The Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire (BHTNH) is a nonprofit organization based in the U.S. state of New Hampshire that works "to promote awareness and appreciation of African American history and culture in New Hampshire through education and public programs including creating appropriate memorials at significant locations within the state."[2]
The organization grew from the work of the Portsmouth Black Heritage Trail,[3] which was founded in 1994 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.[1] The group offers learning opportunities throughout the year including outreach to schools, guided and self-guided tours, mobile programs, lectures, and workshops. The organization also has programing aimed towards the public, such as the Black New England Conference, which started in 2006, and the Elinor Williams Hooker Tea Talk series, which started in 2017.[4][5]
History
After the Portsmouth Black Heritage Trail was first established in the 1990s, it eventually included 24 sites within the city of Portsmouth, New Hampshire.[6][7] The trail began in an effort to make the history of black people visible to residents and visitors to Portsmouth.[8] As of 2024, there were markers in 14 additional towns and cities in New Hampshire and two markers in nearby Kittery, Maine.[9] There are five more to be unveiled in 2025.[9] These markers were added as part of a Mapping Untold Stories program to share the rich history of Black people in New Hampshire.[10]
The first official tour outside of Portsmouth was in the town of Hancock, in western New Hampshire where Jack Ware, a formerly enslaved man, lived in the 1700s.[11]
The Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire acquired its own separate location in the summer of 2018 when the organization moved into 222 Court Street in Portsmouth.[12] The house at that address has historical value due to its age, being from 1740, and has connection to a Portsmouth minister.[13]
Elinor Williams Hooker Tea Talks
The Elinor Williams Hooker Tea Talks are a yearly series of different public panel discussions that speak on a variety of social and historical subjects involving the African American community.[14] The event was created by and is held by the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire. The event is named after Elinor Williams Hooker, an African American woman who lived in the state of New Hampshire and who was heavily involved in the community as well as being an activist; she died in 2012.[15] The event has been held since 2017 and remains one of the organization's main yearly events. It is held in the month of February, along with some Tea Talks in other months.[16]
Black New England Conference
The Black New England Conference was startedin 2006 by the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire.[17] Each year, the conference takes on a different topic of African American history, culture, and experience.[17][18] The conference has covered subjects such as art, New England sports, the LGBTQIA+ community, and others as they relate to the African American community.[18][17] The 19th edition of the conference is scheduled for October 2025.[19]
A marker in Hampton, New Hampshire, honoring Dinah Small Burdoo, is scheduled to be unveiled on July 12, 2025.[54]
Special
The organization has dedicated one "special historic marker"—located at the Portsmouth Historical Society, it honors Valerie Cunningham, whose work "led to the creation of the Portsmouth Black Heritage Trail".[1][55]
↑ Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire (October 10, 2024). "Elinor Williams Hooker Tea Talks 2024". Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire. Retrieved October 10, 2024.
1 2 Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire (October 17, 2024). "Marker Sites and Information". Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire. Retrieved October 17, 2024.
↑ Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire (October 10, 2024). "2020 EWH Tea Talks Achieve". Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire. Retrieved October 10, 2024.
↑ Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire (October 10, 2024). "Elinor Williams Hooker Tea Talks 2024". Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire. Retrieved October 10, 2024.
1 2 Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire (October 17, 2024). "Black New England Conference 2024". Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire. Retrieved October 17, 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
