| You can literally go in any direction | | | | movie playing on the theater screen. |
| from Detroit's riverfront and see why | | | | Part museum, part vibrant historical |
| this is such a major center for African | | | | village, The Henry Ford is the largest |
| American culture. From the world's | | | | indoor/outdoor history attraction in |
| largest museum of African American | | | | North America. Here, visitors can enter |
| history or Hitsville U.S.A., where all | | | | the restored bus where Rosa Parks made |
| Motown stars were born, when it comes to | | | | history by refusing to give up her seat |
| African American culture and history, | | | | to a white man in Montgomery, Alabama on |
| all roads eventually lead to Detroit. | | | | Dec. 1, 1955. The act galvanized the |
| Near the riverfront, trace the turbulent | | | | American Civil Rights Movement. The bus |
| and dramatic history of the Underground | | | | is the centerpiece of the "With Liberty |
| Railroad at the Second Baptist Church, | | | | and Justice For All" exhibit, which |
| the Midwest's oldest African-American | | | | focuses on the American struggle for |
| church and major Underground Railroad in | | | | freedom. In Greenfield Village, the |
| the 19th century. More than 5,000 slaves | | | | Mattox House was the home to three |
| passed through Second Baptist on their | | | | generations of the Mattox family who |
| way to Canada. Tours of the basement, | | | | lived outside of Savannah, Georgia from |
| which served as the station, are | | | | Reconstruction through the 1930s. |
| available by appointment. | | | | Aside from the automotive industry, |
| Just eight miles east of the Windsor | | | | perhaps nothing put Detroit on the map |
| Detroit border, visitors can also | | | | like Motown. Revisit the glory years |
| explore the John Freeman Walls Historic | | | | that produced such stars at Marvin Gaye, |
| Site and Underground Railroad. The | | | | Stevie Wonder, the Temptations, the |
| property is owned by descendants of John | | | | Supremes, and the Jackson Five in |
| and Jane Walls, former slaves who made | | | | Detroit's cultural center. Motown's |
| the trip from slavery in North Carolina | | | | headquarters, founded by Berry Gordy, a |
| to freedom in Canada in 1846. Tour | | | | one-time auto line worker, has been |
| leaders, or "Conductors," together with | | | | restored to its 1960s glory. Originally |
| historic buildings provide a first-hand | | | | converted from a photographer's studio, |
| look at what kind of challenges fugitive | | | | the Motown headquarters and studio |
| slaves faced. | | | | stayed open 22 hours a day and 7 days a |
| Also in Ontario, Uncle Tom's Cabin | | | | week during its peak years. Visitors are |
| Historic Site offers visitors a look at | | | | able to see the upstairs offices and the |
| what it was like to live as a former | | | | studio where vocalists and the Funk |
| slave in the 19th century. Visitors look | | | | Brothers created the Motown Sound. Rare |
| through the settlement's original | | | | photographs, gold records, and Michael |
| buildings, including the home of | | | | Jackson's sequined glove are on display. |
| Reverend Josiah Henson, who found the | | | | The nation's fifth-largest art museum, |
| settlement for escaped slaves. There's | | | | the Detroit Institute of Arts was one of |
| also an interpretive museum and | | | | the first major art museums to have a |
| galleries providing information on early | | | | permanent showcase for African art. The |
| African-American communities in Canada. | | | | DIA collection features works from more |
| The world's largest museum dedicated to | | | | than 1,000 African cultures placing it |
| African American history, the Charles H. | | | | among the most extensive collections in |
| Wright Museum features "And Still We | | | | North America. The DIA's Egyptian |
| Rise," an interactive walk-through | | | | collection features a wide range of |
| exhibit that begins on a slave ship | | | | artifacts including linen-wrapped |
| where casts of slaves lay crowded | | | | mummies, sculptures, and coffins. The |
| together and simulated sounds of the | | | | museum's selection of West African art |
| Atlantic surround you. In another | | | | includes amazing Benin royal brass |
| section of the exhibit, visitors find | | | | sculptures and a wood palace door carved |
| themselves on an early 20th-century city | | | | from wood by the artists Olowe of the |
| street in the middle of the museum. | | | | Ise culture. The museum's modern and |
| Guests can walk into the Horseshoe Bar | | | | contemporary art collection features |
| and Grille or watch black and white TV | | | | African American artists including |
| through an appliance store window. A | | | | Augusta Savage, Hughie Smith-Lee, and |
| replica of the Paradise Theatre allows | | | | Benny Andrews. |
| visitors to check out a classic black | | | | |