Civil War guidebook is called lacking
The Freedom Trail, running from Boston Common to Bunker Hill, highlights legendary Bostonians such as Paul Revere, Benjamin Franklin, and Samuel Adams...
The Freedom Trail, running from Boston Common to Bunker Hill, highlights legendary Bostonians such as Paul Revere, Benjamin Franklin, and Samuel Adams.
On Beacon Hill, the Black Heritage Trail honors a less celebrated tale: African-American abolitionists and runaway slaves who struggled for their own liberty.
Now, the Freedom Trail Foundation, the organization that preserves that route, has published a guidebook that highlights Boston’s role in the lead-up to the Civil War – and the people who preside over the Black Heritage Trail are not pleased. They maintain that the new 64-page guidebook gives short shrift to institutions that for decades have ventured to educate visitors about Boston’s little-known black history.
The ire sparked by the guidebook sheds light on the charged sentiments that continue to define the delicate task of curating Boston’s black history.
“I think that the publication . . . is diminished and deficient for including only a glancing reference to the Black Heritage Trail and no reference to several specialized tours that have been done by the Boston African American National Historic Site for years,’’ said Marty Blatt, chief of cultural resources at Boston National Historical Park.
“Walking Tours of Civil War Boston’’ went on sale in June for $9 at www.civilwarboston.org and at souvenir shops. It was released to coincide with the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War.
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