Seasonal & Holidays

Honor MLK's Legacy On Hudson Valley's Black Heritage Trails

There are special opportunities to see in person the places where civil rights and Black history were made in the Hudson Valley year-round.

A visit to the MLK Memorial in Washington, DC is a powerful experience, but there are places to feel the gravity of King's dream for a nation a bit closer to home as well.
A visit to the MLK Memorial in Washington, DC is a powerful experience, but there are places to feel the gravity of King's dream for a nation a bit closer to home as well. (Kaylah Sambo/Patch)

HUDSON VALLEY, NY — Perhaps the best way to observe the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday is to volunteer your time in service to the community, but visiting the places in the Hudson Valley where civil rights history was made is a perfect way to honor King's legacy any day of the year.

Westchester African American Heritage Trail

Points of interest include the African American Cemetery in Rye, Chappaqua Friends Meeting House, the Ella Fitzgerald Statue in Yonkers and the St. Paul’s Church National Historic Site in Mount Vernon.

Find out what's happening in New Rochellefor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Find out what's happening in New Rochellefor free with the latest updates from Patch.

An interactive display of Black landmarks in Rockland County. The exhibit includes the site of the Hillburn desegregation case, historic churches built by freed slaves in Piermont and Nyack, the Mount Moor Cemetery in West Nyack, Rockland’s African burial grounds, the brickyards of Haverstraw, the remains of Skunk Hollow and the recently installed "Bench by the Road" honoring Toni Morrison.


Creating a Black and Native American Heritage Trail in the Hudson Highlands

The newest digital heritage trail will take visitors on an educational journey that winds from "pre-colonial history to the present" and "from Peekskill to Beacon." Once fully grown, this heritage trail east of the Hudson River is envisioned as complementing the existing African American Heritage Trail of Westchester County to the south and the Dutchess County Equality Trail to the north.


A Walk Through Poughkeepsie's African American History

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