Raleigh Forum: Black Wall Street Trail & Seminole Maroon Freedom Trail
Blanchard House Institute (“BHI”) will host a private breakfast roundtable high level side event to Concordia’s U.S. Summit in commemoration of UNESCO’s 20th anniversary of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. This event will convene local elected officials and leaders to learn about BHI’s work to develop two national economic and cultural trails to revitalize 250+ underinvested and rural communities impacted by Urban Renewal and historic neglect in honour of the nation’s semi quincentennial in 2026.
Launched in 2022, Blanchard House Institute, an extension of the Blanchard House Museum, a charter member of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, is centring new approaches to economic development and shifting perceptions through the Black Wall Street Trail and Seminole Maroon Freedom Trail to promote a greater sense of belonging and prosperity for all Americans. BHI’s work is at the nexus of civic engagement, entrepreneurship, and heritage preservation in honour of the golden age of historic African American business districts and the quest by the Seminole Maroons to achieve the purest form of freedom.
