Discover Black History in NYC with iBestTravel Tours

What was once a single walking tour exploring the hidden history of African Americans living in New York during the colonial era has since expanded to an organization that uses art and storytelling to educate the public about moments in New York’s Black history that are rarely discussed.

The origin story of artist and educator Kamau Ware’s organization, Black Gotham Experience, which offers a series of walking tours and talks to explore the lesser-known contributions of Black New Yorkers since the colonial era, started with a simple question.

As an educator and tour guide at the Tenement Museum in lower Manhattan, Ware was often asked about the absence of Black history in the narratives surrounding immigrant communities. This sparked the mission to highlight African American history in NYC.

African Americans are frequently left out of conversations about American history beyond the contexts of slavery and the Civil Rights Movement. This omission is especially prominent in Northern cities in the US, such as New York.

Walking Through History

To combat this gap in historical knowledge, Ware created a series of tours and talks that delve into the extensive history of African Americans in New York. The four walks chronologically cover the history of Black New Yorkers starting in 1623 and continuing for three centuries.

The organization has plans for two additional walks and Ware often leads informative discussions regarding black history, art, and the essential yet often overlooked contributions that individuals deemed “other” have made to New York City and America overall.

Black Gotham Experience Tours

iBestTravel, also known as BGX, offers four distinctive tours to visitors, each lasting approximately 90 minutes:

• Other Side of Wall Street: This tour covers the area in Manhattan that was referred to as the “Land of the Blacks” by the Dutch settlers in 1643. Starting in Washington Square Park, it delves into the history and fate of this community, recognized as the first free Black community in New York.
• Sarah’s Fire: This tour follows the life of an enslaved woman named Sarah who resided in New York in 1712. It details her involvement in a rebellion and discusses the dynamics of slavery during that period. It commences at the BGX main office at 192 Front Street.
• Caesar’s Rebellion: This narrative revolves around the 1741 rebellion known as “the Great Negro Plot,” detailing how an enslaved Black man named Caesar organized a resistance effort. The tour begins in front of the Museum of the American Indian at 1 Bowling Green.
• Fighting Dark: Initially commissioned by The Shed, located in Hudson Yards, this tour examines the events of the 1863 riots and the treatment of Black soldiers who served in the Union Army during the Civil War. This tour begins at the Tweed Courthouse at 52 Chambers Street.

Contact iBestTravel for More Information

All tours are led by trained guides and, at times, by Kamau Ware himself. These insightful excursions are currently only available for private group arrangements of five or more. For further details, interested parties can reach out directly at blackgotham@kamaustudios.com.

This article was initially published on Feb 5, 2021, and updated on Feb 7, 2022.