowling Green, Kentucky

LuAnn Snawder Photography / CC BY-ND 2.0 / Flickr

Ernest Hogan, considered to be the founder of Ragtime music, was born and raised in the ShakeRag District of Bowling Green , which is placed on the National Register of Historic Places recognized for its significance to African American history. Travelers can immerse themselves in the local history of ShakeRag through a self-guided walking tour of the historic district, passing through historic homes and buildings, as well as landmark spots like Alice’s Beauty Shop, which employed young college graduates starting in the 1940s.

Nashville, Tennessee

Nashville isn’t only about hot chicken and country music. And United Street Tour’s owner, Chakita Patterson, is committed to showcasing the deep Black history, food, and culture that often gets overlooked. While this co company’s traditional walking tours are on pause, United Street Tours is now offering “The Black Experience,” which is completely virtual so that you can learn about Nashville's treasures from the comfort of your living room.

Edgard, Louisiana

Located one hour from New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the Whitney Plantation is the only museum in Louisiana that focuses solely on the lives of people who were enslaved. It offers a self-guided audio tour about slavery on the grounds of a historical sugar, rice, and indigo plantation. The tour includes a memorial that honors over 100,000 enslaved people of Louisiana. 

Detroit, Michigan

The Detroit Experience factory has a donation-based virtual tour on the city’s Black history and communities. This tour focuses on systemic racism (segregation and redlining) and its effects on Detroit throughout the last century.

Oxford, Ohio

Tmariemdith, CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons

A virtual self-guided tour to learn about Oxford, Ohio’s Black history is free and available through Enjoy Oxford’s official website . Along the tour, visitors explore sites like the B. First Baptist Church and the E. Sycamore Carwash.

Oakland, California

Although in-person tours through Oakland Urban Paths are currently on pause, they offer a digital Black History tour. The tour can be viewed from a computer or phone and details the rich African American history of Oakland, California. Amongst many important facts, learn about the Black Panther Party, Elizabeth Flood, and the Paul Robeson Administration Building.

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Eight Online Exhibits to See Right Now on Black History, Racism and Protest

Educating yourself with these shows is one more way to understand the current moment

Jennifer Nalewicki

Travel Correspondent

Over the past few weeks, supporters of the Black Lives Matter movement have worked tirelessly to advance the conversation on racism and equality in the United States. Through protests in cities and towns across the country, along with primary voters casting their ballots, the rallying cry is loud and clear. Even before the protests began, many museums around the country had begun hosting exhibitions—online-only, due to COVID-19—that cover black history, racism, protest and other important topics that pertain to the movement at large.

Here are eight you can see right now.

“Jordan Casteel: Within Reach,” New Museum, New York City

Jordan Casteel’s body of work reads much like a visual diary of the many people she’s crossed paths with over the years. Focusing solely on people of color, the Denver-born artist has documented everyone from musicians performing in the streets of her Harlem neighborhood to students she’s taught at Rutgers University-Newark, where she’s an assistant professor in the arts department. Now in her early 30s, the painter has been honored with her first solo museum exhibition in New York City at the New Museum. Called “Jordan Casteel: Within Reach,” the exhibition features 40 color-saturated oversized portraits that capture daily life through the lens of the black community, with special focus on individuals who often get overlooked by society in general. In an interview in the New York Times , Casteel said, “To have an immigrant story so prominently placed at this time in this world, in New York City—it just feels right." Watch the virtual tour above. On view through September 1.

“Jacob Lawrence: The American Struggle,” Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts

From 1954 through 1956, while the civil rights movement was unfolding right before him, the late artist Jacob Lawrence created a series of paintings called “Struggle: From the History of the American People.” Now, for the first time in more than 60 years, 30 panels from the original collection have been reunited for an exhibition titled “Jacob Lawrence: The American Struggle” at the Peabody Essex Museum. Beginning with the American Revolution and working its way through 1817, Lawrence directed his attention on such important events as the Boston Tea Party, examining the struggles of a young nation getting its footing from the perspectives of African Americans, Native Americans, women and anyone else whose stories are rarely told in history class. His works are interspersed with those of other contemporary artists, including Derrick Adams and Bethany Collins . Take this virtual tour of the exhibit. On view through August 9.

“Chez Baldwin,” National Museum of African American History and Culture, Washington, D.C.

Even after his death, novelist, playwright, poet and activist James Baldwin remains an important black cultural icon, with his writings on class and race in America still capturing the attention of audiences around the globe. (You’ve probably heard of one of his most famous works, If Beale Street Could Talk , a 1974 novel that was adapted into a Oscar-winning film in 2018.) While people may be familiar with his work, Baldwin's life outside the spotlight is lesser known. For “Chez Baldwin,” an online exhibition at the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture, viewers can become acquainted with the life he made for himself in the South of France, where he lived the final years of his life from 1971 until his death in 1987, through a collection of objects, including photographs from his travels and playbills. On view now.

“African American History in Colorado,” History of Colorado Center, Denver

African American communities have played a crucial role in the settlement of Colorado, from the time it became a territory in 1861 to its admission into the union as a state in 1876 to the Black Lives Matter movement that’s taking place today. “African American History in Colorado,” an online exhibition at the History Colorado Center, a Smithsonian-affiliated museum, brings the stories of civil rights leaders, cowboys, Buffalo Soldiers and mountain men to life through photographs, interactive maps and timelines. The exhibit also extensively covers Lincoln Hills, a vacation resort open from 1925 to 1965 that was specifically geared toward African Americans and served as a respite from the racial tensions that permeated cities. On view now.

Using eye-popping geometric shapes that capture viewers’ attention, painter Nina Chanel Abney tackles important contemporary topics like gender, race, politics and homophobia in her artwork. For her latest piece, a massive, site-specific abstract mural housed inside the lobby of the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston, the New York-based painter wanted to “investigate some of the subtleties of systemic racism and cultural racism” that are embedded in today’s society. Her piece is especially pertinent as the Black Lives Matter movement continues to gain momentum. “I was very excited about creating a piece that might really encourage some kind of dialogue for people who are in the lobby, they can start to engage as soon as they walk in the door,” she says in a video , which now serves as a virtual tour. On view through January 3, 2021.

“Rosa Parks: In Her Own Words,” Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

Refusing to give up her seat on a public bus to a white man in Montgomery, Alabama, during the height of the Jim Crow era is how most people know Rosa Parks. But there’s more to this civil rights icon than a single courageous act. In “Rosa Parks: In Her Own Words,” an exhibition at the Library of Congress, viewers can find out more about the bus boycott that made news headlines while also learning about her upbringing on a farm in Alabama and her decision to move to Detroit to further the civil rights movement. The online collection features the outfit she wore during the bus boycott as well as dozens of photographs, financial documents and handwritten recollections that help tell the story of her many accomplishments during a trying time in our nation’s history. On view through December 5.

“Photos from the Civil Rights Movement,” High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA

The civil rights movement endured from 1954 to 1968, but the fight for racial equality still surges to this day, with organized marches continuing in cities and towns across the United States. “Photos from the Civil Rights Movement,” an online exhibition from the High Museum of Art, helps bring the battle for change full circle. From photographs documenting Rosa Parks’ arrest to the moment Martin Luther King learned that he had won the Nobel Peace Prize, the comprehensive collection—nearly 20 of the more than 300 on social protest at the High Museum of Art—shines a light on an era in U.S. history that must be remembered, especially right now. On view now.

“Portraits of African Americans,” National Portrait Gallery, Washington, D.C.

From former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama to poet Langston Hughes to entrepreneur Madam C. J. Walker, the National Portrait Gallery's comprehensive exhibit , "Portraits of African Americans," serves as a who’s-who of both well-known and lesser-known history makers. The museum holds, after all, more than 1,000 portraits of African American notables who have made significant contributions to science, the arts, politics and sports. Each portrait includes biographical information about each individual and their importance in history. On view now .

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Jennifer Nalewicki | | READ MORE

Jennifer Nalewicki is a Brooklyn-based journalist. Her articles have been published in The New York Times , Scientific American , Popular Mechanics , United Hemispheres and more. You can find more of her work at her website .

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BLACK HISTORY VIRTUAL TOUR

To mark Black History Month, United Nations Visitors Services New York invites you to take a special Black History Tour, starting on Martin Luther King Jr Day, 18 January. Offered in an online format this year,   the Black history-themed tour of the United Nations will provide you a unique look at how the lives of people of African descent have intertwined with the mission of the United Nations in fields such as peace and security and human rights, with a special emphasis on decolonization.  You will learn about the Transatlantic Slave Trade (1500-1900), the victory over apartheid, and about the Ark of Return, a permanent memorial in honour of the victims of slavery, located on the United Nations Visitors Plaza.  Through the lens of the United Nations and its work, the tour is a source of inspiration for the fight against all forms of prejudice, racial discrimination and social injustice. 

BOOK THE BLACK HISTORY VIRTUAL TOUR HERE

More virtual offerings available HERE

Welcome to the Searchable Museum

A place to explore history and culture through an African American lens

Kevin Young, Andrew W. Mellon Director Of The Smithsonian's National Museum Of African American History And Culture

Make Good the Promise

Learn about Reconstruction and its legacies. Explore the African American experience after the end of slavery.

Afrofuturism

Afrofuturism represents an expressive outlet dedicated to exploring concepts of Black identity, agency, & freedom through creative, intellectual, & artistic work.

Constellations

Artifacts and topics illuminating connections to history

Lesser-Known Stories

Shining a new light on the African American past and its people.

Atlanta Washerwomen Strike

In 1881, washerwomen in Atlanta formed a union and went on strike to demand better wages. Learn about the harsh conditions they faced and how they won.

George Henry White

George Henry White was the last African American congressman of the 1800s. Learn about his life before and after Congress and his commitment to justice.

The Remarkable Rollin Sisters

The Rollin sisters shaped the politics of Reconstruction-era South Carolina. Learn how they challenged society’s views of Black women and fought for equality.

Octavius V. Catto

Octavius Catto was a civil rights activist in Pennsylvania. Learn about his life and impact in Philadelphia’s Black community during Reconstruction.

Present to Past

Current events and issues from a historical perspective

African Americans continue the fight for social justice and equal treatment under the law.

Structural racism and racist beliefs about African Americans shape access to care and health outcomes.

African Americans established schools for their communities and have taken innovative approaches to education while challenging segregation and discrimination.

While serving the nation, African Americans continued to fight for justice and their own freedom

How We Know What We Know

Methods, tools, and sources used to study African American history and culture

Visit the Museum

African American History & Civil Rights Museums – Virtual Tours

AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY MUSEUMS

• Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (Washington, DC) Since opening in 2016, the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture has become one of the most popular museums in Washington, DC. This museum takes visitors on a trip through time starting with the Black Experience in America with its history Galleries that start from Slavery to Emancipation and then from Segregation to Today. There are also exhibits that focus on Black History in popular culture. You can explore more than 3,500 exhibits online.
• Archives of African American Music & Culture (Bloomington, IN) The collections in the Archives of African American Music & Culture museum highlight African American music ranging from classical, religious, and popular music to include R&B and hip hop.
• The Museum of African American Art (Los Angeles, CA) The Museum of African American Art interprets, promotes, and preserves art by or about people of African descent. It was founded in 1976 to increase public awareness of African American Art.
• The Gordon Parks Foundation (Pleasantville, NY) You can take a trip through time with the life work of famed African American photographer, Gordon Parks. The Gordon Parks Foundation showcases Parks’s career, which spans from the 1940s up until his death in 2006, Parks’ photographs focused on race relations, Civil Rights, and urban life.
• Dance Theater of Harlem (New York, NY) The Dance Theater of Harlem is the first Black classical ballet company and the first major ballet company to prioritize Black dancers. This school was founded more than 50 years ago. There are four online exhibits about the history of this world-famous dance company.
• Negro Leagues Baseball Museum (Kansas City, MO) You can take a virtual tour of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and there’s a short movie introduction into the Negro League Baseball that includes interviews with former Negro League players.
• Frederick Douglass National Historic Site (Washington, DC) Take a virtual tour of Cedar Hill, Frederick Douglass’s Historic home in Washington, DC. Douglass, an abolitionist, orator, writer, and former slave purchased this stunning 21-room Victorian mansion 1878. There are a number of rooms filled with artifacts that are viewable in the online tour.
• The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) – University Libraries [Online Exhibit: African Americans at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 1892-1971] (Greensboro, NC) The UNCG’s online exhibit offers a riveting look inside of the life of some of the African American employees who worked on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. This exhibit features not only photos of the Black workers in the late 1800s but there are artifacts listing how much the University paid some of its Black employees.
• The Black Archives of Mid-America (Kansas City, MO) The Black Archives of Mid-America there are two online exhibits available for viewing: one about famous dancer Alvin Ailey; and the other about the Historic 18 th and Vine Jazz District in Kansas City.
• The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change (The King Center) (Atlanta, GA) The King Center is part of the memorial and childhood home of Dr. King. This online exhibit contains various letters and miscellaneous documents and artifacts.
• DuSable Museum of African American History (Chicago, IL) Created in 1961, the DuSable Museum of African American History is one of the oldest museums of African American history. Originally started as the Ebony Museum of Negro History and Art, this museum was the home of the largest caretaker of African American culture until the opening of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture.
•  Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site at Moton Field (Tuskegee, AL) Take a virtual tour of the primary flight-training site for the Tuskeegee Airmen , Black pilots of World War II.
• U.S. National Archives [Exhibit: Black College Life in the New Deal] (Washington, DC) This online exhibit features fascinating photos of Black Student’s lives on college campuses between January 1, 1933, and December 31, 1941.

CIVIL RIGHTS MUSEUMS – You can find a complete list of all of the virtual tours and experiences offered by the United States Civil Rights Trail here .

• National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel The National Civil Rights Museum located in Memphis, TN and serves as not only a memorial but also as a museum. The museum was built around the Lorraine Motel, which was where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated in 1968. The museum traces the Black civil rights movement. It is filled with so many gems to include: a replica of the Montgomery city bus where Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat and a garbage truck to commemorate the “I Am A Man Sanitation Workers Strike,” which is the strike that brought Dr. King to Memphis.
• National Center for Civil and Human Rights The National Center for Civil and Human Rights is located in downtown Atlanta, Georgia. This museum is a multicultural center and it highlights the Civil Rights Movement and the modern human rights movement. The museum has a Voice of the Voiceless gallery, which showcases the Morehouse College Martin Luther King, Jr. Collection.
• International Civil Rights Center & Museum The International Civil Rights Center & Museum , located in Greensboro, North Carolina in the original Woolworth’s building. This museum’s mission is to commemorate the A&T Four and its role in launching the sit-in movement.
• Martin Luther King Birth Home As part of the National Park Service, you can visit the Martin Luther King Birth Home and see where Dr. King spent the first 12 years of his life.
• Howard University Founded in 1867, Howard University is a historically Black university located in Washington, DC. The Founders Library holds the largest collection of African American documents, letters, and oral histories about the Black experience. Several buildings on the campus of this institution have been designated as National Historic Landmarks.
• Mississippi Civil Rights Museum The Mississippi Civil Rights Museu m, which opened in 2017 covers the entire Civil Rights Movement but it provides more insight into the murders of Emmett Till and Medgar Evers.

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740 East 56th Place Chicago, Illinois 60637 Phone: (773) 947-0600

Accessible DuSable Black History Museum & Education Center

Membership will be verified at check-in.

– Adult – Chicago Resident: $12.50 *ZIP Code will be verified – Adult – Non-Resident: $14.50 – Child – Chicago Resident: $4.00 *Ages 6-11 (six & under is free and does not require a ticket) – Child – Non-Resident: $5.00 *Ages 6-11 (six & under is free and does not require a ticket) – Senior – Chicago Resident: $9.00 *Ages 65+ – ZIP Code will be verified – Senior – Non-Resident: $11.00 *Ages 65+ – Student – Chicago Resident: $9.00 *Valid Student I.D. Required at Entry – ZIP Code will be verified – Student – Non-Resident: $11.00 *Valid Student I.D. Required at Entry

ADMISSION (FREE):

– Library Pass Adult and Child – Univ. of Chicago Student – DuSable Museum Members- Adult, Seniors, Student, Child – Reciprocal Member – Park District Employee – MIP Employee – United Airlines Employee – Free Day- Adult, Seniors, Student, Child – Military -All Active Duty – ERC- Adult and Youth – Museum 4 All Adult and Youth SNAP – Blue Star- Family – Gold Star- Family – First Responders (EMT, Police, Firefighter, Coast Guard) – Bank of America ( Employees and Card holders) – Illinois Public School Students (K-12 Grade)

Discounted parking is available for Museum visitors at the University of Chicago Medical Parking Garage B at 5631 S. Cottage Grove Ave.

Online booking in advance is suggested for all visitors and Museum Members.

Museum admission.

Timed-Entry is Required to Experience THE MARCH

Timed-entry passes are required for entry into THE MARCH. Visitors can reserve up to six timed-entry passes maximum for personal use. Tour Group Operators must contact [email protected] before reserving passes.

Timed Entry Tickets

MUSEUM ADMISSION PRICES FOR CHICAGO RESIDENTS DUSABLE MEMEBERS FREE

• Adults $12.50 - 0 +
• Students $9.00 (w/ student ID) - 0 +
• Seniors $9.00 (w/ ID) - 0 +
• Children Ages 6 to 11 $4.00 - 0 +
• Children Under 5 Free - 0 +
• DuSable Members FREE (with the exception of King Day) - 0 +

MUSEUM ADMISSION PRICES DUSABLE MEMEBERS FREE

• Adults $14.50 - 0 +
• Students $11.00 (w/ student ID) - 0 +
• Seniors $11.00 (w/ ID) - 0 +
• Children Ages 6 to 11 $5.00 - 0 +
• Children Under 5 FREE - 0 +

Group Reservations

Group field trips, illinois free days.

DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center is free to visit on Wednesdays. We also give free admission to military and to first responders. That means Police, Fire, EMT’s. With valid ID.

Military Admission

For Those Who Served and Those Who Currently Serve.

Free Admission categories are honored year-round, every day the Museum is open. Gold Star Family admission will be honored for up to four (4) guests per visit. Timed entry and special exhibits are excluded.

All Military Duty Personnel, all Branches, receives complimentary admission. Personnel must show ID or be in uniform. Active or Non-Active Duty Personnel/ POW’s (Illinois Residents); receives complimentary admission. Must show valid ID w/POW status on the front.For Those Who Served and Those Who Currently Serve.

Member Services

Here at the DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center, where every month is Black History Month, all active members receive unlimited entry, early-bird notices of previews and special events as well as merchandise discounts.

In 1961, at a time when the Black culture was overlooked by most museums and academic establishments, Dr. Margaret T. Burroughs founded the nation’s first museum devoted entirely, and specifically, to the history and culture of the African American community. Today as the longest-standing independent keeper of Black America’s history, the DuSable Museum is a vital resource for all truth-seekers.

As a member of DuSable Museum, you become part of an ongoing narrative of Black Storytelling. Come explore, engage, and enjoy the museum as an insider with special privileges.

Du Something Impactful!   Du Membership at the DuSable Museum!

Become A Member

Accessibility

The DuSable Museum is ADA (The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990) compliant. A limited number of wheelchairs are available on a first come, first served basis. We permit baby strollers throughout our facilities. However, strollers are not available for loan to visitors.

Service Animals

Service animals are welcome at the DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, a service animal is defined as a dog that has been individually trained to do work or perform tasks for an individual with a disability. Pets are not permitted.

Holiday Closures

– New Year’s Day – Easter – Memorial Day – July 4th – Labor Day – Thanksgiving – Day After Thanksgiving – Christmas Eve – Christmas

Not permitted in the Museum

We ask your help in maintaining our facility. Please note that the following are not permitted while visiting our galleries:

– Pets – Backpacks or oversized bags – Food or Beverages – Video Cameras – Umbrellas

Virtual Tours

Seven virtual exhibits are available to educate and inspire.   We will walk you through the oral histories and passion behind the civil rights movement of selected virtual exhibits.  Fill out the Group Reservations form above to start your Virtual Tour Today.

Museum Store

Shop to Give!  Visit our eCommerce store or on-site Museum Store to experience exclusive apparel designed by our brand, the “Du.” Enjoy an exclusive Harriet Tubman Commemorative Coin and other unique items handpicked by our Museum curator.  All profits support the mission of the museum.

Safety Measures and Guidelines

We ask that all visitors, including those who have been vaccinated against COVID-19, follow these safety measures to protect everyone’s health. Visitors who do not adhere to safety policies and guidelines may be asked to leave.

COVID-19 GUIDELINES AT THE DUSABLE BLACK HISTORY MUSEUM AND EDUCATION CENTER    

We look forward to your visit to the DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center! The health and safety of our visitors, staff and volunteers is our top priority. Effective immediately all visitors ages five and up will be required to wear masks upon entrance into the Museum.

Be the first to hear about new exhibitions and events

Free entry to Exhibitions and Exclusive events

Great News! You can now TEXT-TO-DONATE!

Text the code “DUGIVE” to 44-321

• A Cultural and Educational Beacon
• Five Year Plan: Overview
• Five Year Plan: Exhibitions
• Five Year Plan: Education
• Five Year Plan: Collections
• Five Year Plan: Archives
• Exhibitions

My February calendar is about to be booked.

Black History Month is upon us, and there are so many enriching and eye-opening virtual Black History Month events you can participate in, learn from, and enjoy. Attending these Black History Month online experiences is not only a way to pay tribute to and learn more about the accomplishments of past trailblazers, but it also allows you to support and celebrate Black voices and businesses. Whether you choose an online guided tour of New York City’s historical Harlem neighborhood — where famous musicians such as Ella Fitzgerald and Marvin Gaye performed — or sign up for a Black History Month-themed cooking class, there’s something for everyone to experience.

If you're looking to immerse yourself in the history that surrounds this month, you have plenty of free online options to do so. In addition to tuning in to virtual cooking classes and jeopardy events, you can level up your knowledge by taking MasterClass’s first-ever free class — Black History, Black Freedom, and Black Love . In addition, the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) brought back their virtual experience from last year, the Searchable Museum . Through the Searchable Museum, you can explore the history and culture of Black history through different stories and exhibitions. After completing your virtual visit to the Smithsonian, tune into an impactful history lesson or join a Black History Month virtual paint party.

Celebrating Black History Month virtually might be a change if you traditionally attend in-person screenings, parades, or festivals with friends and family. However, these Black History Month online events will bring a great variety of meaningful and educational experiences right into your home so you can be aware, involved, and inspired — today, and every day moving forward.

Learn TikTok Dances For Black History Month

As part of Santa Monica’s Black History Month celebrations this year, the city is hosting a TikTok dance class taught by choreographer and dancer Jamal Josef. TikTok has been called out before for not giving proper credit to the Black creators who have come up with so many of the platform’s most viral dances .

That’s why this class taught by Josef will be a fun way to celebrate Black History Month as you’ll be learning the latest TikTok choreography that’s all over your FYP while also supporting the Black creators who came up with the routines. The class on Feb. 15 at 12 p.m. PT is also totally free. You just need to register online to receive the event link.

Check Out The NMAAHC’s Latest Exhibition To Educate Yourself

Launched in November 2021, the NMAAHC’s Searchable Museum allows you to explore some of their exhibitions online in the comfort of your own home. Right now, you can check out the Slavery & Freedom exhibit through videos hosted by NMAAHC Curator Mary Elliott. The museum also has two virtual story experiences to educate yourself even more.

The Lesser-Known Stories experience shines a light on historical African American figures like James McCune Smith , the first African American physician. The Present to Past story experience allows you to travel through time as you explore the systemic inequalities in areas like health and housing over time. For example, you can see how Black Americans were treated differently during past pandemics of the 1700s and even now with the COVID-19 pandemic.

You could also follow the museum on Instagram , Twitter , and Facebook as they’re always posting stories about Black figures and how they made history in the United States.

This Walking Tour Will Transport You To New York City's Historical Harlem Neighborhood

ToursByLocals is hosting virtual walking tours of Harlem throughout the month of February. In an hour and a half, licensed guide Ibrahima D. will share Harlem's culture and history with viewers. A Q&A session is included with the tour, so you can ask any questions you might have about the origins of this NYC neighborhood and walk away more informed about its historical landmarks.

For $179 per tour, you and your family (up to 10 people per purchase) can virtually explore Hotel Theresa, which was frequented by human rights activist Malcolm X, and the Apollo Theater , where famous musicians like Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, and Marvin Gaye performed. You will also learn more about the role New York City played as part of the secret network of routes, people, and places the Underground Railroad used to help enslaved people escape to free states in the late 1700s through the 1800s.

This Black History MasterClass Lesson Is So Informative (And Free)

For the first time ever MasterClass is offering free streaming of one of their classes. During February, the online education subscription platform is allowing anyone to stream their Black History, Black Freedom, and Black Love three-part series for free on MasterClass, IMDb TV, or on Amazon Prime for members. The Black history lesson includes 54 videos taught by seven Black thought leaders who talk about the past, present, and future of race in America.

For the past, that includes a lesson taught by Nikole Hannah-Jones on the foundation of American capitalism, which stems from slavery of Black people in the South. One of the present lessons includes a discussion with Jelani Cobb and Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw on the “Say Her Name” movement that raises awareness for Black female victims.

If you’re really looking to immerse yourself in a virtual Black History Month lesson, this is the one for you. It’ll also keep you busy all month long as the entire series is almost eight hours long.

This Black History Month Virtual Jeopardy Game Tests Your Knowledge

Want to test your Black history knowledge? This virtual Black History Month Jeopardy game is just the event for you, and it’s free. On Feb. 22 at 2 p.m. ET, you’ll be tested on how much you know about the contributions of African Americans in the United States. Since, in the past, many Black historical figures haven’t been given proper credit for their contributions and history has been whitewashed, this trivia night is a great way to give recognition to those who deserve it while also educating yourself. Get a team together and register now to receive the Zoom link.

This Fried Chicken Dinner Cooking Class Supports Food Equity

On Feb. 27 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. ET, join Seward Community Co-op — a community group that advocates for food equity for all races, classes, and genders — for a special Black History Month edition of its free online traditional Sunday dinner experience . Learn the steps to make a delicious meal of fried chicken, mac and cheese, and sweet mashed yams. Yum!

Addie DeMery, one of Seward Co-op's own cooks, will share this Sunday dinner recipe you can prepare yourself from the comfort of your own kitchen. By the end of the night, you will leave with the skills to add a tasty new dish to your weeknight rotation. RSVP to save your spot and master this delicious recipe by adding your contact information for the Zoom link.

This Black History Month Paint Party Lets You Celebrate Your Artistic Side

Grab your brushes and something to sip on, because it’s time for a Black History Month sip and paint party. The Cooking and Canvas Creations, LLC and City of Stonecrest Leisure Services have joined together for this special Black History Month paint party . By registering online for free, you’ll get to join the virtual event held on Feb. 12 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. ET. You’ll also have your choice of two canvas options. However, you will need to pick up your paint supply kit in person before the event.

If you’re not local, last year, Paint and Sip Live hosted a few Black History Month virtual paint parties that included a Black History Hip Hop Night event . This year, they’re offering a few Hip Hop Night events during Black History Month that you can join as well with all supplies delivered to your door.

This Meditation And Black History Lesson Will Let You Connect With The Past

If you’re looking for something more relaxing for Black History Month, you may want to join this virtual guided meditation and storytelling series . In this free experience, Dr. Jeremiah Pearcey will take you through a meditative journey of four periods of African American History. The four periods include the racial revolution of the 1800s, the Jim Crow and Black Codes era, the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, and the current fight for equality during lockdown. Instead of just listening to the stories, you’ll connect more with them as you meditate.

Register now for your spot in this event taking place on Feb. 2 from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. ET.

This Hip Hop and Graffiti Workshop Lets You Celebrate Black Culture

Have you always been interested in learning more about hip hop and graffiti? If you said yes, this hip hop and graffiti art virtual lesson is for you. You won’t just be learning either. In this workshop, participants will get to help create a collective mural inspired by Black History Month after learning the basics of graffiti design, illustrations, and compositions. As you’re creating, you’ll also get to listen to loop pedal violist and composer Kathryn Patricia Cobbler play some atmospheric pieces on her viola.

Hip hop has long been attributed to the Black community , and graffiti has been linked as one of the four elements of hip hip . Graffiti and street art has even helped propel the Black Lives Matter movement in the U.S. in recent years, so getting this hands-on lesson will only help you appreciate the art form even more.

This event is also free and takes place on Feb. 15 from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. ET. You can register now on Eventbrite.

This article was originally published on 02.16.21

• Metropolitan

Miami Children’s Museum Free Day

Latest posts, warren occult museum ticket price, campgrounds near creation museum and ark encounter, north carolina transportation museum events, new york transit museum free admission, african american history museum virtual tour, safety measures and guidelines.

We ask that all visitors, including those who have been vaccinated against COVID-19, follow these safety measures to protect everyones health. Visitors who do not adhere to safety policies and guidelines may be asked to leave.

COVID-19 GUIDELINES AT THE DuSABLE MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY

We look forward to your visit to the DuSable Museum of African American History! The health and safety of our visitors, staff and volunteers is our top priority. Effective immediately all visitors ages five and up will be required to provide proof of vaccination, or a negative PCR Antigen test within 48 hours before entering The DuSable Museum.

Visitors ages 12 and older must be fully vaccinated showing that they have at least two doses of an FDA authorized vaccine or one dose of the Janssen/Johnson & Johnson vaccine. International visitors must provide proof of vaccination from the vaccines approved for emergency use by the World Health Organization.

Children ages 5 11 years must provide proof of at least one vaccination dose. Guests under the age of 5 are not required to show proof of vaccination but must be accompanied by a fully vaccinated adult.

Proof of vaccination may include:

CDC Vaccination Card

Digital record or phone app

Printed documentation from your vaccine provider

Visitors 18 and older must provide ID with the same identifying information as proof of vaccination such as:

Drivers License

American Battlefield Trust Virtual Battlefield Tours

The State of Pennsylvania Monument is the largest memorial at the Gettysburg battlefield, commemorating the tens of thousands of Pennsylvanians who fought there.

Most on-site battlefield tours require a leap of imagination: the ability to walk around a perfectly peaceful open field and overlay a mental movie of smoke and combat and fallen warriors, all the while considering the military strategy and broader political stakes. ABTs website may not offer the sunshine on your back, but it marries the setting, action and context far more seamlessly, with its 360-degree virtual tours of more than 20 American Revolution and Civil War battlefields. In the Gettysburg tour alone, there are 15 different stopsno walking requiredeach of which features clickable icons with granular detail about all the whos, whats and whys. And when youre done touring, be sure to explore the sites other robust resources, from battle summaries to generals biographies.

Click HERE for the experience.

READ MORE: 7 Important Civil War Battles

Tour D’alexandria Spring Ride: Resilience

Volunteers are needed for the Tour d Alexandria bike ride in . The theme for this ride is resilience and will feature points of interest that reflect the resilience of Alexandria communities past and present, the growth of diverse neighborhoods, and to include the commemoration of the lynching of Joseph McCoy.

The Alexandria Black History Museum is currently closed for renovation. This page has admission information and directions to assist in planning your visit once the museum reopens.

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Connect To Inspiring Authentic Representations Of Life In The 18th And 19th Centuries In A Unique Place Where Black Communities Organized And Advanced The Cause Of Freedom

The African Meeting House, a registered National Historic Landmark, and Abiel Smith School on Beacon Hill were built in the early 1800s and are two of the museum’s most valuable assets. Located steps away from the Massachusetts State House.

Explore our Nantucket campus, which features two historic sites, the African Meeting House and the Florence Higginbotham House. These buildings were at the center of a thriving nineteenth-century African American community on the island.

Smithsonian Museum Virtual Tours

If youre interested in visiting some of the DCs iconic sites from home, the Smithsonian museum virtual tours are a great option, keep reading for our favorites!

Millions visit Washington, DC each year to explore and visit some of the countrys most iconic landmarks and world-class museums. While many places continue to reopen, some attractions like the Smithsonian Museums are still closed due to COVID.

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Google Arts And Culture Black History Month Collection

Photo by Florencia Viadana on Unsplash

is a wonderful source of online learning opportunities! Check out the Black History Month collections on the Google Arts and Culture site which features videos, photo galleries, virtual tours of museums, and many other works that reflect Black history and culture.

These are some of the exhibits currently available to view:

A Virtual Museum Tour

On September 24, 2016, President Barack Obama 83CC opened the Smithsonians National Museum of African American History and Culture an institution, he said, that seeks to reaffirm that African-American history is not somehow separate from our larger American story. Its not the underside of the American story. It is central to the American story. The four-hundred-thousand square-foot museum, designed by David Adjaye, displays more than three thousand artifacts. Mabel O. Wilson 91GSAPP, a professor at Columbias Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation and a scholar of African-American studies, wrote the official companion book to the museum. Here she highlights some of the buildings most meaningful architectural features.

DISTINCT FAÇADE The building has a triple-tiered corona, a decorative façade that gives it a very distinct shape. It is particularly striking on the National Mall, which is dominated by classical architecture. The tiers are meant to recall hands raised in celebration, and also the West African caryatid, a ceremonial sculpture from Yorubaland, in what is now Nigeria.

OPEN SPACES Most museums have a cloistered, enclosed interior. This museum opens into a huge space with vast floor-to-ceiling windows. You feel suspended between the inside and the outside. The space evokes the clearing field the middle of an open field of crops which was the only community gathering space for many slaves.

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How Did The Revolution Survive Its Darkest Hour

Americans would soon learn that it was one thing to declare independence, and quite another to secure it. The Battle for New York, during the fall of 1776, tested Commander-in-Chief General George Washington and his Continental Army. Travel virtually through the American retreat from New York through the Battles of Long Island, White Plains, and Fort Washington, as 1776 came to a close and American troop numbers and morale began to dwindle.

Exhibit Highlight: Winter at Valley Forge

After the British’s triumphal seizure of Philadelphia, the Continental Army withdrew to Valley Forge in the winter of 1777-78. Read about the common soldiers and families who endured the harsh winter at Valley Forge.

Find the prominently displayed painting and zoom in on the details depicted by William Trego in 1883 as the hardened veterans of the army limped into their winter encampment at Valley Forge. Their bare and bandaged feet leaving trails of blood on the cold ground.

It’s Now Possible To Visit The Smithsonian’s African American History Museum Virtually

The NMAAHC launched a “Searchable Museum” this week, translating its archives and stories into an interactive digital experience. Alan Karchmer/Courtesy of the Smithsonian hide caption

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Anyone who’s been to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture will speak of its elevator ride through time, which takes visitors from the present day to the 15th century and kicks off the first exhibit, Slavery & Freedom . With the launch of a new virtual platform, visitors can now travel on the elevator down to that exhibit without ever leaving their homes.

The Searchable Museum , launched Thursday, transforms the artifacts, stories, and interactive experiences of the physical exhibit into a digital platform where museumgoers can take it in at their own pace.

Eventually, the museum plans to bring all of its exhibits online. The next exhibit, Making a Way Out of No Way , will go online this spring.

“History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived but if faced with courage, need not be lived again, ” echoes Angelou’s voice as a video plays, showing images from the past 600 years of Black history.

Unlike other Smithsonian museums, the NMAAHC has required timed-entry passes to enter the site almost exclusively since it opened in 2016. Though these timed tickets are still free of charge, they can be snapped up pretty quickly: Many tickets for December have already been claimed.

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National Museum Of African American History And Culture

Long Road to Hard Truth: The 100-Year Mission to Create the National Museum of African American History and Culture

American History TV presented live coverage from the National Museum of African American History and Culture on Washington, D.C.’s National Mall . read more

American History TV presented live coverage from the National Museum of African American History and Culture on Washington, D.C.’s National Mall . They showed exhibits chronicling the African American story from slavery through the inauguration of the first African American president. This featured a selection of artifacts, including a South Carolina slave cabin, Harriet Tubman s hymnal, and a segregated railroad passenger car. Museum curators and William Pretzer , and U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Robert Wilkins also responded to viewer comments and questions. Judge Wilkins is the author of Long Road to Hard Truth: The 100-Year Mission to Create the National Museum of African American History and Culture . close

National Museum Of African Art Virtual Tour

The National Museum of African Art has a collection that includes 9,000 works of traditional and contemporary African art from Sub-Saharan and Arab North Africa.

The institution was first founded in 1964, with a collection focused on traditional African art. It joined the Smithsonian Institution in 1979 and became the National Museum of African Art two years later.

As the Smithsonian Institutions African art museum, it was the first institution dedicated to African art in the United States.

Today the collection is exhibited in a mostly underground museum building that was completed in 1987, just off the National Mall and adjacent to other Smithsonian museums.

The National Museum of African Art collects traditional and contemporary works of historical importance.

The collection ranges from 15th-century sculptures and masks to multi-media contemporary art and includes 300,000 photographs with significant contributions from photojournalists covered major 20th-century events.

The museums library has over 50,000 volumes in visual arts, anthropology, cooking, history, religion, and travel especially works published in Africa.

The Smithsonians National Museum of African Art

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Jacob Lawrence: The American Struggle Peabody Essex Museum Salem Massachusetts

From 1954 through 1956, while the civil rights movement was unfolding right before him, the late artist Jacob Lawrence created a series of paintings called Struggle: From the History of the American People. Now, for the first time in more than 60 years, 30 panels from the original collection have been reunited for an exhibition titled Jacob Lawrence: The American Struggle at the Peabody Essex Museum. Beginning with the American Revolution and working its way through 1817, Lawrence directed his attention on such important events as the Boston Tea Party, examining the struggles of a young nation getting its footing from the perspectives of African Americans, Native Americans, women and anyone else whose stories are rarely told in history class. His works are interspersed with those of other contemporary artists, including Derrick Adams and Bethany Collins . Take this virtual tour of the exhibit. On view through August 9.

Portraits Of African Americans National Portrait Gallery Washington Dc

From former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama to poet Langston Hughes to entrepreneur Madam C. J. Walker, the National Portrait Gallery’s comprehensive exhibit , “Portraits of African Americans,” serves as a whos-who of both well-known and lesser-known history makers. The museum holds, after all, more than 1,000 portraits of African American notables who have made significant contributions to science, the arts, politics and sports. Each portrait includes biographical information about each individual and their importance in history. On view now .

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The National Women’s History Museum Standing Up For Change

The National Womens History Museum launched an online photo exhibition in 2016 documenting the role of Black women during the civil rights movement as leaders, organizers and faces of movements titled Standing up for Change .

The online exhibit features art and documents dating from easily anti-abolition efforts to the mid-20th century. The exhibit states that African American women were the critical mass, the grassroots leaders challenging America to embrace justice and equality for all and that is something that we can definitely stand behind.

History Of The Alexandria Black History Museum

Alexandria Black History Museum incorporates the Robert H. Robinson Library as one of two exhibition galleries. The Robinson Library was originally constructed in 1940 following a sit-in at the segregated Alexandria Library. Learn more about the Sit-Down Strike, the Parker-Gray School and the Alexandria Black History Research Center.

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National Women’s History Museum

Come for the deep well of biographies and digital classroom resources , stay for the wide array of virtual exhibits , many of which are enabled by Google Arts & Culture. For two decades, the National Womens History Museum has been the largest online cultural institution telling the stories of women who helped transform the U.S. Heavy with slide shows and graphics, the virtual exhibits document women making waves in politics, sports, civil rights, science and technology and more. Check out its collection of oral histories from the American Rosie Movement, relaying women’s contributions to the nations defense production.

READ MORE: Womens History Milestones: A Timeline

African American Heritage Sites

Over the course of four centuries, Columbias black community transformed itself from that of a predominately enslaved population to a society whose members overcame the restrictions of Jim Crow and charted the course of the Civil Rights era. The story of this journey remains today within the home places, workplaces, and resting places of Columbias African American community.

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Smithsonian Launches Virtual African American Museum

The NMAAHC recently launched a “Searchable Museum,” translating its archives and stories into an interactive digital experience.

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture takes visitors on a tour of the past from the present day back to the 15th century.

A new virtual platform allows visitors to take the journey without leaving their homes. The museum’s artifacts, stories, and interactive experiences can now be explored through the website’s new digital platform known as the Searchable Museum .

“Welcome to the Searchable Museum,” the website states. “A place to explore history and culture through an African American lens.”

The first exhibit titled Slavery & Freedom is available now. The next online exhibit coming in the spring of 2022 is Making a Way Out of No Way.

Poet Maya Angelou narrates the digital experience while visitors see a succession of images from the past 600 years of Black history. The NMAAHC opened in 2016 using a system of timed entry passes that are both free of charge and in high demand.

The digital museum offers visitors a look at some artifacts previously closed to the public, including a 3D virtual tour of the Point of Pines Slave Cabin in Edisto Island, South Carolina. The cabin is one of two remaining on the island. Both are closed to the public.

This article contains information from National Public Radio. To read the story at www.npr.org click HERE .

Mission And Objectives Of The Jim Crow Museum

The mission of the Jim Crow Museum is to use objects of intolerance to teach tolerance and promote social justice.

The Museum’s mission is achieved through the following objectives:

• Collect, exhibit and preserve objects and collections related to racial segregation, anti-black caricatures, civil rights, and African American achievement.
• Promote the scholarly examination of historical and contemporary expressions of racism.
• Serve as a teaching resource for Ferris State University courses which deal, directly or indirectly, with the issues of race and ethnicity.
• Serve as an educational resource for scholars and teachers at the state, national and international levels.
• Promote racial understanding and healing.
• Serve as a resource for civil rights and human rights organizations.

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How Did People Become Revolutionaries

The rumblings of the American Revolution began more than a decade before the shot heard round the world ignited Americas War for Independence. Discover through seven galleries how the American Colonistsmost of them content and even proud British subjectsbecame Revolutionaries as the roots of rebellion took hold.

Learn how the words of the Declaration of Independence immediately helped fuel the aspirations for personal liberty of ordinary Americans. Explore the story of Elizabeth Freeman, an enslaved woman who sued for her freedom on the basis that she was entitled to natural rights. Explore what the Declarations promise of equality meant for all people, including women, enslaved people, and laboring men.

National Museum Of African American History & Culture Virtual Tour

The National Museum of African American History and Culture is one of the many Smithsonian Institute museums located in Washington, DC. Nearly 5 million people have visited the NMAAHC since it opened in September 2016, which makes it one of the most popular museums in DC. So, now is a great time to check out the museum virtually.

There are a number of collections available for viewing on the museums website. The site also features a Learning Lab for children ages 0-8, which could be a great addition to your distance learning curriculum. The NMAAHC is one of a number of African American History museums you can explore from home.

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10 Black History Month Activities: Virtual Celebration Ideas for 2024

Home  > Blog  > 10 Black History Month Activities: Virtual Celebration Ideas for 2023

What is Black History Month?

Black History Month is an annual celebration of achievements by the Black community and a time for recognizing their central role in history. Dating back to 1915, Carter G. Woodson and Jesse E. Moorland founded an organization dedicated to researching and promoting achievements by the Black community. It has since evolved from an organization, to a week-long recognition, to what is now known as Black History Month. 

When is Black History Month?

Black History Month is celebrated annually during the month of February. Each year, a theme is assigned to Black History month to help give the month a specific focus. The 2024 Black History Month theme is Black Resistance. This theme explores how African Americans have resisted historic and ongoing oppression in all forms. Learn more about this year’s theme here.

Notable People in Black History

Harriet Tubman helped hundreds of American slaves escape via secret route known as the Underground Railroad; Rosa Parks made history by refusing to give up her seat to a white man on a city bus; Martin Luther King, Jr. Helped shape the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950’s and 1960’s through non-violent social means; W.E.B. Du Bois was a writer and political activist and the key founder of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).  

Interested in learning more about other important people from Black history? Check out this link for more information! Black History Month Biographies  

Famous Black History Month Quotes

“Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the dream and the hope of the slave. I rise. I rise. I rise.” - Maya Angelou “If you fall behind, run faster. Never give up, never surrender, and rise up against all odds.” - Jesse Jackson “The cost of liberty is less than the price of repression.” - W.E.B. DuBois “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” - Martin Luther King Jr. “Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.” - Harriet Tubman

10 Black History Month Activities for Virtual Celebration

Recognizing and celebrating employees’ racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds can be effective in building psychological safety and employee engagement — which is why it is so essential to create spaces where people can engage with intersectionality, build community, and lift up all voices. As a distributed team, we understand the struggles of finding virtual ways to engage our employees, so we’ve created this list to help!

Here are our top ten virtual black history month activities and team-building games centered around recognizing and celebrating BHM: 

1. Support Black owned businesses

Cost: $$, $$$, $$$$ 

Effort: Moderate 

Support Black owned businesses this Black History Month by Building your own care packages from Bifties.com - featuring products from Black owned brands - to send to your employees. You can also provide stipends for employees to enjoy lunch from one of their local Black owned restaurants. EatOkra is a great resource for finding Black owned restaurants in your area.

2. Add Black History facts/trivia into meetings agendas, slide decks, etc.

Cost: Free 

Effort: Low 

Adding a fact or trivia question at the start of your meeting is a great way to break the ice and get employees engaged from the start. Try incorporating some facts or trivia from Black History this month. Here are some great resources:  

> Little Known Facts About Black History

> Black History Facts  

3. Hire a speaker or Diversity Expert to host an education workshop/seminar

Cost: $$$$ 

Effort: High 

While not all organizations may have the budget, hiring a speaker or diversity expert to host a

workshop or seminar is a very impactful way to teach not only Black history but also to teach

companies how to embrace diversity and inclusion. Check out the links below for a list of Black History Month speakers: 

> Penguin Random House Black History Month Speakers

> AAE Black History Month Speakers

4. Feature a Black author or related literature during the next book club read

Cost: Free, $ 

An office book club is a great opportunity to build a positive company culture within your organization, especially with distributed teams. There can be very limited opportunities to connect while working remotely; a book club is a great way to come together as a team, engage with other employees, and even offer opportunities for employee development.  

Consider reading one of the titles listed in the links below to focus on and support Black history. 

Here are some book suggestions for your next read:  

• The 1619 Project, by Nikole Hanna-Jones 
• The Other Black Girl, by Zakiya Dalila Harris 
• Between the World and Me, by Ta-Nehisi Coates 
• The Warmth of Other Suns, by Isabel Wilkerson 
• But Some of Us Are Brave, by Akasha (Gloria T.) Hull, Patricia Bell-Scott and Barbara Smith

 Looking for more options? Check out the below Links!

> 20 of the Most Essential Books on Black History   

> 32 Books to Honor and Celebrate Black History  

5. Send out music, podcast, and art recommendations

A great low-cost way to celebrate Black History Month is by sharing the love of Black Culture and media. Share a playlist featuring Black artists or send out recommendations for Black podcasts or art exhibitions. Check out these links below to find your inspiration:    

> 100 Best Black Podcasts

> Black History Month Apple Playlist

> 10 Must-See Exhibitions by Prominent Black Artists

6. Promote Employee Resource Groups

Effort: High

If you don’t currently have any ERGs ( Employee Resource Groups ) in your organization, Black History Month is a great time to put focus on the creation and implementation of these groups. ERGs are voluntary, employee-led groups whose aim is to foster a diverse, inclusive workplace aligned with their organization.

ERGs are comprised of members with shared characteristics such as Gender Identity, Ethnicity, Age, Religious Affiliation, and other shared interests. Some of the main goals of an ERG are: Improving work conditions for alienated workers, making the physical work environment better for everyone, bringing employees together in a safe place, identifying and developing leaders, tackling company-wide frustrations, and lowering the chance of suppressed frustrations.  You can learn more about ERGs here .

7. Hire Luna Park

Cost: $, $$

Effort: Low

You can create your own games and run the experience on Zoom or Celebrate Black History Month virtually with us at Luna Park . We’ve created an incredibly fun and educational game show hosted by us on a platform purpose-built for an interactive game show. Players will learn fun facts about notable people throughout Black history and enjoy the company of their coworkers in a relaxed, fun environment while they’re at it.

You can get started on your own here: 30/60 minute Black History Month Event at $300 .

8. Host Black History Month Trivia

Cost: Free, $, $$ 

Hosting a trivia event is a great and engaging way to learn more about Black History in your organization. Create your own trivia questions and set up a game on Zoom, or utilize some online platforms such as Trivia Maker or Bar None Games.

Wanting to try your hand at creating your own trivia event? Check out a list of trivia questions to get you started if you are creating your own trivia: 20 Black History Month trivia questions.  

9. Give back to relevant causes

Cost: $, $$, $$$, $$$ 

Effort: Moderate  

Making donations is a great way to support the Black community this February and throughout the year! Consider providing employees with their own stipend to donate to a cause of their choosing, or have the team vote collectively on one cause to make a donation to. Here is a list of some charities that could use your help:

> Center for Black Equality

> Color of Change

> Black Women for Wellness

> BlackPAC

> Black Girls CODE

> Black AIDS Institute

> Black Visions Collective

> The Okra Project

 10. Virtual Tours

While you may not have the budget for a company off-site tour, you can take advantage of virtual tours online! There are so many benefits of a virtual tour besides just cost savings! You have the freedom to visit from anywhere at any time. This will help accommodate everything in your organization, no matter the time zone.

Many virtual tours have zoom-in options and 360-degree views of the exhibits, allowing you to be immersed in the art as if you were really there. Another benefit of virtual tours is the time saved from waiting in lines! You’ll always be first in line when attending a virtual tour.

> National Museum of African American History and Culture Online

> Oakland Museum of California – Black Power

> African American Museum of Philadelphia – Through His Eyes

> Virtual Civil Rights Trail

> Google Arts and Culture – Black History and Culture

Black History Month is a time to recognize and celebrate the achievements of the Black community and their important role in shaping history. We hope these team-building activities would help you in celebrating Black History Month successfully.

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Virtual Black History Month Ideas & Activities for Work

You found our list of ways to celebrate virtual Black History Month at work.

Black History Month occurs every February in the US and Canada, and is a time to honor the achievements of the Black community. Businesses, schools, and communities celebrate the month with history lessons and special events. There are also many ways for virtual offices to observe the occasion.

These ideas are similar to Black History Month ideas for work , Asian Heritage Month ideas for work and ideas for Hispanic Heritage Month . Championing diversity at work is a way to improve company culture , as well as virtual employee engagement .

This article includes:

• virtual Black History Month event ideas for work
• virtual Black History Month activities for adults
• tips for celebrating Black History Month in remote offices

Here is the list!

List of virtual Black History Month ideas

From virtual talks to mindful donations, here is a list of virtual Black History Month celebration ideas to promote education and inclusion.

1. Book a Speaker

Hosting an educational talk is one of the best ways to recognize Black History Month. The activity gives employees the chance to learn more about an interesting topic, ask an expert questions, and get face-to-face time with remote coworkers.

First, find your presenter. You can put out an open call for speakers within the organization, or you could hire a virtual keynote speaker. Next, advertise the event to employees, and send a calendar invite with a meeting link. When the time arrives, attendees join the meeting and listen to the lecture. The chat function offers a non-disruptive way for guests to ask questions throughout. You should build in time for questions and answers during the session.

You can also share Black History Month quotes .

2. Play Black History Month: Ultimate Game Show

Black History Month: Ultimate Game Show is one of the most fun virtual Black History Month activities for adults. The game recognizes and rewards the folks who know a great deal about Black history, while educating those who don’t.

This fully-hosted, 90-minute experience combines all the best elements of Black History Month programming with an engaging, electric game show atmosphere. Teams huddle in breakout rooms to strategize and lock down answers, before rejoining the larger group to face off in a fierce battle to rack up points. The game is equal parts engaging and enlightening and allows teams to pay homage to African American excellence.

For every guest who attends, teambuilding.com will donate towards a Black philanthropy. There is also an option to add on a care package of snacks from Black-owned brands, shipped directly to your employees.

Learn more about Black History Month: Ultimate Game Show .

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• bingo cards

3. Offer a Black Business Patron Stipend

Supporting Black entrepreneurs is one of the best ways to celebrate Black History Month at work. To encourage employees to support Black-owned businesses, offer a stipend. You can choose the amount, and we recommend between $10 – $50. Then, ask employees to submit receipts, and reimburse expenses.

Virtual employees can choose to order ramen from a Black-owned restaurant during your next remote dinner or buy a print from a Black artist to spruce up their home office.

This app guide from FastCompany suggests ten useful tools for locating Black-owned businesses. Or, you can encourage employees to search for Black chambers of commerce or local directories, which may lead to them discovering and visiting other businesses in the area. Review sites like Google and Yelp also include attributes to identify Black-owned businesses.

4. Send a Care Package of Black-created Products

Sending staff care packages of Black-created products is another way to engage remote employees while supporting the Black community.

You can send staff boxes of snacks, tea or coffee, stationery, and self-care products like candles and lotion from Black businesses. For maximum impact, include information about the sellers, and consider also giving the vendors a social media shoutout.

You can either purchase goodies from individual businesses and assemble the boxes yourself, or order curated assortments of Black products. For instance, here is a Boston Black-Owned business gift box and a list of Black owned shops on Etsy.

5. Dedicate an Online Book Club Session to Black Authors

Black History Month exists to spread awareness of Black experiences, and reading is one of the best ways to learn about different perspectives. Hosting an online book club session is a great way to introduce employees to Black writers and different viewpoints.

To host your virtual book club, first choose and assign a title, then give attendees at least two weeks to read it. You could ship the book directly to club members, offer to cover the costs, or send participants digital copies. When it is time for the session, hop onto a video call and discuss the book together. You may be able to find lists of book club questions for your title online, otherwise you can draft your own.

Here are some reading recommendations:

• We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
• Feel Free: Essays by Zadie Smith
• Bad Feminist: Essays by Roxane Gay
• A Lucky Man by Jamel Brinkley
• The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X, as told to Alex Haley
• Notes of a Native Son by James Baldwin

If your group does not have time to meet, then you could still recommend the chosen book to teammates. Then create a quiz or ask employees to turn in a short reflection. To encourage staff to take part, reward participants with a token of thanks such as a coffee gift card.

For more reading suggestions, check out this list of books by black authors from TED .

6. Send Messages about Black History

Intentional internal messaging is one way to ensure that all team members attend Black History Month programming despite staggered schedules. Throughout the month of February, dedicate a section of your company and team emails to Black history and current events. Including links to Black-owned organizations, businesses, and creators is helpful. You can also dedicate blog posts to the subject. Be sure that your content is well-researched, culturally sensitive, and authentic in tone.

If you do not regularly send out staff emails or publish a blog, then you can allocate Slack messages for the cause. At regular intervals, post relevant facts and news in a company-wide Slack channel. You can also encourage remote employees to share relevant insights, reflections, and recommendations.

7. Take a Virtual Tour of Historically Significant Sites

TeamBuilding recently took a virtual team outing that toured the Black Broadway district of Washington DC. The team learned about the area’s cultural significance to the Black community and the US at large, and enjoyed team bonding in the process.

Taking a virtual tour of significant museums or cultural sites is a great way to explore Black history online with remote teams. You can either schedule a guide-led tour on Zoom, or navigate a self-led tour with staff by sharing screens during a video call.

Here are some great virtual tours for Black History Month:

• A Walk Through Harlem with The New York Times
• Virtual Civil Rights Trail
• Freedom March Selma to Montgomery
• Google Arts and Culture Black History and Culture
• National Center for Civil and Human Rights Virtual Tour
• National Museum of African American History and Culture Online

There are many other tours you and your team can take, including paid Zoom tours with question and answer components. To find an online experience, first select a location and subject, then search those terms with the words virtual tours or Zoom tours.

8. Plan a Social Media Takeover

Black History Month offers chances for members of the community to tell their own stories. By planning a social media takeover, you give storytellers a stage. First, choose a timeframe for the takeover, such as a single day, a day each week, or an entire week. Then, partner with a Black creator for content. The featured guest can submit videos, posts, and stories sharing their business, art, and insights. This approach is more personal than a generic “Happy Black History Month” post. Social media takeovers humanizes your brand while potentially growing the following for enterprising individuals.

9. Promote Employee Resource Groups

Working from home is lonely, and underrepresented employees can struggle even more with feelings of work isolation. Even if your virtual team is close knit, diverse teammates can benefit from interacting with colleagues who have similar backgrounds and experiences.

If your company does not currently have a Black employee resource group, then Black History Month is a good time to launch and promote one. Note that if your organization has very few employees, then you can direct staff towards industry groups, such as the National Society for Black Engineers. Assisting interested employees with membership fees is an even more meaningful gesture.

Be sure to also remind employees of other available resources, such as mental health services, professional development programs, and procedures for reporting discrimination in the workplace.

Expressing your commitment to making the workplace a fair and comfortable place for all employees can boost your staff’s productivity, job satisfaction, and retention rates. Taking steps to reach this reality will resonate even more with your crew.

10. Support a Black Philanthropy

One of the best ways to celebrate Black History Month at work is to make a charity contribution. You can either make one donation to a single organization on behalf of the company, or match employee donations.

Here are a few great philanthropies to check out:

• Brave Space Alliance
• Black Girls Code
• NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund
• Innocence Project
• Facing History and Ourselves
• The Loveland Foundation
• Teach the Black Freedom Struggle Campaign
• Feed Black Futures
• Thurgood Marshall College Fund
• The National Museum of African American History and Culture

There are many more organizations that could benefit from your organization’s support.

Staff can also virtually volunteer for tasks like tutoring children in underfunded schools, serving as a Big Brother or Big Sister, providing entrepreneurial coaching, or creating content for the organization’s website.

You can also give worthy causes a platform by launching your own virtual fundraiser , or dedicating posts to the cause on your social media channels and company website.

11. Sponsor a Black Mentorship Program

Many members of underrepresented communities are the first of their families and neighborhoods to pursue a chosen field. Because these individuals cannot receive guidance from existing circles, they often struggle to find the career counselling that could help them excel professionally.

Sponsoring a Black mentorship program is a significant way to honor Black History Month. You can hold webinars and workshops that permit high schoolers, college students, or career shifters to explore your industry. During the event, you can answer questions, point participants towards resources, give attendees initial on-the-job experience, and share your industry expertise. These sessions can occur via virtual meeting or livestream with large audiences, or during one on one video calls.

You could even match learners with long-time mentors they can contact online for career advice.

These efforts are also beneficial for your organization in the long term. Virtual Black mentorship programs help grow diversity in your industry, and attract promising candidates towards your future hiring pipeline.

Tips for celebrating Black History Month in remote offices

Here is a list of best practices for celebrating Black History Month in online offices.

12. Avoid singling out employees

Black employees should feel safe speaking about their experiences, and should not feel forced to. Expecting Black employees to educate coworkers about race issues or history can put unwanted pressure or attention on teammates. Plus, this task can feel like an added responsibility and unfair obligation.

A better approach is to welcome and encourage suggestions and contributions from all employees. Teammates may have suggestions for great virtual speakers or workshops, charities to donate to, or Black History Month virtual event ideas. Team members may even volunteer to give a lecture on Black soldier’s contributions to WW2 or lead a soul food cooking class.

However, you should not approach individual employees if they do not express interest in planning programming. As well-intentioned as your request may be, your behavior could have the unintended consequence of alienating your employee by treating them differently from the rest of the team.

13. Spotlight multiple perspectives

While Black History Month aims to honor the Black experience, it is important to understand that there is no single definitive Black experience. The Black community is diverse and filled with varying perspectives and histories. Black employees represent a variety of cultures and subcultures and come from many different backgrounds. There is no limit to the identities or intersections of identities Black colleagues may possess.

While the month is about uniting to share a common history, it is also important to acknowledge that members of the community have unique and divergent histories and cultures too. It is key to not make assumptions, and to seek out many stories instead of one single narrative.

14. Plan meaningful programming

Making a shallow gesture is almost worse than making no gesture at all. Posting a single “Happy Black History Month!” pictures on your social media or website will not automatically make your remote employees more aware of the cultural significance of the month. Nor will it impress your staff.

Planning meaningful virtual programming for Black History Month emphasizes your company’s commitment to creating inclusive environments. Ideally, events should be both entertaining and informative. Plus, your programming should include a variety of options, so that employees can participate even if they cannot attend a live event.

15. Pay special attention to diversity and inclusion

The month-long celebration of Black culture is a response to centuries worth of exclusion and under-representation. While it is important to acknowledge the past, it is also crucial to focus on the present and the future. Black History Month is a time to analyze the racial environment within your organization.

No diversity situation is strictly pass or fail. No matter how inclusive and accommodating your organization might be, there is room for improvement. Black History Month serves as a reminder of the injustices the Black community has endured, and a call to do better.

While you should always be conscious of inclusivity and cultural sensitivity within the company, February is a good time to re-evaluate your programs and make necessary updates.

16. Observe the values of the occasion yearlong

In the same way we do not limit romantic love to Valentine’s Day or gratitude to Thanksgiving, we should not limit the celebration of Black excellence to February.

While Black History Month is a great time to champion diversity and focus on inclusion, organizations and coworkers should work to promote these practices yearlong. The month can spotlight these values, but the efforts should extend into other seasons.

Showing a constant commitment to empowering Black employees will make your February celebrations seem more sincere. Not to mention, your colleagues will thrive at work and show greater levels of productivity, creativity, and passion.

As the need for thoughtful diversity and inclusion in the corporate world grows, so does the importance of meaningful Black History Month celebrations. Celebrating the month in virtual environments is especially important, since it is harder to cultivate a sense of community and culture when working from home.

While remote work enables companies to recruit more diverse workforces, there is still a discrepancy in the distribution of resources that enable folks to work from home. Acknowledging and working to fix this inequality is important.

In the meantime, dispersed teammates need opportunities to connect with colleagues. Black History Month offers the chance to interact around a highly meaningful topic, and promotes positive culture throughout virtual organizations.

For more virtual holidays to celebrate in February, check out our lists of virtual Valentine’s Day ideas and Presidents’ Day leadership quotes .

We also have a list of Juneteenth ideas and activities , a list of ideas for National Native American Heritage Month and a list of ideas for Jewish Heritage Month at work .

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FAQ: Virtual Black History Month

Here are answers to common questions about Black History Month and remote work.

What is Black History Month?

Black History Month is an occasion celebrated during February in the US and Canada. The month honors the achievements and struggles of the Black community and promotes the principles of fairness, civil rights, and equality.

What began as “Negro History Week” in the 1920’s eventually evolved into Black History Month in the 1970’s. In the decades since, the scope of celebrations has grown. Businesses, schools, and communities typically observe the occasion with history lessons, ceremonies, special events, and mindful marketing.

Why should you celebrate Black History Month at work?

Celebrating Black History Month is a way to recognize and honor the significant contributions, struggles, and experiences of members of the Black community. It is more important than ever to understand and respect the cultural backgrounds of employees. If planned and executed with tact and care, these celebrations have the power to make Black employees feel more welcome and valued within the organizations.

What are some good virtual Black History Month ideas for work?

Some good virtual Black History Month ideas for work include Zoom talks, Black business stipends or care packages, charity contributions, formation or promotion of Black employee support groups, and virtual tours.

Author: Angela Robinson

Marketing Coordinator at teambuilding.com. Team building content expert. Angela has a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and worked as a community manager with Yelp to plan events for businesses.

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A Knoxville Black history app will bring stories, maps to your phone

The Beck Cultural Exchange Center is developing an app to accompany its corridor of important Black history sites in downtown and East Knoxville, which will make a trove of stories downloadable with the click of a button.

Using geographical and historical data, the app will provide a virtual tour of Knoxville's Black history through an interactive map on which sites are tagged with educational material.

Standing at historical sites, users will be able to scan into the app to find more information than a traditional historical marker can hold.

For instance, a visitor to the Alex Haley statue in Morningside Park will scan a QR code to open the app, where they will gain access to videos of the author speaking, excerpts of his Pulitzer Prize-winning writing and insight from historians.

Haley Heritage Square and the statue are the gateway to the Beck Cultural Corridor , the center's tour of important Black history sites in the area most affected by urban renewal, also called urban removal . This destructive era from 1959 to 1974 was when the city of Knoxville displaced many Black neighborhoods and demolished the history of those communities.

By reclaiming that history through an app, the Beck Center hopes to bring its identity as Knoxville's storehouse of Black history into the digital age.

"We really believe that we will become the model community for what it looks like to celebrate your rich history and culture and learn from it," Renee Kesler, president of the Beck Center, told Knox News. "Beck has been a model for so many different institutions and organizations and cultural centers and museums throughout the country."

Kesler hopes the app will be available to the public by either Juneteenth or the Eighth of August , also called Emancipation Day in Tennessee.

The Beck Center partnered with the department of geography and sustainability at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville to create an interactive online map that shows the impact of urban removal and tags important historical sites. Students coded addresses into the map, which Kesler said will be available in the app.

The app is one of several projects the center is working on ahead of its 50th anniversary in 2025, including the neighboring Delaney Museum at Beck , set to be an international destination for admirers of generational artist Beauford Delaney.

The app project, developed through a contract with an IT company, is supported in part by a $250,000 grant for the Beck Center from the state of Tennessee last year.

Beck does critical maintenance on its East Knoxville facility

Some of the grant went toward critical maintenance to the Beck's facility at 1927 Dandridge Ave. Built as a private residence in 1912, the Tudor-style home contains exhibits on the slave trade in Knoxville, the legacy of urban removal, and the resilience, imagination and artistry of the city's Black community.

The museum is free and open to the public, with self-guided and guided tours.

State funds helped pay for an overdue exterior wash, removal of several invasive trees, and other maintenance. Kesler compared the work to getting new tires for your car; it makes a huge difference, but it costs a lot and you can't necessarily see the change.

Once maintenance wraps up this spring, the museum will move to funding visionary projects that include the Black history app and a special book relaunch for the center's 50th anniversary next year.

"There is no museum like the Beck Cultural Exchange Center, and we want to not only be able to say that, we want to show that - that when you come here, you see a showpiece," Kesler said. "These funds are helping us to do that."

State elected officials say funding for the center is no sure thing this year as Tennessee's budget tightens in response to lower revenues. The center also gets funding from private and individual donors.

Beck Center prepares for 50th anniversary

The Delaney Museum at Beck , set to open in May 2025 at the artist's last family home in Knoxville, is one of several projects to celebrate the anniversary of the center's opening in 1975.

Next year carries another important anniversary: 150 years since the founding of Knoxville College, the city's historically Black college at the center of the community's local history.

A book on the history of Knoxville College by Robert J. Booker, a Knoxville civil rights leader and Black historian who served three stints as Beck president, will return to print next year.

The book, called "And There Was Light!: The 120-Year History of Knoxville College," will be reprinted with two additional chapters that stretch back to 1863 and up to the present day, Kesler said. Previously, the book spanned from 1875 to 1995.

Booker received an honorary doctorate from UT on Feb. 10. He is also the author of "Two Hundred Years of Black Culture in Knoxville, Tennessee 1791-1991," the seminal work on the city's Black history. The book vaulted Booker and the Beck Center to a position of greater prominence.

Booker has been a columnist for the Knoxville News Sentinel since 2003.

Funds doubtful as state budget tightens

The Beck Center's $250,000 grant from the state came after years of asking for public financial support. It may well have been a one-time grant, said state Sen. Becky Duncan Massey of Knoxville, who helped secure last year's grant.

"There will be less money this year for a lot of these initiatives and I know we've got quite a few coming from Knoxville in various different areas," Massey said. "Having run a nonprofit in Knoxville, I know how precious dollars are to our nonprofit community."

Gov. Bill Lee presented a $52.6 billion budget proposal for 2024 on Feb. 5, which was $9.9 billion less than last year in response to lower tax revenues and dried-up federal pandemic funding.

Funding for the Beck Center came from a separate legislative request from Massey and state Rep. Sam McKenzie after the budget was finalized last year. It was split between the Beck Center and the Bessie Smith Cultural Center in Chattanooga.

McKenzie remembers the Beck Center opening when he was only 10 years old. He said he would continue pushing to renew state funding for the museum this year.

"It's the linchpin of the African American community in terms of the housing of materials and archives," McKenzie said. "It's a resource that is really second to none, but they struggle sometimes financially, so it made me feel good I was able to do a small part to help this legacy."

Daniel Dassow is a growth and development reporter focused on technology and energy. Phone 423-637-0878. Email  [email protected] .

Support strong local journalism by subscribing at  knoxnews.com/subscribe .   

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Juneteenth: Rise

Continue the story of Juneteenth and discover the impact of Emancipation from the 1870s to the present day, including a live-streaming look at the rise and turmoil within Black meccas like Chicago, plus trivia with a focus on soul food.

Trace how LGBTQIA+ individuals have always been an important part of our American history, with live-streams from historic gay neighborhoods in New York City and San Francisco.

Disability Pride

Honor the achievements and progress people with disabilities have made, from landmark legislation to social inclusion and employment. Visible and invisible disabilities are topics of this brand new experience. 

Coming Soon!

Music Evolution: She Rocks!

Women’s History Team Building

Rock out to the stories and music of female musicians and storytellers in this Women’s History Month themed event. Your team will love the musical trivia and live guided tour!

Hispanic and Latiné Heritage Month

Celebrate Hispanic and Latiné Heritage in this fun and mesmerizing event with live streaming guides in St. Augustine, Florida, and Austin, Texas. Plus, learn about the impact of Latinx music on American culture.

South American Adventure

DEI and Holiday Team Building

Take a virtual travel tour to South America with live guides! Explore the incredible Machu Picchu, one of the Wonders of the World, and the holiday markets in Cusco, Peru. This unique event will mesmerize your team.

Ghost Stories

Virtual Team Building

Hear and create spooky ghost stories and make decadent s’mores with your team. You’ll also get a live-stream look at a Victorian cemetery.

Superheroes

Virtual Travel

Dive into a “marvel-ous” world of superheroes with live visits to top filming locations, making your own team superhero with our live animator, and wine pairings. This is the ultimate virtual happy hour!

Design a Golf Course

Build a mini golf course at your desk and discover the history of golf. Plus, get a live look at locations important to golf legend Bobby Jones.

European Vacation

Take a virtual travel tour to Europe with live guides any time in the year! Explore Rome, Italy and Prague, Czech Republic. Choose your own adventure in the Old Town Square and learn about Italian espresso.

Spark your team’s creativity with street art activities. Learn the history of different art form, with a focus from Black artists. Plus, get a live-streamed visit to a popular street art location.

Best of Atlanta

See beautiful Atlanta, Georgia – home of the Civil Rights movement and one of the world’s busiest airports. Plus, make a craft version of the iconic Tiny Doors.

Music Evolution: For the Culture

Play kazoos in your “jam band” while learning the fascinating history of music. And, on this fun DEI event, your team will take a live-streamed visit to Nashville, Tennessee.

Indigenous and Native American Heritage

Discover Indigenous history and culture in this fascinating and impactful event focused on the impact of narrative and words. Plus, learn from a Native American scholar and see the important Ocmulgee historic mounds.

European Holiday

Holiday Team Building

Take a virtual travel tour to Europe with live guides! Explore Rome, Italy and Prague, Czech Republic. Choose your own adventure at the holiday markets in the Old Town Square and learn about Italian espresso.

Unexpected Holiday Party

This fun and fast-paced holiday team building event will get your group laughing and playing together. Play Jeopardy, craft holiday sweaters, decorate cookies, and as a bonus, see iconic holiday locations in New York City live!

Be inspired by Dr. King’s legacy of nonviolence and learn the history that led him to be the voice of the Civil Rights Movement. You’ll also discover how Coretta Scott King was paramount in continuing the work of her late husband.

DEI Subscription

Discount Package

Plan your DEI calendar, Heritage Month, and inclusive events with a DEI subscription package. Subscribers receive priority booking, free recording access, and a 15% discount! Available to medium size groups and above. 

She Innovates

Play “historic shark tank” and learn about incredible female innovators in this immersive experience for Women’s History Month, with character guides who honor historic inventors. Plus, a live-streamed visit to Chicago!

Black History Month

Discover the roots of Black History Month with the story of Dr. Carter Woodson, plus stunning art and interactive trivia. You’ll take a live-streamed visit to incredible historic Black neighborhoods in Washington DC and Atlanta.

Good Trouble

Take a deeper look at Black resistance and the fight for liberty, with a live tour of Montgomery, Alabama and iconic Civil Rights locations. This brand new event will inspire your team for Black History Month.

Why Your Team Will Love Unexpected Virtual Tours and Training

Fun and engaging.

No awkward Zoom happy hours or boring speakers where your team tunes out. Passionate and fun studio and on location guides lead each Unexpected Virtual Tour and Training session.

Treat Boxes

Ship custom gift boxes filled with treats and hands-on activities to your team.

Live-Streaming Guides

Explore the world with live-streaming guides in unique places.

Hands-on Activities

Active team challenges build engaged teams.

Loved By the World’s Largest Companies

Free Virtual Team Building and Training Resources

How to Create a Successful Women’s Employee Resource Group

6 Ideas for Promoting Public Sector Diversity and Inclusion

Learn more with our free training videos.

Why Unexpected Virtual Tours and Training?

We have been hosting radically creative team building events since 2015.

That’s not just us talking. The NY Times and Forbes have been impressed with our creativity.

Our executive team are former attorneys and executives. We know how successful corporate teams work.

100,000+ corporate attendees have enjoyed our experiences.

We can’t wait to entertain your teams.

3 Common Workplace Phrases Rooted in Indigenous Stereotypes

Enhancing Company Culture with DEI Trianing, Fostering Diversity

Special Edition: Race and The Business of Inclusion

Empathy In The Workplace Is In A Crisis (And 3 Tips To Counteract It)

How Companies Can Honor Women's History Month—Even Beyond March

Lonely Planet

The top 5 Juneteenth celebrations in the USA

Everything You Can Do in Atlanta This Holiday Season

The Guardian

The end of the office holiday party-or simply time to get creative?

Unexpected Virtual Tours have a culinary focus with teambuilding elements like branded gift boxes worked into the experience.

The New York Times

Getting Creative for the 2020 Office Holiday Party

Travel + Leisure

This Virtual Food Tour in Atlanta Ends With a No-contact Tasting Menu Delivery (Video)

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Unexpected Atlanta launches the ATL Food Tour Box, bringing home experience of food tours

The Atlanta Food Tour Box Brings The City’s Goodies To Your Home

FAQs About Unexpected Virtual Tours and Training

Why virtual team building, what do the virtual team building activities include.

Each virtual team building activities packs in a lot!

In general, each experience has a:

• short introduction,
• icebreaker questions,
• stories about a specific topic,
• break-out room activities,
• and live-streaming guides from locations across the world.

We have a super tight budget. Can we afford this?

Our goal is to work with you. In fact, we hope to provide an experience within your budget!

In general, companies invest between $30 to 85 per person.

That being said, price depends on group size and Treat Box requests.

Contact us about discounts for non-profits and school groups.

Is a virtual tour enjoyable?

Virtual tours are so much fun with us!

We combine live-streamed virtual sightseeing with beautiful events. Plus, we add fun team-building breakout rooms.

This means that:

• your team is engaged
• avoid technology issues
• team doesn’t get bored

Why Choose Unexpected Virtual Tours and Training?

What do unexpected virtual tours' clients say about their experience.

First, check out our Google reviews and 5 star rating.  Teams love what we do.

Second, many teams tell us that this is “the best virtual experience.”

That is because we seamlessly integrate fun with knowledge.

You have a smart and creative team. We provide smart and creative team building.

How do Unexpected Virtual Tours create ROI and improve corporate culture?

In general, every experience supports company culture.

We promise: no boring team events here.

Engaged employees are less likely to seek out a new job. Plus, that hits your bottom line. In fact, replacing an employee costs 1.5 times that salary.

On the other hand, our team building experiences range from $40 to $150 per person. Simply put, that is a lot LESS!

Further, each experience integrates a specific corporate cultural goal.

For example, the Street Art experience strengthens team creativity.

Couldn't we just hire a virtual tour guide on Airbnb or Amazon?

Amazon and Airbnb usually have one person on a cell phone.

All of our experiences have at least 3 guides.

That means fun engagement and team-building games. In addition, it includes a fantastic sightseeing tour.

We use beautiful presentation software. Further, we ship Treat Boxes with many fun foods.

It results in a total virtual experience.

How Do Unexpected Virtual Tours Work?

These events sound like they have a lot of elements. how does it work.

Each virtual experience packs in many mini experiences.

For instance, you’ll answer ice breaker questions. Plus, try fun breakout activities with your team. In addition, live-streaming guides provide city tours.

Best of all, we make it seamless. In fact, you will find that the hour flies by!

Why do remote workers enjoy Unexpected Virtual Tours?

As you know, 41% of remote team members have high stress levels. Likewise, 44% of Gen Z employees don’t have friends at work.

But, those connections are critical to retain employees.

We want to help you change those stats.

First, each virtual activity includes real time guides. Plus, enjoy interesting stories.

For example, your event might include a scavenger hunt or team trivia. Or, we include story contests and paint games. Or, your team might enjoy another team building game.

How many remote team members may be on an event?

Up to 500 remote employees may join a virtual experience.

In fact, we have run events with every size of remote team members.

What do you mean by "studio" and "live-streaming" guides?

Every event includes “studio” and “live-streaming” guides.

Firstly, the studio guides act as hosts. That ensures seamless technology.

That is to say, our studio guides are professional performers. All are masters at virtual engagement. In addition, most are actors and history buffs.

Secondly, the live-streaming guide is on location in the world.

For example, in European Holiday, we have two live streaming guides. They are in Prague and Rome. In addition, these guides walk the streets of those cities.

Booking Virtual Team Building Details

We want virtual sightseeing at destinations. do you do that.

Yes, we provide live virtual sightseeing. Our events are not static presentations. In fact, our live streaming guides are “on the ground” of unique places to share stories and sights from that location.

Our in-studio guides will interact with your live streaming guides and your team.

Corporate travel is expensive. And, corporate travel may not be possible with a distributed work force. That’s why we bring your remote workers together in a fun virtual destination.

What do I need to provide?

All we need from you is:

• time and date of your online meeting
• total number of attendees

If you’re ordering Treat Boxes, we need:

• final number of Treat Boxes 21 days before the event
• street addresses at least 14 days before the event

We are interested in an experience you don't have here. Will you build one for us?

We build unique custom virtual experiences for clients.

Do you want to virtually travel to Asia? Do you want a Super Bowl experience?

These are some custom virtual experiences we have created. Pricing determined based on your specs.

What is the booking process?

In general, booking Unexpected Virtual Tours is quick and easy.

First, fill in the contact form. Specifically, we need to know:

• and number of attendees.

Second, our sales team will give you a quick call. Or, we can respond by e-mail.

Third, we will send you a proposal with pricing.

Fourth, pick the event you desire. Then, we will send you an invoice for the deposit.

Finally, once you’ve paid the invoice, your event is booked.

Technology Details & Logistics

What type of software is required.

We use Zoom as our standard video conferencing software.

In some cases, we can also use Google+ or Microsoft Teams. However, we may charge a small fee. Specifically, that fee allows our team to practice with your software before the event.

What if a few people need to jump on a bit late? Will you wait to start?

To support your team’s busy schedules, we start promptly.

We start with a five-minute introduction. Then, we will dive straight in to the content.

Guests are welcome to join at any time through the team meetings.

Virtual Team Building and Training Details

Are the virtual experiences interactive.

Interaction is our expertise. In fact, our experiences will improve team communication skills while employees work from home.

First, every event includes engaging chat sessions.

Second, teams enjoy hands-on breakout activities.

For example, your teams may join a “virtual jam band.”

Do you offer team trivia?

Unfortunately, we don’t offer a stand-alone pub trivia game.

However, all our experiences include trivia.

In addition, guides will give out trivia points to engage the whole team.

We would like a 30 minute, 45 minute, 90 minute, etc. event? Can you customize the event time for us?

In general, we do not recommend less than 45 minutes for virtual events.

Most events are one hour long. But, we can customize the time for a small fee.

That being said, we have found that 60 minutes is the best time frame for most companies. Generally, one hour keeps everyone engaged and interested.

We provide live virtual sightseeing. For example, our live-streaming guides are on the streets in a unique location.

Further, they share stories and sights from that location. Specifically, this is not just a static presentation.

Instead, our studio and live-streaming guides will interact with your team.

Corporate travel is expensive. In addition, corporate travel may not be possible with a distributed work force.

However, with Unexpected Virtual Tours, we bring your remote work team to an amazing virtual destination.

We have a big virtual conference. What type of event could you provide?

Most experiences work for 1 to 500 attendees.

However, some virtual experiences, like European Holiday, can host 2,000 attendees.  That being said, at larger group sizes, we provide discounted rates.

Treat Boxes Details

Do we need the treat boxes for an event.

For most events, the Treat Box is an optional enhancement to your experience.

For teams that don’t have a budget for everyone to receive a box, many choose to “raffle off” a few boxes to event participants. The quantity is up to you (while supplies last).

What type of foods are in the Treat Box?

Each experience includes its own thematic Treat Box.

In addition, United States small businesses make all the treats.

Further, 90% of our small business vendors are women-owned or BIPOC-owned businesses.

How are the Treat Boxes packed?

All food products are pre-packaged with vendors that have a food handler license.

Further, Unexpected Virtual Tours has a gift box production space. It meets all CDC requirements for safety and handling. For instance, team members wear masks and gloves when packaging boxes.

How are the Treat Boxes shipped?

All Treat Boxes ship UPS Ground. In general, boxes reach your teams in their virtual office space within 2 to 5 business days.

That being said, we do not recommend shipping to P.O. boxes nor internationally.

Can you provide options for food restrictions?

With advance notice, we can provide some alternatives.

That being said, all of our Treat Boxes are vegetarian. In addition, we do not ship perishable items.

We do NOT want to cook. This isn't a cooking class, is it?

There is NO cooking in our experiences. On the other hand, the food elements in the Treat Box enhance the experience.

For example, on our Street Art event, we provide cookies you can paint.

On the other hand, for Music Evolution, we have foods like Rap Snacks.

Can we make our own treat boxes for the event?

Most companies find that ordering Treat Boxes directly through Unexpected Virtual Tours provides a significant value for your team.

Firstly, we have negotiated favorable shipping rates, which we pass on. Secondly, our treat boxes are shipped directly to your participants. Finally, in a typical treat box, over 90% of our vendors are women-owned or minority-owned small businesses. You can feel good about your purchase!

About Diversity and Inclusion Virtual Events

Are these events diversity training.

Unexpected Virtual Tours does not offer generic diversity training. Instead, we offer live, interactive diversity experiences that embed DEI training concepts.

In other words, your employees will WANT to attend our diversity events!

Most diversity training fails because employees aren’t engaged. As a result, they don’t retain the information and put it into practice. In contrast to this, our experiences get your team responding, creating, and collaborating.

Our DEI sessions are designed to help your team consider perspectives and lived experiences that may be outside their own. For example, our Music Evolution experience shares these diversity training topics:

• appropriation
• re-appropriation
• collaboration

But, the session explores these themes through engaging, interactive music activities. In addition, your team will get a deep look at the African American influence on American music history.

In summary, your teams won’t realize that they are learning these concepts when they are focused on participating in a memorable shared experience!

How does your team write the history for the DEI events?

Unexpected Virtual Tours has three historians on our staff. Our historians focus on:

• food history
• the histories of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) people in America
• music history
• race and social justice

As such, we never use Wikipedia research. Instead, our historians use original source documents.

In fact, it takes our historians around 140 hours to research a 1-hour virtual team building experience!

What Can I Expect From Virtual DEI Events?

Are these diversity events "boring" or "preachy".

Unexpected Virtual Tours’ events never preach and they are incredibly engaging.

First, each virtual team building experience focuses on expanding your team’s knowledge through fun, interactive activities. For example, your experience may include trivia, a craft activity, a live tour of a historic site, and fun challenges.

Secondly, each experience amplifies the stories of marginalized people. For example, our Juneteenth virtual experience shares the deep, somber history of Emancipation in the United States. Our historians spent more than 350 hours researching and developing this hour-long experience.

The content you’ll experience with Unexpected Virtual Tours is radically engaging. Our programs are presented by our expert studio guides and live-streaming guides. They can answer your team’s questions in real-time and help guide activities while sharing valuable knowledge.

Allyship is a corporate value embedded throughout your event. As a result, team members leave the experience excited to promote allyship in their own company and their community.

Are these diversity events political in nature?

Our interactive virtual events do not focus on politics or share any political leaning.

Our diversity and inclusion virtual events are meant for everyone across the political spectrum.

Instead, Unexpected Virtual Tours focuses on sharing the history as it happened.

Fortunately, we have multiple historians on staff who thoroughly research and write each of our programs. Our staff members focus on sharing history lessons in a way that is truthful, engaging, and memorable. As a result, your team will have a valuable learning experience while also building connections with each other.

Who Are Diversity Team Building Events For?

Will our corporate teams appreciate the dei events.

Unexpected Virtual Tours provides virtual events for companies of all sizes and industries. In fact, many of the Fortune 100 companies we work with have a dedicated DEI staff.

Regardless of your size, our approach is the same. We create accessible and inclusive virtual programming that enhances your corporate goals. Specifically, we do NOT provide boring mandatory diversity training, nor do we preach.

Instead, our events are research-based, with the goal of entertaining and educating your team. Research from Harvard University has found that the most effective diversity programs spark employee engagement. We believe in interactive, hands-on virtual experiences that get everyone laughing and participating.

For example, groups love learning about music history during our Music Evolution experience. Then, our live guides discuss the DEI themes of appropriation and collaboration. We explore the fun parts of music history as well as important information about diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Are these events just for people of color or for LGBTQIA+ employees? Will I feel uncomfortable attending as a white person or a heterosexual person?

People of all races, orientations, and backgrounds are welcome and included at our virtual team building events.

First, Unexpected Virtual Tours’ events are truly inclusive. Each experience will have expert guides of different races and ethnicities. And, most importantly, there is no “us vs. them” mentality.

For example, our events are for everyone who loves food, history, and fun knowledge.

Here’s a testimonial from one of our clients:

“HIGHLY recommend for team building and educational experiences! All are incredibly smart, effective story-tellers and historians. My whole team learned so much and left feeling energized and informed.”

About Unexpected Virtual Tours

Are you a certified minority business enterprise.

Unexpected Virtual Tours is a certified Minority Business Enterprise by the National Minority Supplier Development Council. We can provide a copy of our NMSDC certificate to interested clients who would like to apply these team building costs to diversity-focused funds. Unexpected Virtual Tours is a 100% women-owned and minority-owned business.

Is Unexpected Virtual Tours a certified Women Business Enterprise?

Unexpected Virtual Tours is a 100% minority-owned and women-owned small business. At this time, we do not have a Women Business Enterprise certification.

Are the small businesses utilized in the Treat Boxes minority-owned or women-owned businesses?

Generally, over 90% of our vendors are women-owned or minority-owned small businesses. Because they are small local businesses, many of our vendors do not have certificates with these statuses.

Can we pay via check?

First, Unexpected Virtual Tours will provide you with a QuickBooks invoice. Most companies choose to pay via credit card or ACH transfer for convenience. However, if you would prefer to pay by check, let us know, and we can provide that information.

Virtual team building with on-location guides and delish foodie gift boxes

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