Black Heritage Trail

Leina
It was such a boiling hot day when we took the trip-- exploring African American Heritage Trail. The trail is located in Beacon Hill, which is now a rich neighborhood. I have to admit that appreciating those beautiful houses and villas added many pleasure to this trip. These villas lie near Boston Common, where usually many people gather there to spend their leisure time; however, walking along the paths cross the villas, it was so tranquil and peaceful, the sound of cars’ engines, people on streets seemed disappeared and only fresh air and silent stone path remain unchanged. Every house has its own features, the owners have decorated their windows and doors followed their tastes, sometimes, a cluster of colorful flowers and sometimes a classic and delicate bell was hung before a door. Alongside there were trees and little flowers, it seemed like a serenely country-side residences in center Boston. But the reality is that those beautiful houses are too expensive for ordinary people to afford, so they are really in another world~~

Oh, it seems I have been off-topic, OK, back to our trail, our main purpose is to follow the heritage of African Americans and how they challenged the unfairness and struggled for Liberty and Equality.
Bella, Kiya and I made presentations on site 8-12, Smith Court Residences, where used to be black neighborhood, those historic homes are well preserved and provide people a good angle to learn black heritage in Boston. Nowadays, most residences are private and do not open to the public. I introduced 5 Smith Court, 7 Smith Court and 7A Smith Court. 5 Smith Court was constructed in the first decade of 19th century, and it was a three-storey house with reddish-brown clapboard siding. 7 Smith Court was built in early 19th century, a two-storey house with light blue clapboard, and it has been rented to different African Americans for many years, and few residents stayed longer than three years in this property. 7A Smith Court was built in 1799 and it is the only surviving example of the early homes located in Homles Alley because the backyard can still be found today. This three-storey building with light yellow clapboard siding is really a nice place to live in.

This area used to be a black neighborhood, and there was a school in this area—The Phillips School, which only admitted white students until 1855. Black children could not go to the school near their homes; instead, they had to travel far away to a school built for the blacks. “When segregated schools were abolished by legislative act, the Phillips School became one of Boston's first schools with an interracial student body.” (Site3,par.2) It was “usual” that many public places only allowed the whites to enter several decades ago, though this nation was born with the “truth that to be self-evident that all man are created equal” and President Lincoln announced Emancipation Proclamation in early 1862. Even today obvious discrimination has been extinct; racism is still a social issue in this society, of course, it is not easy for some politicians to deal with the truth, but it cannot be ignored. And people should be more optimistic about the progress the blacks have made during the past one hundred years, the cynics should know how far the blacks have travelled and how much they have achieved. A more perfect union cannot be reformed in one century, as long as people hold firmly that all are equal and “believe the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of God” (JFK, First Inaugural Address par. 2).

Site3 http://www.afroammuseum.org/site3.htm