Items | Portland, Maine: Black History Guided Walking Tour
Portland, Maine: Black History Guided Walking Tour
(144) Reviews
Cumberland County
About
Trace the steps of the Black Portlanders who moved our city, state, and country closer to the ideals of freedom, democracy, opportunity, and equality. Maine’s earliest settlements couldn’t have existed without Black labor, skill, and insight. You'll meet the Black Yankees who founded Maine communities, overturned slavery statewide, drove our maritime industries, gained political influence, crossed color boundaries, and expanded Mainers’ rights in the modern era.
Stepping on granite cobblestones crooked with age — that once saw footfalls from national heroes like Frederick Douglass — you’ll pass storefronts once home to Black-owned barbershops where abolitionists whispered intelligence to Un...
Highlights
2 hours
Offered in English
Free Cancellation
Mobile Ticket
2 hours
Offered in English
Free Cancellation
Mobile Ticket
What's Included
10% off water tours with Portland Paddle (instructions at confirmation)
Two hour fully narrated guided tour.
Donation toward restoring the Abyssinian Meeting House, America's third-oldest standing Black church
A tip for your guide!
Meeting Points
Departure
First Parish in Portland, Unitarian Universalist
Meet at the front steps of First Parish Church. Your guide will be holding a sign that says "Portland by the Foot." Check-in time is 10 minutes prior to the scheduled tour time. The church is one half mile from the cruise ship terminal.
Return
Eastern Cemetery
Eastern Cemetery is on Congress Street at the head of Montgomery Street. If you want to get back to where we started, it's an easy, straight shot 0.5 miles (10-minute walk) down Congress Street. It's also 0.5 miles from the cruise ship terminal.
Important Information
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Wheelchair accessible
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Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
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Service animals allowed
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Public transportation options are available nearby
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Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
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All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
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Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
Cancellation policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
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For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
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Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
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If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
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This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.
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Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
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Portland, Maine: Black History Guided Walking Tour
(144) Reviews
Cumberland County
Select Date & Travelers
From
$54.00
Price varies by group size
About
Trace the steps of the Black Portlanders who moved our city, state, and country closer to the ideals of freedom, democracy, opportunity, and equality. Maine’s earliest settlements couldn’t have existed without Black labor, skill, and insight. You'll meet the Black Yankees who founded Maine communities, overturned slavery statewide, drove our maritime industries, gained political influence, crossed color boundaries, and expanded Mainers’ rights in the modern era.
Stepping on granite cobblestones crooked with age — that once saw footfalls from national heroes like Frederick Douglass — you’ll pass storefronts once home to Black-owned barbershops where abolitionists whispered intelligence to Un...
Highlights
2 hours
Offered in English
Free Cancellation
Mobile Ticket
2 hours
Offered in English
Free Cancellation
Mobile Ticket
What's Included
10% off water tours with Portland Paddle (instructions at confirmation)
Two hour fully narrated guided tour.
Donation toward restoring the Abyssinian Meeting House, America's third-oldest standing Black church
A tip for your guide!
Meeting Points
Departure
First Parish in Portland, Unitarian Universalist
Meet at the front steps of First Parish Church. Your guide will be holding a sign that says "Portland by the Foot." Check-in time is 10 minutes prior to the scheduled tour time. The church is one half mile from the cruise ship terminal.
Return
Eastern Cemetery
Eastern Cemetery is on Congress Street at the head of Montgomery Street. If you want to get back to where we started, it's an easy, straight shot 0.5 miles (10-minute walk) down Congress Street. It's also 0.5 miles from the cruise ship terminal.
Itinerary
1
Downtown
Your guide Dugan will lead you to the locations relevant to Black Mainers and their achievements. We'll trace the steps of the folks who resisted indignity and realized power to move our city, state, and country closer to the ideals of freedom, democracy, opportunity, and equality.
50 minutes
2
Lobsterman Park
Discover the hidden Black history that predates slavery in Maine.
3
Congress Street
Be surprised by the story of a largely unknown but well-connected international activist from the 19th century hiding in plain sight.
4
The Cathedral Of The Immaculate Conception
Hear the complicated history of racial passing at the highest levels in 19th-century Catholic Maine.
5
Commercial Street
Dugan will guide you to where Black leaders and laborers shaped Portland's waterfront and earned a seat at the table when the odds were against them. We'll honor the Black journalist who decided to leave the US behind and seek self-determination in a newly-founded African nation.
20 minutes
6
Mariner's Church Banquet Center
Portland's maritime history may not be what you think it is. Discover the Black skill and labor too often overlooked.
7
United States Custom House
Marvel at the architecture and hear how antebellum Black Portland built and wielded political power at a time when the vast majority of Black Americans were denied basic human rights.
8
Bell Buoy Park
Visit the Black social scene of WWII Portland and meet the important people who came out of that period to impact our lives today.
9
Old Port
Follow Dugan through the Old Port to a historically-Black section on the eastern end of the waterfront, uncovering Black history hidden all around us. You'll hear about the people who founded Maine communities, overturned slavery statewide, drove our maritime industries, swung elections, founded houses of worship, crossed color boundaries, and expanded Mainers’ rights in the modern era.
50 minutes
10
Exchange Street
Learn the story of an enterprising young Black man who forged his own destiny in the legal field despite those who tried to hold him back.
11
India Street
Find the brave folks who risked federal prosecution by aiding and abetting freedom seekers from the South via the Underground Railroad.
12
The Abyssinian Meetinghouse
Marvel at the achievements of a small, tight-knit community, who worked together to improve their lives and the lives of others.
13
Portland Observatory
Learn how important Black Portlanders were to the maritime economy in the age of sail.
14
Green Memorial A.M.E. Zion Church
Visit the beating heart of the civil rights movement and hear the stories of the leaders whose impacts are still being felt today.
15
Eastern Cemetery
Learn the surprising story of the Black minister who convened a community of expatriate Black Americans to rewrite the US Constitution.
