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New York City Slavery and Underground Railroad Tour
4.9
370 Ratings
New York
Uncover the hidden history of NYC’s enslaved people and their brave uprisings. Explore the Underground Railroad’s secret routes and hear stories of courage and triumph on this historical walking tour.
Duration:
2 hours, 30 minutes
Cancellation:
1 day
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Highlights
- National Museum of the American Indian - (Exterior Visit) Built in 1907, Alexander Hamilton Custom House stands as a Beaux-Arts treasure commemorating the rise of trade and commerce in NYC with 3 floors of art and artifacts dedicated to Native Americans.
What's Included
- Local expert guide provides insights
What's Not Included
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
Additional Information
Explore the crucial role played by enslaved individuals in shaping NYC and their courageous resistance against subjugation. Delve into the intriguing history of the Underground Railroad, a secret system of pathways and sanctuaries used primarily by enslaved African Americans to flee to free states and Canada.
Tour an excavation site and monument honoring the legacy of enslaved Africans in colonial America. Explore the area of a past station on the Underground Railroad. Understand the insurgencies, abductions, and daring breakaways that marked the American slavery period. Hear stories of bravery and victory and learn about the actual New Yorkers who risked their lives and assets to aid in the flight from slavery on this historical New York City walking tour.
Location
1 Bowling Green
Bowling Green
In front of the National Museum of the American Indian.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.9
(370 Ratings)
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Kendyl
Aug 6, 2024
Fascinating insight into slavery and America’s involvement - Fascinating tour which provided a comprehensive overview of slavery and America’s involvement. Rudy is a passionate and generous tour guide.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Micdec1119
Aug 3, 2024
Learn everything about Manhattan’s history of slavery - Lower Manhattan is mostly known for the ferry departure to the Statue of Liberty or Wall Street. This tour, however, gives you an interesting and need-to-know overview of its history of slavery by looking into several remarkable buildings, statues, landmarks, memorials and especially people. Special thanks to Sean, who shared his great historical knowledge with us during the tour.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Stully3
Jul 28, 2024
Fascinating, untold history of how enslaved people built and enriched NYC and the world. - Ludie was an incredible tour guide who did a phenomenal job of bringing this important and often untold history to life. Through engaging, passionate, deeply personal and eloquent explanations and stories we learned (and saw with our own eyes!) how the system of chattel slavery was used to literally build NYC and enrich so many stakeholders in New York and all across the world. Deeply personal and thoughtful. Engaging, inspiring, and so incredibly important—now more than ever. 10/10 recommend for New Yorkers and visitors alike.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Barbara_c
Jul 25, 2024
An amazing and important slice of NYC history! - First of all Ludie is AWESOME! She clearly knows the history and has a very passionate delivery. I live in Florida but I grew up in NY and I had no idea of the history. This tour should be required for all students. I teach the history of race and racism in America and even I learned a lot!!
I am SO happy that I discovered this tour!
Review provided by Viator
983triciat
Jul 21, 2024
Great tour. - This was a really good tour. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable. I learned a lot about the history of the Underground Railroad and slavery in New York City.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Peter
Jul 6, 2024
Highly recommended - Our guide, Sean, began with information about the American Indian presence before and after European settlement. Then, we had a brief overview of the use of slavery globally and then, more specifically, in the USA.
While slavery and the underground railway were the main topics, Sean also included general historical information on New York.
I'm glad I did this tour, and hopefully, many more people will do it too.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Crystal_p
Jun 16, 2024
Knowledgeable tour guide - This was a great tour. Our tour guide was super knowledgeable about all the different stops and brought in so many different aspects of different parts of history to make the experience that much more meaningful.
Review provided by Viator
Yellowchalkie
Jun 6, 2024
I hope you get Donald! 😀 - Donald was awesome. He’s a history teacher and author so his enthusiasm for the subject matter covered was passed onto us tourists.
Very informative and well presented.
Thank you for a great tour Donald.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
C7577iidonnaj
May 19, 2024
Loved the African history tour of downtown NYC - Sean was an excellent guide, extremely knowledgeable, the pacing was perfect. He was passionate about the information he provided.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jacquelinepu591gv
Jun 23, 2024
Great! Sean was terrific. - Sean was a terrific tour guide. Very well informed and cared greatly about his topic...you could tell. The information he did share was very interesting and very relevant. I was just surprised there wasn't more about slavery in NYC. It was also extremely hot and a lot of walking...not that the tour leaders could control for that, but sitting whenever we stopped would have been possible and nice.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
