NC Civil Rights Trail

For generations, people in North Carolina have used spaces and places to organize, strategize, and protest to advance the civil rights of people of color, especially African Americans. It is here that young people—from Raleigh to Durham, from Elizabeth City to Greensboro—were activated to protest racial injustice. It is here where everyday people from Rocky Mount, to Robeson and Halifax Counties resisted oppression and intimidation. Leaders like Dovey Roundtree, Pauli Murray, and Golden Frinks called our state home. 

In honor of this work, we will join communities across the state to physically mark sites critical to the Civil Rights Movement in North Carolina. The African American Heritage Commission's goal is to place 50 markers in counties across the state, highlighting and acknowledging tireless civil rights efforts that are well known and, in some cases, unsung. Ten of these markers will be placed in Hometown Strong counties (rural counties that have been identified as Tier 1 or Tier 2).

The NCAAHC has decided to pause the Round VIII application submissions. We invite you to apply once the submission reopens for the markers. Please continue reading for the marker program criteria and details.