National Cultural Heritage Tourism Center, Inc.

"Promoting Community Based Tourism."


"The Traveler"

Welcome!



​The National Cultural Heritage Tourism Center was created to market and promote cultural heritage and tourism destinations of interest to people of African Descent. The Center markets, advertises, and promotes historical  communities, major attractions, tourism related businesses, and cultural arts and entertainment venues. 

In honor of "The Green Book", information is also provided to serve the unique cultural needs of the Diaspora. The National Cultural Heritage Society and its local community based affiliates serves as cultural heritage tourism ambassadors, preservationist and educational advocates. The ultimate goal being the preservation of our past and the education of future generations concerning our culture, our heritage, and our traditions, by celebrating via the arts!!  

Cultural Heritage Tourism!




Culture, heritage and the arts have long appealed to tourist and contributed to their selections of tourism destinations. In recent years ‘culture’ has been rediscovered as an important marketing tool to attract travelers with special interests in culture, heritage and the arts. Cultural heritage tourism is the fastest growing segment of the tourism industry. There is a trend and need for travelers to enrich their lives with new cultural experiences. This is evident in the rise in the volume of tourists who seek their heritage, cultural - related experiences and adventures. 

Cultural Community Based Tourism appeals to adventurous people with a passion for learning about local cultures and traditional ways of life. From a community development strategy, cultural community based tourism uses tourism management as a tool to strengthen and preserve communities with significant historical assets that may be of interest to tourist.
"The Entertainer"
Music, Food, Festivals and the
Arts...
We support and promote Cultural Community Based Tourism projects and programs that demonstrate the following:
- Promote and support the development of the minority business community.

- Support the concept of Cultural Community Based Tourism for minorities.

- Be “Diversity-Friendly”.

- Promote preservation of the culture, heritage and the social need of a community.

- Increase the cultural and historical awareness of tourist by striving to be a tourism destination, showcasing as a minimum; traditional arts, foods, and music.

- Directly involves the community - providing both social and economic benefits.
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--  Be market driven, with the ultimate goal of satisfying visitors’ expectations.  Aim should be to educate, train develop, encourage and utilize any skills and human potential within the community, towards the delivery of professional service.

- The programs/projects should be operated within a business structure that adheres to government regulations, financial obligations, good labor relations and sound management systems.

- Members of the community are expected to exhibit friendliness, honesty and professionalism amongst themselves as well as in their dealings with the visitor to ensure the integrity of the project.
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The Pan African and National Cultural Heritage Tourism & Travel Project

"Continuing the ‘works’ of the Green-Book!"

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"The Negro traveler's inconveniences are many and they are increasing because today so many more are traveling, individually and in groups."
-Wendell P. Alston

 'Honoring The Green Book'

Victor Hugo Green (November 9, 1892 - aft. 1964? ) was a Harlem, New York, postal employee and civic leader. He was the creator of an African American travel guide known as The Green Book. It was first published as The Negro Motorist Green Book and later as The Negro Travelers' Green Book. The books were published from 1936 to 1964. He reviewed hotels and restaurants that did business with African Americans during the time of Jim Crow laws and racial segregation in the United States. Green used postal workers as guides to tell him: Well, here's a good place here, a good place there. And, of course, as you travel, people picked up things and told him things.

He printed 15,000 copies each year. The Negro Motorist Green Book was a publication released in 1936 that served as a guide for African-American travelers. Because of the racist conditions that existed from segregation, blacks needed a reference manual to guide them to integrated or black-friendly establishments. That’s when they turned to “The Negro Motorist Green Book: An International Travel Guide” by a Harlem postal employee and civic leader named Victor H. Green and presented by the Esso Standard Oil Company. Originally provided to serve Metropolitan New York, the book received such an alarming response, it was spread throughout the country within one year.  The catch phrase was “Now we can travel without embarrassment.”
 
The Green Book often provided information on local tourist homes, which were private residences owned by blacks and open to travelers. It was especially helpful to blacks that traveled through sunset towns or towns that publicly stated that blacks had to leave the town by sundown or it would be cause for arrest. Also listed were hotels, barbershops, beauty salons, restaurants, garages, liquor stores, ball parks and taverns. It also provided a listing of the white-owned, black-friendly locations for accommodations and food.

The publication was free, with a 10-cent cost of shipping. As interest grew, the Green Book solicited salespersons nationwide to build its ad sales.   Inside the pages of the Green Book were action photos of the various locations, along with historical and background information for the readers’ review. Although Victor Green’s initial edition only encompassed metropolitan New York, the “Green Book” soon expanded to Bermuda (white dinner jackets were recommended for gentlemen), Mexico and Canada. The 15,000 copies Green eventually printed each year were sold as a marketing tool not just to black-owned businesses but to the white marketplace, implying that it made good economic sense to take advantage of the growing affluence and mobility of African Americans. Esso stations, unusual in franchising to African Americans, were a popular place to pick one up.

Within the pages of the introduction, the guide states:  “There will be a day sometime in the near future when this guide will not have to be published.  That is when we as a race will have equal opportunities and privileges in the United States .”

The Forgotten Communities Program

'Dedicated to The Rebuilding Of New Orleans.'
"Culture is one of the most important levers to pull in order to rehabilitate and re-launch an economy; It also provides direction.”  
Aminata Traorẻ

The “Forgotten Communities Program’ was created as a community based project to support talented painters and performing artists to re-capture the spirituality and dignity of "Ordinary People"  who once, and now, inhabit cultural and historic communities that are neglected by mainstream society.  Only through the arts, can the spiritual moment and importance of a culture be recreated and conveyed to another culture.

The Forgotten Communities Program is a call to all artists, particularly those of African descent, to begin painting their visions and memories of their culturally historic communities and share them with their people and the world.  The ultimate goal being to create a cultural image for future generations and to educate others on the value and importance of our culture to America and the Diaspora. This program supports the National Cultural Heritage Initiative.  The program was created by Eugene Franklin, President/CEO, Florida Black Chamber of Commerce and to support the promotion of Cultural Heritage Tourism Development.
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The Historic Belmont-DeVilliers neighborhood of Pensacola, Florida was used as the modeling platform to unveil the National Forgotten Communities Program to begin the process of capturing the memories of this once proud community. Like so many others, Belmont-DeVilliers is a shadow of its previous existence. It's celebrated life all but extinguished by progress and neglect. Only kept alive by hardcore believers in an era long past. Ripe for development, but lacks a theme to create the new identity.

Celebrating our Cultural Roots

'The 12'
Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana,
Texas, Tennessee, North Carolina, Arkansas, Virginia, Kentucky 
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The National Cultural Heritage Society is an association of organizations and members that promote community based tourism projects, in support of our National Cultural Heritage Tourism Initiative. The Initiative was developed in partnership between the Florida Black Chamber of Commerce, Inc., Pensacola, Florida and the National Black Chambers of Commerce, Inc.; Washington, D.C. The society is responsible for the management of the National Cultural Heritage e-Tourism Center, Inc.  Additionally, the National Cultural Heritage Society is responsible for the creation and development of duplicatable “e- Museums” and project templates, in support of the society’s membership.

The National Cultural Heritage Society primary focus will always be recruiting people of faith to ‘Rebuild the Walls” in historic African American communities.  The National Cultural Heritage Tourism Center was created to promote the cultures and traditions of people of African descent and how their faith and belief affected the development of their communities and lifestyles.  Culture, history, and the arts have long appealed to tourist and routinely contribute to their selection of a tourism/travel destination. In recent years ‘culture’ has been rediscovered as an important marketing tool to attract travelers with special interests in the arts and history.  Hospitality and entertainment venues are being developed that cater to this trend. Why, because cultural heritage tourism is the fastest growing segment of the tourism industry. The demand by business and cultural travelers for new cultural experiences has allowed many traditional historic African American communities to be re-discovered and redeveloped by local government. This renewed interest is a great opportunity for societies to be created that will be dedicated to “Rebuilding the Walls” in our communities.
The NATIONAL CULTURAL HERITAGE INITIATIVE was established by the Florida Black Chamber of Commerce to act as a catalyst for the marketing of the Culture and Heritage of Americans of African Descent, using tourism as a deliverable platform.   Florida was chosen for initial development because of the state’s ‘Multi-Cultural and Ethnic Diversity’. Florida’s population has a rich cultural mixture of residents with diverse African Heritage, composed of multiple national and ethnic backgrounds. Florida truly represents the ‘World’ in its makeup and history. The state is not just Old South, Beaches, and Theme Parks, but has a population that are European, Latin American, Hispanic, Caribbean, African, and Asian ancestry and culture. All are “Proud Americans”. Americans with one common bond, an appreciation of their individual heritages and cultures, intertwined with an appreciation for the international influence and with a flavor that is unique, but - Afro-Centric in its appearance. The uniqueness has proven to be a major contributor and economic bonus to the state’s tourism industry; and has allowed Florida to become one of the top tourism destinations in the world by the successful marketing of its cultural diversity, to include the diverse Afro-Centric cultures as a part of its rich history.

Unfortunately, still too little is known about American Black Heritage and Culture. Although, several cities and states, including the States of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Louisiana, have endeavored to correct this oversight, by publishing and marketing several critically acclaimed publications, including the Florida Black Heritage Trail publication. But there has never been an organized attempt to market and showcase the African American and Black Culture as a platform to the world, most importantly to the Global Black Diaspora. The National Black Chamber of Commerce and the Florida Black Chamber of Commerce saw the need and the necessity to provide the answer to the age-old cultural question of Black travelers to unknown cities, “Where are the Black Folks?” The Florida State Black Tourism Center was developed as an affiliate of the Florida Black Chamber of Commerce to test the concept. The intent being to develop a platform and products to market nationally and internationally the African American Culture and its Heritage for the benefit and service to the Americans and the Black Diaspora.

Let Us Celebrate our Cultural Roots!

Travel Down SOUTH!African American Culture and History is rooted in the South.  More than half of the 47 Million African Americans live in the South. 85 percent of all African Americans lineage can be traced to a Southern State.  For many years African-American culture developed separately from European-American culture, both because of slavery and the persistence of racial discrimination in America, as well as African-American slave descendants' desire to create and maintain their own traditions.

Today, African-American culture has become a significant part of American culture and yet, at the same time, remains a distinct cultural body. The ‘Southern Cultural Heritage Society is a Grassroot Alliance of Cultural Leaders from each of the Southern States who have come together to celebrate the Culture and Heritage of Black America in the South using Cultural Heritage Tourism and a marketing platform. The ultimate goal being, to connect the South to Pan Africa and to all People of African Descent. 

Visit our Pan African American Travel Club for more information on making your arrangements.                       www.panafricanamericantravel.net

Rebuilding the Walls - Join the Movement!

Almost everyone today would agree that the greatest country ever created is America. It is the only known country to ever be created as a result of ideals;, “The Freedom of self-determination and “Freedom of Religion”. The Mayflower set sail for the New Lands because they sought freedom of religion. This was truly the beginning of the foundation of the America we have come to know, love, and defend. A nation of immigrants, slaves, and Native Americans; built cultural communities, fueled by hope and spiritual principles. This hope, this desire for freedom, called to people across the globe; and they came and built cities and communities; and prospered.

Now it is our time. Our communities and its people are suffering. It is time for us to take our Christian faith, our combined skill, our hopes and dreams, our culture and heritage and put them to work Rebuilding the Walls and Preserving the Culture and History in our communities. Our faith has is the strength of our culture and our faith has sustained us through the most trying of circumstances and conditions. Let us not forget the works of ‘Our Ancestors’ and the gifts they gave us.  Our culture, our heritage, our unique talents and skills, and most importantly; our faith; it is time for us to revisit our roots and reclaim the faith and visions of our past. We have the skills and knowledge base to claim the opportunities America has in store, by coming together as a community and focusing on rebuilding our own forty acres. If a service or product is needed, we can provide it; we have the skills, talents and the knowledge to complete this great task. Partnering with people of faith, using biblical principles will ensure our success. Remember, our ancestors paid a heavy price to ensure we would have the life we now enjoy. We now must do our part to leave a legacy for our children and generations to come.  They did it for us, we can do no less.
 
          "The ‘Word’ has been written and it is plain. Let’s apply it to our relationships in Rebuilding the Walls and God’s People. Let those who can, help those who cannot. We seek time and talent! Our goal is to have a well founded organization by 12-12-12. Join the movement."
-Rev. Eugene Franklin
The National Community-Based Tourism Model
"DeVilliers"
The Call: Join the movement."
-Eugene Franklin

Cultural Heritage Tourism Marketing
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Are We Welcome?!

We Yelp!

Our Mission


​The mission of the National Cultural Heritage Tourism Center, Inc.  is to work in partnership with tourism and travel partners to promote and position key cultural heritage tourism destinations through a broad program of advertising, public relations, social media, Internet marketing, promotions, research, and other marketing strategies. 

These strategies are designed to maintain and improve the awareness of national and international cultural and historical attractions and to project their image as a must visit destination to cultural and business travelers. The ultimate goal being, to attract increased numbers of travelers, and to increase tourist spending, create jobs, and hospitality related businesses.

Our Pan African Marketing and Advertising Partner



At African Network Television (ANTV), My Africa is Your Africa! ANTV is Africa’s First Global TV Network, the Only Place for all Persons of African Descent from around the world. 

African Network Television broadcasts globally from Gainesville Florida, United States featuring breaking news from across the African continent and lively discussion on current affairs, politics, health, money, cultural lifestyle reflecting the global African experience for all people of African descent.

ANTV bridges current media gap on Africa through trustworthy and reliable Africans led discussion on Africa; by engaging Africans in reshaping Africa’s image and by making it possible for Africans to take a lead in telling Africa’s story.
With enormous natural economic wealth and the abundance of numerous untapped resources, ANTV sheds unprecedented spotlight on Africa’s role on the global future while portraying the numerous highly skilled people of African descent that are crafting the global economic future.

ANTV Network provides reliable central platform for serious conversations on real issues, prospects, challenges, and concerns of both the continent of Africa and all people of its descent.

ANTV’s core audience spans the globe, and includes all people of African descent, foreign investors to Africa, and members of general public with interests on Africa and its beautiful culture.
African Network Television – ANTV visions

“a new Africa”

African Network TV is Africa’s first global TV network; the #1 place for reaching all people of African descent. 

At ANTV, my Africa is your Africa!

ANTV mission is clear and specific; as Africa’s first global TV network and the only place for reaching all people of African descent. ANTV missions are as follows:

To provide a global media platform for Africa’s affairs and concerns of all people of African descent.

To bridge the current Africa’s media gap through trustworthy and reliable African – led discussion on Africa.

To illuminate self-perspectives of Africans by re-engaging and educating the world about the real Africa.

To provide a reliable platform for serious conversation on real issues, prospects, and challenges of Africa and all people of its descent.

To re-brand Africa by shedding unprecedented spotlight on Africa’s role on the global future; and highly skilled Africans who crafting global future.

To showcase the cultural richness and uniqueness of the great continent of Africa and its people.

To widen global market horizons for investors with Africa’s interest by highlighting the abundant untapped resources and opportunities the continent possess.     

Why advertise  globally with ANTV

There are many reasons why ANTV stands out in its industry. We are proud of our service because we believe in nothing but excellent. Our partners that advertise with ANTV enjoy global name recognition secondary to unique market penetration of ANTV branding to Africa and beyond. We are committed to helping to expand the market horizons for business with Africa’s interest whether within or outside of the continent; and we take pride in surpassing customer expectations.



The Pan African American Cultural Heritage Initiative

Our Focus

"Culture is one of the most important levers to pull in order to rehabilitate and relaunch an economy; It also provides direction.” 
​ Aminata Traorẻ
Sharing “Our Cultural Knowledge and Experiences” in the areas of Commerce, Culture, Community, Education, Influence, Knowledge, and Faith; via established business, educational, social and tourism networks.  The ultimate goal being to “Rebuild and Connect” the global people of PAN AFRICA, via the technology platforms of the internet and to use proven Cultural Economics and Heritage Tourism programs to  develop Forgotten Communities, foster prosperity through business growth and job creation; and to  facilitate cultural exchanges  and services with other members of the African Diaspora, in partnership with the Pan African Cultural Heritage Alliance.


Our Pan African Patriarch and Matriarch




​Estevanico - 'The Moor'
The Americas' Greatest African Explorer
The first historically significant slave in what would become the United States was Estevanico, a Moroccan  slave and member of the Narvaez Expedition in 1528 and acted as a guide on Fray Marcos de Niza’s expedition to find the Seven Cities of Gold in 1539. Estevanico became the first person from Africa known to have set foot in the present continental United States. 
 
Estevanico; also known as Estevan, Esteban, Estebanico, Black Stephen, and Stephen the Moor,  was born in Azamor, Morocco around the year 1500. In 1513, the Portuguese took control of this area. When they fell on hard times during a drought in the early 1520s, the Portuguese started selling Moroccans as slaves to European customers. Estevanico was sold to Andres de Dorantes. Estévanico was fluent in many languages spoken in Spain, including Arabic, Spainish, Berber, and Portuguese.  This ability allowed Estevanico and Andres de Dorantes to develop a very positive relationship, and the two were said to be friends. 

Dorantes dreamed of sailing to the New World and he sought to take Estevanico with him.  Estevanico was raised as a Muslim, but because Spain did not allow non-Catholics to travel to the new world, Estevanico was converted to Roman Catholicism. In 1527, Dorantes signed them up to join an expedition organized by Pánfilo de Narváez to conquer the unexplored territory between Florida and Mexico, along the Gulf of Mexico. Narváez had twenty years of experience in conquering Mexico, and Spain had just appointed him Governor of the unconquered Florida. Hurricanes caused the crew to spend the winter in Cuba until they recouped and could travel safely. After more severe weather, on April 12, 1528, Dorante and Estévanico landed on the shores on Florida with more than three hundred other men, including Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca and Alonso del Castillo Maldondo. They landed just north of Tampa Bay.  

Narváez and his crew were given many gifts and food by the first natives they met. Feeling confident, he set out to claim the land with a compliment of three hundred men and 40 horses. After three months of traveling in hostile land and encountering hostile natives, they arrived in Aute, with no sign of their ships. With disease and desperation running high, the leaders became determined to see civilization again and set out to build five watercrafts. After six weeks, they had eaten all of their horses and on September 22, 1528 loaded fifty men on each barge and set sail, near what is now Apalachiiocola. Two days later, Estévanico's company was left with nothing but maize and water held in bags made of rotting horse skins.  Álvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca wrote of this journey, "So great is the power of need that it brought us to venture out into such a troublesome sea in this manner, and without any among us having the least knowledge of the art of navigation." The men all tried to keep their boats within sight of land.   On October 27, 1528, the explorers landed in what would become American First Settlement, Pensacola, Florida.  They were greeted by friendly natives and traded all their corn for fresh water and seafood.   They were allowed to stay the night and invited them to sleep in a lodge house of 300 men.  After an altercation the Spanish explorers were forced to leave Pensacola the following morning, October 28,1528.  The men drifted for several days and eventually  were caught off-guard by the strong currents at the mouth of the Mississippi River. Slowly, the boats separated and disappeared from the sight of each other. Governor Narváez’s boat drifted out into the Gulf of Mexico and become lost. 

Dorantes' boat eventually capsized near what is now Galveston, Texas; where they joined the group led by Cabeza de Vaca . The combined group numbered 80 .  In de Vaca ‘s journal , he recorded that the Native Indians felt so sorry for the miserable crew that they wept. In a relationship balancing between pity and fear, the men spent the winter on the island they named Malhado (Misfortune).  After the winter ended, only 15 men were left.  It was reported that a group of Spaniards committed the  horror of cannibalism in the presence of the natives. 

In April 1529, Estévanico, Dorante and Castillo gathered the survivors from their original group and left Cabeza de Vaca's company behind. The Natives in the area accepted the men, but eventually enslaved them for more than five years. During this time, five men died from trying to escape, while more died from disease and hunger. 

By 1534, only four were alive: Estevanico, Dorantes, Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca and Alonso del Castillo Maldonado. (The most famous of those is Cabeza de Vaca, whose writings are an important source of information on the Americans of the 16th century.)  In 1535, they finally escaped and interacted with other natives to survive.  They used their healing skills to befriend them. This was not a skill of science, but herbal medicine and prayer. Estevanico soon gained the reputation as a healer and was called upon to heal everything from headaches to people near death. Not only did this make them friends with the locals, but also it ensured their survival and created a reputation that opened up the opportunity for travel again. Estévanico also helped the group with his ability to learn more than six Indian languages. The Spaniards wanted to maintain their mystique and authority, so Estévanico was constantly among the Indians acting as ambassador for the group. 

With the aide of thousands of Indians, they made their way west by way of the Rio Grande, Presidio, and crossing into Mexico at what is now El Paso. They were nicknamed ""children of the sun" by the Indians, because the men traveled from east to west. Because their reputation was so great, when a patient died, the people assumed the fault was with the patient. In May of 1536, they arrived at San Miguel de Culiacan (Sinaloa, Mexico).  In July, they arrived in Mexico City,  the four survivors told stories of wealthy indigenous tribes to the North and this created great interest in the city.   

While the other three men all returned to Spain, Estevanico was sold to Antonio de Mendoza, the Viceroy of New Spain, who used Estevanico as a guide in expeditions to the North.  In 1539, Estevanico was one of four men who accompanied Marcos de Niza as a guide in search of the fabled Seven Cities of Cibola, preceding Coronado. Estevanico traveled ahead of the main party with a group of indigenous servants instructed to send back crosses to the main party, with the size of the cross equal to the wealth discovered.

One day, a cross arrived that was as tall as a person causing de Niza to quickly progress forward.   Estevanico’s had entered the Zuni village of Hawikuh (in present-day New Mexico) and for some reason offended the inhabitants so they killed Estevanico and his indigenous servants were sent from the village. De Niza reportedly witnessed the results and quickly returned to New Spain. The exact reason Estevanico was killed is not precisely clear, but accounts suggest the Zuni did not believe his account of representing a party of whites, and further that he was killed because Estevanico was black and wore feathers and rattles, and may have looked like a wizard to the Zuni.  Another theory, published in 2002, claims that Estevanico was not killed by the Zuni, and that he and friends  among the Indians faked his death to achieve his freedom.
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​Queen NZinga Mbande

Africa's Greatest Queen

​Queen Nzinga (Nzinga Mbande), the monarch of the Mbundu people, was a resilient leader who fought against the Portuguese and their expanding slave trade in Central Africa.
 
During the late 16th Century, the French and the English threatened the Portuguese near monopoly on the sources of slaves along the West African coast, forcing it to seek new areas for exploitation.  By 1580 they had already established a trading relationship with Afonso I in the nearby Kongo Kingdom. They then turned to Angola, south of the Kongo.
 
The Portuguese established a fort and settlement at Luanda in 1617, encroaching on Mbundu land.  In 1622 they invited Ngola (King) Mbande to attend a peace conference there to end the hostilities with the Mbundu.  Mbande sent his sister Nzinga to represent him in a meeting with Portuguese Governor Joao Corria de Sousa.  Nzinga was aware of her diplomatically awkward position.  She knew of events in the Kongo which had led to Portuguese domination of the nominally independent nation.  She also recognized, however, that to refuse to trade with the Portuguese would remove a potential ally and the major source of guns for her own state.
 
In the first of a series of meetings Nzinga sought to establish her equality with the representative of the Portugal crown.  Noting that the only chair in the room belonged to Governor Corria, she immediately motioned to one of her assistants who fell on her hands and knees and served as a chair for Nzinga for the rest of the meeting.  
 
Despite that display, Nzinga made accommodations with the Portuguese.  She converted to Christianity and adopted the name Dona Anna de Souza.  She was baptized in honor of the governor's wife who also became her godmother.  Shortly afterwards Nzinga urged a reluctant Ngola Mbande to order the conversion of his people to Christianity.
 
In 1626 Nzinga became Queen of the Mbundu when her brother committed suicide in the face of rising Portuguese demands for slave trade concessions.  Nzinga, however, refused to allow them to control her nation.  In 1627, after forming alliances with former rival states, she led her army against the Portuguese, initiating a thirty-year war against them.  She exploited European rivalry by forging an alliance with the Dutch who had conquered Luanda in 1641. With their help, Nzinga defeated a Portuguese army in 1647.  When the Dutch were in turn defeated by the Portuguese the following year and withdrew from Central Africa, Nzinga continued her struggle against the Portuguese.  Now in her 60s she still personally led troops in battle.   She also orchestrated guerilla attacks on the Portuguese which would continue long after her death and inspire the ultimately successful 20th Century armed resistance against the Portuguese that resulted in independent Angola in 1975.
 
Despite repeated attempts by the Portuguese and their allies to capture or kill Queen Nzinga, she died peacefully in her eighties on December 17, 1663.
 

Celebrating Our Roots


THE BLACK HERITAGE TRAILS: CELEBRATING OUR ROUTE (ROOT)




Black Heritage Trails Portraying Cultural Journeys of Individuals, Organizations and Communities throughout the Americas and the World the BLACK HERITAGE TRAILS:

They are journeys by Black People in pursuit of the universal dream of fulfillment of individual, organizational and community life. They are adventurous expeditions of discoveries: discoveries of self and of a far greater organizational and community life than was ever dreamt. The Trails chronicle the cultural history of Blacks in their heroic efforts to build an individual, organizational and a community life out of the meager resources, both physical and spiritual, given to them by the traditional cultures in which they found themselves. 

There are those who choose to view these circumstances as a great misfortune and there are those who consider themselves fortunate and seek only to realize the benefits of the Heritage Trails: what they have taught us, what they offer us now and what lies in store for us, up ahead.The Heritage Trails are uniquely exciting routes of cultural explorations and cultural discoveries. The journey along the Trails has no beginning that anyone knows of and no ending that we can speak about. The journey is a process, a metaphor for life and living that offers the possibility of a new and improved socio-economic growth initiative never before seen in the history of the world. The journey along the Trails provides opportunities to demonstrate the process of development in individual, organizational and community life in low-income communities, small towns, cities and countries all over the world. 

The Black Heritage Trails, wherever they exist, can revitalize culture and commerce in unique ways. They demonstrate how Blacks can utilize their resources (whatever they may be) and the finer aspects of the traditional culture to gain a more rewarding balance of individual, organizational and community life. They graphically show how a culturally diverse people, speaking different languages, practicing different customs, un-welcomed strangers in often very strange lands, physically and spiritually trapped on the one hand by slavery and oppression and freed on the other by a fervent belief in the best of the world’s traditions, forged (and are still forging) a path that is a living testament to the power of a greater vision.


Our Cultural Exchange Program


                 Gateway Countries to Gateway Cities Programs


Gateway Countries to Gateway Cities (GC to GC) effectively applies time-tested cultural principles that produce optimum socio-economic development in the "New and Old Worlds".  Similar to the Marco Polo era and other historical examples, GC to GC recognized the cultural and heritage routes of the "Old and New Worlds" are as the roots of the "New Marketplace".  Gateway Countries to Gateway Cities supports the idea that the "New Marketplace" will currently thrive best in the "New World".  Nevertheless, it promotes and celebrates the "New Marketplace" globally through the formation of strategic socio-economic linkages with countries in both the "New World" and the "Old World".  Of significance, it recognizes Europe and African countries; as important Gateways to the heritage routes of the New World, via the Caribbean, and Florida, the "Gateway State".

Based in the Pan African Cultural Heritage Institute, the Gateway Countries to Gateway Cities:

1. Establishes Gateway Trade, Travel and Transformation Centers to promote effective socio-economic development perspectives for individual, organizational and community development, including community-based socio-economic development

2.  Assists Chambers of Commerce to become more effective in reaching deeper and more broadly into the marketplace by creating within each chamber a Culture, Commerce and Community identity that integrates different socio-economic perspectives" 

3.  Uses cultural explanations to describe the physical and spiritual resources of the "New World" and the "New Marketplace" thereby assisting individuals and organizations to more easily capitalize on the available wealth in their culture and heritage.

4.  Designs and implements tourism packages for greater experiences of the "New Marketplace and the "New World" and focuses on developing new attitudes and improving relationships by "taking" individuals and organizations back to the "Old World" through Ghana and "The Joseph Project".

The "New Marketplace" or knowledge economy is a physical representation of a spiritual world we are now beginning to discover. Some of us increasingly comprehend that the rules governing the Spiritual World are the same as those that guide the "New Marketplace". Just as the spiritual world is deeply influenced by our attitudes and our relationships; likewise, success in the "New Marketplace" is largely dependent on our renewed commitment to improving our attitudes and building great relationships. Attitude will indeed determine altitude in the "New Marketplace".

Information and knowledge will only be utilized properly when we gain a thorough understanding of culture in the "New and Old Worlds". Likewise, the information and knowledge economy will only realize its maximum value when we achieve an intelligent understanding of Spirit in the Spiritual World. The degree to which we develop culturally is the exact degree to which our physical and Spiritual Worlds develop.

Our Historic Preservation


The Forgotten Communities Program


The “Forgotten Communities Program’ is the cornerstone of the Pan African Cultural Heritage Institute and the National Cultural Heritage Tourism Center, Inc.  The program is a major program under the National Cultural Heritage Initiative and serves as the catalyst for the promotion and marketing of the culture, heritage and the communities of people of African Descent.
 
The program was created and developed  to support the efforts of chambers of commerce, economic and community development entities address economic and job creation issues in disadvantaged communities.    The leadership at the local level is comprised of entrepreneurs, artist, educators, government, and community activists/leaders.  The goal by all is to access the viability of creating a tourism destination, by establishing an arts cluster as an attraction.  Art that focuses on the cultural history and people of the city and community, told in paint, with emphasis on faith and tradition.  
 
The program has proved itself as very successful and has allowed an industry to take hold and renewed interest in historic Black communities.  With the support of talented painters and performing artists, the program has been able to spiritually recapture the people’s memories and visions and dreams of the people that resided there, outside of the view of mainstream America.  Forgotten Communities is not Black Art, it is a spiritual movement, to showcase a people of dignity and neighborhoods that are a part of us.  Only through the arts, can the spiritual moment and importance of a culture be recreated and conveyed to another culture.
 
The Forgotten Communities Program is a ‘call to all artists’, particularly those of African descent, to begin painting their visions and memories of their culturally significant and historic communities.  The National Cultural Heritage Tourism Center was created to allow those images to be shared with the world and rekindle an interest in these forgotten communities.  The knowledge required to sustain the community and help it grow is provided by the research and teaching of the fellows and members of the Pan African Cultural Heritage Institute.

Our Faith-Based Initiative

FAITH, CULTURE And HERITAGE


We celebrate all cultural and historic churches over one hundred years old.  African American churches have served to provide African American people with leadership positions and opportunities to organize that were denied in mainstream American society. Because of this, African American pastors became the bridge between the African American and European American communities and thus played a crucial role in the American Civil Rights Movement! Although African American neighborhoods may suffer from civic disinvestment with lower quality schools, less effective policing, and fire protection, there are institutions such as churches and museums and political organizations that help to improve the physical and social capital of African American neighborhoods. In African American neighborhoods the churches may be important sources of social cohesion. For some African Americans the kind spirituality learned through these churches works as a protective factor against the corrosive forces of racism. Museums devoted to African American History are also found in many African American neighborhoods, and are often located in historical churches.




​The Collective Empowerment Group, Inc. (CEG), formerly the Collective Banking Group, Inc. (CBG), was formed in 1993 as a result of concerns raised by pastors and church members in Prince Georges County and the Metropolitan D.C. area regarding inequitable access to services provided by local banks and businesses.  Churches were faced with severe challenges due to redlining and other questionable practices.

In 2010, the Board and member pastors reflected on the evolution of the CBG.  Over the years the organization had become a national faith-based community economic empowerment group, still advocating just treatment from banks…and much more. By unanimous decision of the Board, the Collective Banking Group became the Collective Empowerment Group, with increased focus on financial literacy, education, healthcare, home ownership preservation, public safety and public policy. The new name demonstrates the CEG’s expanded role in “building a healthy and empowered church, people and community.” 

MISSION STATEMENT

A Christian ministry, in covenant relationship with member churches, and partnership
with financial institutions, businesses, and other organizations for community empowerment.

VISION STATEMENT

To collectively empower under served communities

The Art of Faith Network


‘Art, Food & Music’
2014 First Settlement Children's Arts Festival


One of the main goals of the First Settlement Children’s Arts Festival is to incorporate multicultural learning and celebrate the histories and traditions of their cultures of origin through the arts in a creative and entertaining way. Let's get kids excited about learning.


Cultural Heritage Tourism and the Arts






Culture, heritage and the arts have long appealed to tourist and contributed to their selections of tourism destinations. In recent years ‘culture’ has been rediscovered as an important marketing tool to attract travelers with special interests in culture, heritage and the arts.

Cultural heritage tourism is the fastest growing segment of the tourism industry. There is a trend and need for travelers to enrich their lives with new cultural experiences. This is evident in the rise in the volume of tourists who seek their heritage, cultural - related experiences and adventures.
"The Entertainer"
Music, Food, Festivals and the
Arts...

Played There!!

Our Research Model

The Belmont De Villiers Research Project


The De Villiers Cultural Heritage e-Museum is a tourism marketing development project in support of the National Cultural Heritage Tourism Initiative. The Initiative is under the management of the Florida Black Chamber of Commerce, Inc., and in partnership with the National Black Chambers of Commerce, Inc.; Washington, D.C.  This site serves as a community based tourism model for the National Cultural Heritage Tourism Initiative.

The e- Museum is duplicatable and is provided as a template to encourage other communities to partner and create "Cultural Heritage Societies" promoting their historic communities and tourism related activities in partnership with the National Cultural Heritage Tourism Center, Inc.  In addition to the e-Museum and Cultural Heritage Societies Program, other major related projects include the National Arts & Entertainment Network, National Cultural Heritage Guides, The Forgotten Communities Program, Tourism & Travel Clubs and the Rebuilding the Walls Program. 



It is unknown to most Americans that Pensacola is "America's First Settlement" and DeVilliers is the city's most prominent historic black community.  The historic Belmont-De Villiers neighborhood of Pensacola, Florida was used as the modeling platform to unveil the National Forgotten Communities Program to begin the process of capturing the memories of this once proud community. Like so many others, Belmont-De Villiers is a shadow of its previous existence. It's celebrated life all but extinguished by progress and neglect; only kept alive by hardcore believers in an era long past. De Villiers was ripe for development, but lacked a theme to create the new identity.
Pensacola has a unique and untold rich cultural history that was touted by Booker T. Washington as "The Most Progressive City In The South." Belmont DeVilliers was a major entertainment destination on the Chitlin' Circuit.  The community was the location for several major clubs, including the famous 'Abe's 506 Club and the Historic Bunny Club'.  Some of America's greatest entertainers performed in these venues, including Louis Armstrong, James Brown, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Ike & Tina Turner, Fats Domino, B.B. King and Sam McClain.  This area is being revitalized and is once again a cultural heritage tourism attraction and is a major asset in the city's tourism marketing program, which makes it an outstanding community based tourism model.



The Cultural Heritage e-Museum also promotes festivals and other events associated with the De Villiers Cultural Heritage Society and the arts, to include the showcasing of local and  national  blues, gospel and jazz artists. The primary concern being the creation and promotion of a ‘Gathering Place’ that will focus on the culture, music, arts and history of  Pensacola's African American Community.



The “Forgotten Communities Program’ was created as a community based project to support talented painters and performing artists to re-capture the spirituality and dignity of "Ordinary People"  who once, and now, inhabit cultural and historic communities that are neglected by mainstream society.  Only through the arts, can the spiritual moment and importance of a culture be recreated and conveyed to another culture.  The Forgotten Communities Program is a call to all artists, particularly those of African descent, to begin painting their visions and memories of their culturally historic communities and share them with their people and the world.  The ultimate goal of the project was, to create a cultural image for future generations; and to educate others on the value and importance of our culture to America and the Diaspora. The program supports the National Cultural Heritage Initiative created to develop a national tourism and travel network that will promote the culture and heritage of People of African descent in the United States of America. 

THE PAN AFRICAN CULTURAL HERITAGE MARKET PLACE


'THE NEW WORLD MARKET PLACE'

The Pan African American Cultural Heritage Market Place was created to  PROMOTE  Cultural Businesses across the Global Market Place



Booker T. Washington
American Educator and Cultural Economist 


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“If we just build our businesses and only do business with each other, we not only will survive but prosper.”      








Access to Capital and Marketing are the weakness
of all micro-enterprise and cultural businesses.
​

The Pan African American Market Place is the cornerstone of the ‘Pan African Cultural Heritage Initiative’, whose ultimate goal is to rebuild Pan African communities and villages, by creating businesses and jobs to produce cultural wealth, through the promotion of our businesses, culture and heritage to the Global Market Place.  The Market Place has also partnered with the Nation Black Business Support Corporation to facilitate Access to Capital for our Market Place members and to assist us in developing the entrepreneurial spirit of Pan Africa and to connect businesses and perspective clients.  
The Market Place is designed to be a global clustering of Pan African cultural businesses that serve the needs of the global Market Place.  The clustering of cultural businesses is our tradition.  Our ancestors and all cultures created the Market Place by clustering businesses to serve the cultural and communal needs of the people in the region.  Clustering also produce other business opportunities.  Most importantly, it creates wealth and jobs.  The Pan African American Cultural Heritage Market Place serves the cultural needs of a global people, Pan Africans.

The Pan African American Cultural Heritage Market Place is a cultural business cluster, not unlike a China Town.  The Market Place will consistently strive to become the NEW WORLD MARKET PLACE; to showcase the products and services of our affiliate members, and increase the business opportunities for our members, by marketing their products and service to the African Diaspora across the globe.  

Our desire will always be to educate, connect national and global communities, and to create jobs and opportunities for our members and international affiliates. The Pan African American Cultural Heritage Initiative Partners and Sponsors are: the Pan African Cultural Heritage Institute, Inc., the National Black Business Support Corporation, the Florida Black Chamber of Commerce, Inc., National Cultural Heritage Tourism Center, Inc..
Join the Cultural Heritage Movement!  Market, Advertise, and Promote your business in the: “PAN AFRICAN AMERICAN CULTURAL HERITAGE MARKET PLACE”
       

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