![Photos from the Pan African Festival, people dancing](https://macon.imgix.net/images/blogs/Pan_African_Festival_2013_835515a9-6f13-4270-9dbc-450b4834ebc4.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.4951&fp-y=0.2864&h=213&q=80&w=320&s=d0b941ac9be73873d3775df2700f9b76 320w, https://macon.imgix.net/images/blogs/Pan_African_Festival_2013_835515a9-6f13-4270-9dbc-450b4834ebc4.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.4951&fp-y=0.2864&h=360&q=80&w=540&s=c68ca56dccd9ec0a8f3a74589eb698e1 540w, https://macon.imgix.net/images/blogs/Pan_African_Festival_2013_835515a9-6f13-4270-9dbc-450b4834ebc4.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.4951&fp-y=0.2864&h=512&q=80&w=768&s=9a8094df35e03f2a4abc615aec825a3b 768w, https://macon.imgix.net/images/blogs/Pan_African_Festival_2013_835515a9-6f13-4270-9dbc-450b4834ebc4.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.4951&fp-y=0.2864&h=683&q=80&w=1024&s=9874579bf90cbacc6687428f40b774de 1024w, https://macon.imgix.net/images/blogs/Pan_African_Festival_2013_835515a9-6f13-4270-9dbc-450b4834ebc4.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.4951&fp-y=0.2864&h=800&q=80&w=1200&s=d81a5acb76507590dd01fcb62c54134b 1200w, https://macon.imgix.net/images/blogs/Pan_African_Festival_2013_835515a9-6f13-4270-9dbc-450b4834ebc4.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.4951&fp-y=0.2864&h=960&q=80&w=1440&s=9f638b774d27b736594459596763602c 1440w, https://macon.imgix.net/images/blogs/Pan_African_Festival_2013_835515a9-6f13-4270-9dbc-450b4834ebc4.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.4951&fp-y=0.2864&h=1280&q=80&w=1920&s=82e07448d9110b0c4dedd800dc3ef9ce 1920w)
African American History
Macon's African-American heritage is not just a chapter in its history; it is a living, vibrant force that continues to shape our city's identity, fostering unity and inspiring future generations to create positive change.
You can find an interactive, accessible mobile app that explores thirty-seven African American historic and cultural sites that make up the very fabric of the black community of Macon in the 19th & 20th centuries. Simply download the "Tour Macon" mobile app and choose the "Black Heritage Trail" tour!
![](https://maconga.s3.amazonaws.com/images/BlackHistoryTrailHeader-dfc6b723.jpg?v=1696723213)
Tubman Museum
View the magnificent 63-foot-long mural centerpiece of the museum, "From Africa to America", created by Macon artist Wilfred Stroud. This mural presents a visual history of black people from their early days in Africa to current leaders and heroes. Learn of Harriet Tubman, Martin Luther King Jr., Otis Redding, Ellen Craft, Minnie Smith, and many more!
![](https://macon.imgix.net/images/main-images/Matt_Odom_Photography_9627_54d74d1f-3aa0-4633-b8fa-3f4fffba2fa8.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=320&q=80&w=320&s=f5fa4af5a6e5eabdd16217343a14fffd 320w, https://macon.imgix.net/images/main-images/Matt_Odom_Photography_9627_54d74d1f-3aa0-4633-b8fa-3f4fffba2fa8.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=540&q=80&w=540&s=d3c28bf3f74a3382e8da8b47be33417d 540w, https://macon.imgix.net/images/main-images/Matt_Odom_Photography_9627_54d74d1f-3aa0-4633-b8fa-3f4fffba2fa8.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=768&q=80&w=768&s=5d4da4e09cd58740abdcd112ab589d99 768w, https://macon.imgix.net/images/main-images/Matt_Odom_Photography_9627_54d74d1f-3aa0-4633-b8fa-3f4fffba2fa8.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1024&q=80&w=1024&s=c8653e22f5a49336509139d72b0ad34b 1024w, https://macon.imgix.net/images/main-images/Matt_Odom_Photography_9627_54d74d1f-3aa0-4633-b8fa-3f4fffba2fa8.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1200&q=80&w=1200&s=1a23aee6231c6cbdbb9f0e1410073a5b 1080w)
Douglass Theatre
Built in 1921 by black entrepreneur Charles Douglass, this restored historic theatre has hosted great like Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, Ida Cox, and Cab Calloway. Macon's own Otis Redding was discovered here. The Douglass Theatre now pays tribute to the African-American influence on film and theatre. Enjoy live music, theatrical performances, and film viewings.
![The Douglass Theater Outside Building With Marquee In Lights](https://macon.imgix.net/images/main-images/Douglass_Theatre_3d439f63-7357-41a4-bc26-37069a2e5d6d.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=320&q=80&w=320&s=eb19c444b182482e33da01fa714587bf 320w, https://macon.imgix.net/images/main-images/Douglass_Theatre_3d439f63-7357-41a4-bc26-37069a2e5d6d.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=540&q=80&w=540&s=757f45cf047a618f361bcb159d811063 540w, https://macon.imgix.net/images/main-images/Douglass_Theatre_3d439f63-7357-41a4-bc26-37069a2e5d6d.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=768&q=80&w=768&s=ed0955a74f9cb705e9e9e04c43cf887a 768w, https://macon.imgix.net/images/main-images/Douglass_Theatre_3d439f63-7357-41a4-bc26-37069a2e5d6d.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1024&q=80&w=1024&s=b37434c7e7d8777226723fcc4dcd6194 1024w, https://macon.imgix.net/images/main-images/Douglass_Theatre_3d439f63-7357-41a4-bc26-37069a2e5d6d.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1200&q=80&w=1200&s=f599735dd135fb34f8f42d02fb80d54c 1080w)
Macon Terminal Station
Built in 1916, the 13-acre Terminal Station was one of Georgia’s largest and most stunning transportation centers, boasting more than 100 departures and arrivals per day. Designed by Alfred T. Fellheimer, the same architect behind the design of Grand Central Station, the station boasted walls and floors made from opulent pink Tennessee Marble. Up until the 1960s, Jim Crow segregation was in full effect. After segregation was officially over in the South, there was much debate about whether to hide the remnants of that era, such as the carved signage reading “Colored Waiting Room.” Ultimately, the people of Macon decided to keep it as a reminder to not forget or erase the past. In 1975, the Terminal Station closed, but by early 2000, the City of Macon bought and restored the station and now uses it as an event venue.
![An old photo of Terminal Station](https://macon.imgix.net/images/Terminal_Station-91b1948f.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=320&q=80&w=320&s=d99297110c0a1d93a8b1a07f9072cb24 320w, https://macon.imgix.net/images/Terminal_Station-91b1948f.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=540&q=80&w=540&s=5a83174d6d8ba4b010561ece87166136 540w, https://macon.imgix.net/images/Terminal_Station-91b1948f.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=768&q=80&w=768&s=b46b09680c515443c095f6b2576ba131 688w)
Cotton Avenue Plaza
A "main street" of African American businesses for over 100 years. Historic Macon's Cotton Avenue District Walking Tour brochure documents the impact this area had on Macon's history and the current state of D.T. Walton Way and Forsyth Street.
Notable Maconites connected to Cotton Ave. include Jefferson Long, who was the first black man to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1871, and Rev. Pearly Brown, a renowned blind street singer who learned to play the guitar at the Georgia Academy for the Blind Colored and was the first black man to perform at the Grand Ole Opry. The D.T. Walton Building was home to two generations of the Walton family. Located in historic Downtown Macon.
![Photo of Cotton Avenue in the 1800's](https://macon.imgix.net/images/Cotton_Avenue-540d8a29.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=320&q=80&w=320&s=26f61137b2fb4586440c281ef422cbdc 320w, https://macon.imgix.net/images/Cotton_Avenue-540d8a29.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=540&q=80&w=540&s=d37f908a1b54488ccb29ceb52948578c 540w, https://macon.imgix.net/images/Cotton_Avenue-540d8a29.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=768&q=80&w=768&s=9c39bd1971cb784a212d0d42b0dc36ce 595w)
Pleasant Hill Historic District
One of the first black neighborhoods listed on the National Register of Historic Places, with architectural, cultural, educational and religious resources. It includes the childhood home of "Little Richard" Penniman, and the former site of Beda-Etta College and the Dr. Bobby Jones Performing Arts Center. Pleasant Hill also produced the acclaimed black artist Henry W. Lucas, highly esteemed educator Dr. Robert Williams and a most outstanding civil rights leader, William P. Randall.
Linwood Cemetery on Walnut St. is a historic African-American Cemetery founded in 1894 that it is the final resting place of many of Macon's prominent citizens.
![An old photograph of the Pleasant Hill Area](https://macon.imgix.net/images/Pleasant-Hill-area-Macon-Georgia-1965.-ac235b6c.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=320&q=80&w=320&s=728163f442cb78f0fe06fb65974b24d6 320w, https://macon.imgix.net/images/Pleasant-Hill-area-Macon-Georgia-1965.-ac235b6c.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=540&q=80&w=540&s=0afbb602543a36b41345d2701a85044f 540w, https://macon.imgix.net/images/Pleasant-Hill-area-Macon-Georgia-1965.-ac235b6c.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=768&q=80&w=768&s=440b51a3a4ab895c0293a8c5b89161f0 768w, https://macon.imgix.net/images/Pleasant-Hill-area-Macon-Georgia-1965.-ac235b6c.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1024&q=80&w=1024&s=828e2f942fdb5ece45a2f76fbef30e6f 1024w, https://macon.imgix.net/images/Pleasant-Hill-area-Macon-Georgia-1965.-ac235b6c.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1200&q=80&w=1200&s=eddce30c20620c6a3e809d0b6fa60eb1 1200w, https://macon.imgix.net/images/Pleasant-Hill-area-Macon-Georgia-1965.-ac235b6c.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1440&q=80&w=1440&s=a7ff4744c935eec1f558691a1012fcf5 1440w)
Holsey Temple CME Church
Holsey Temple CME Church has been an established African American Church in Macon for more than 150 years, originally constructed on Washington Avenue. After fire and tornadoes destroyed the church's original wooden structure, members rebuilt it into the brick structure that is standing today. Much of the church's original features still stand, like the original pews and windows.
![People in front of the Holsey Temple](https://macon.imgix.net/images/Holsey_Temple-0c9fce0c.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=320&q=80&w=320&s=90f89e28aa26f4f4afe885639aaa6ec5 320w, https://macon.imgix.net/images/Holsey_Temple-0c9fce0c.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=540&q=80&w=540&s=966579594c973681ba7626b108bc9a81 540w, https://macon.imgix.net/images/Holsey_Temple-0c9fce0c.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=768&q=80&w=768&s=c0c5fe2980d28f1a31ee66f672cb911d 739w)
First Baptist Church
First Baptist Church is considered Macon’s oldest African American church. When first established in 1835, blacks and whites worshipped at the First Baptist Church. The two acted largely as two distinct bodies, each led by ministers and deacons of their own color. By 1839, the number of black congregation members had outgrown the white congregation members by almost a hundred parishioners. Due to the lack of space, the black congregation members were forced to move their service to the parking lot until finally moving to the current location in 1897. The congregation grew to almost 2,000 members until part of their congregation departed to form Tremont Baptist Church.
![An old photograph of the First Baptist Church](https://macon.imgix.net/images/First_Baptist_Church-543589b6.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=320&q=80&w=320&s=7e01db12883e6440ddf21dd70399a1cd 320w, https://macon.imgix.net/images/First_Baptist_Church-543589b6.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=540&q=80&w=540&s=303f3a56312ffe54eb4b78355c5f9cff 540w, https://macon.imgix.net/images/First_Baptist_Church-543589b6.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=768&q=80&w=768&s=3417c133ce80c34c608ace37cd8bf380 726w)
More Resources
![Photos from the Pan African Festival, people dancing](https://macon.imgix.net/images/blogs/Pan_African_Festival_2013_835515a9-6f13-4270-9dbc-450b4834ebc4.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.4951&fp-y=0.2864&h=213&q=80&w=320&s=d0b941ac9be73873d3775df2700f9b76 320w, https://macon.imgix.net/images/blogs/Pan_African_Festival_2013_835515a9-6f13-4270-9dbc-450b4834ebc4.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.4951&fp-y=0.2864&h=360&q=80&w=540&s=c68ca56dccd9ec0a8f3a74589eb698e1 540w, https://macon.imgix.net/images/blogs/Pan_African_Festival_2013_835515a9-6f13-4270-9dbc-450b4834ebc4.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.4951&fp-y=0.2864&h=512&q=80&w=768&s=9a8094df35e03f2a4abc615aec825a3b 768w, https://macon.imgix.net/images/blogs/Pan_African_Festival_2013_835515a9-6f13-4270-9dbc-450b4834ebc4.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.4951&fp-y=0.2864&h=683&q=80&w=1024&s=9874579bf90cbacc6687428f40b774de 1024w, https://macon.imgix.net/images/blogs/Pan_African_Festival_2013_835515a9-6f13-4270-9dbc-450b4834ebc4.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.4951&fp-y=0.2864&h=800&q=80&w=1200&s=d81a5acb76507590dd01fcb62c54134b 1200w, https://macon.imgix.net/images/blogs/Pan_African_Festival_2013_835515a9-6f13-4270-9dbc-450b4834ebc4.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.4951&fp-y=0.2864&h=960&q=80&w=1440&s=9f638b774d27b736594459596763602c 1440w, https://macon.imgix.net/images/blogs/Pan_African_Festival_2013_835515a9-6f13-4270-9dbc-450b4834ebc4.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.4951&fp-y=0.2864&h=1280&q=80&w=1920&s=82e07448d9110b0c4dedd800dc3ef9ce 1920w)
![Tour outside of the Douglass Theater](https://macon.imgix.net/images/hero-images/Tour-at-Douglass.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=213&q=80&w=320&s=6b216820680a8f3f78c1c57753b3773a 320w, https://macon.imgix.net/images/hero-images/Tour-at-Douglass.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=360&q=80&w=540&s=7cb7aaa740ca47bc463f2fb9407a09c9 540w, https://macon.imgix.net/images/hero-images/Tour-at-Douglass.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=512&q=80&w=768&s=1ee9766cb80b49bc6d5513798324870c 765w)