The mission of the Greater Portsmouth Black Heritage Trail, Inc. is to preserve the history and culture of the African-American community in the Portsmouth, New Hampshire region and to promote awareness and appreciation of that community through education and public programs. We offer public symposia, workshops, educational programs, and cultural events. We are funded entirely from private donations and foundation grants.

Portsmouth, New Hampshire has been home to Africans and African-Americans for more than 350 years. This Portsmouth Black Heritage Trail guide takes the reader to a selection of sites where Portsmouth’s black residents lived, worked, prayed and celebrated. It tells stories omitted from three centuries of white historical narrative.

Upon examination we find that against the odds of early enslavement and subsequent marginalization, Africans and their descendants built communities and families, founded institutions, and served their town, state and nation in many capacities.

Black culture informed and transformed American Popular culture. The black presence made other Americans describe themselves as white. The black civil rights movement remains a model for other marginalized Americans and an inspiration to the world. In brief, black history is American history-black history is everyone’s history.