Cambridge's African American Heritage Trail

Across the river from Boston's Black Heritage Trail, Boston's neighbor, Cambridge, pays its own tribute to its African American heroes.

A marker visible in the doorway of one of Harvard University's buildings is part of the Cambridge African American Trail. The marker tells of Richard T. Greener, the first African American to graduate from Harvard College. Photo/C. Danko © 2001-2009

The Cambridge African American Heritage Trail tells the tale of Maria Baldwin, who in 1889 became the North's first African American headmaster of a predominantly white school. It tells the tale of N.A.A.C.P. founder W.E.B. Du Bois, who was the first African American to receive a Ph.D. from Harvard University. And it tells the tale of author Harriet Jacobs, who wrote about her former life as a slave.

The trail is a collection of markers spread out throughout the city at places where prominent African Americans lived or worked. In 2000, city officials, cultural leaders, and local historians unveiled a guidebook to the Cambridge trail, which focuses on the stories of 20 people who lived in the city from about 1840 to 1930. According to the book, African Americans had been living in Cambridge since the 1630s, but it was in the 1840s that the black population doubled due to arrivals from the South and other areas. An 1845 suit to end segregation in the Boston schools failed, causing many families to settle in neighboring Cambridge, where they could send their children to the public schools.

The markers are spread out wide throughout the city, so the trail is not a walking trail. Also, some of the markers are on private residential locations. But many spots are worth a visit, and the writings will give you a better understanding of the area's heritage.

Getting There

The best place to start is Harvard Square. The Cambridge Visitor Information Booth is located next to Au Bon Pain in the center of the square. You may want to order the book in advance, though. It costs $4.95, plus shipping costs. Contact the Cambridge Office for Tourism at (617) 441-2884, or info@cambridge-usa.org, or the Cambridge Historical Commission at (617) 349-4683, or histcomm@ci.cambridge.us. The book includes a map of the markers spread throughout the city.

Author: C. Danko
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