Heritage Site Visitation and Attitudes toward African American Heritage Preservation

Abstract

Understanding disparities in visitation rates to heritage sites and patterns in public support for preservation and remembrance of African American heritage could greatly inform decision-making and management philosophies of park/historic site operators, preservationists, and other entrepreneurs. Informed by critical theory, this study examined heritage site visitation and attitudes toward remembrance and preservation of African American heritage among North Carolina (NC) residents. Telephone interviews were completed by 843 residents investigating their heritage site visitation patterns and support for African American heritage. The results suggest that race, age, education, income, frequency of travel, and voting record impact variation in heritage site visitation among NC residents while race, age, education, the presence of retirees or children in the household, voting record, and identification as a Southerner influenced attitudes toward African American preservation. This study contributes to the critical analysis of how patterns in heritage site visitation and public support of preservation perpetuate racialization of the travel experience.

Tweeting the Black Travel Experience: Social Media Counternarrative Stories as Innovative Insight on #TravelingWhileBlack

“…Furthermore, Tribe (2008) argues for a critical assessment of the tourism industry in order for the survival of tourism; he posits that if we are to “make genuine and deep progress in sustainable tourism,” then management practices must be informed by the “current configurations of power and the operation of dominant ideological practices” (p. 253) that work through how marginalized groups navigate touristic spaces. Thus, awareness and accountability of how power, politics, and race help shape the tourism industry can contribute toward a more inclusive and inviting touristic experience for underrepresented groups (Benjamin et al 2016).…”

Dark Tourism and Social Mobilization: Transforming Travelers After Visiting a Holocaust Museum

“…Although they focus on the destination residents’ perspective, the work of Benjamin et al (2016) and Jordan and Prayag (2022) offer striking insights into the connections between memorial sites and social mobilization. When surveying North Carolina residents about their support for African American heritage sites, including Civil Rights museums, Benjamin et al (2016) find that political activism, a form of social mobilization, predicts higher visit intention to African American heritage sites. Further, Jordan and Prayag (2022) mention that seeking social support is a common coping strategy among destination residents living in Christchurch, New Zealand, after living through the earthquake.…”

The Black Travel Movement: A Catalyst for Social Change

“…Although the movement of Black people can be traced back over centuries, research on the phenomenon is scarce, and just beginning to make a mark in tourism literature (Alderman 2013; Benjamin et al 2016; Lee and Scott 2017; Philipp 1994; Dillette, Benjamin, and Carpenter 2018; Holland 2002; Dillette 2020; Alderman, Williams, and Bottone 2019; P. L. Carter 2008; Duffy et al 2019).…”

“…L. Carter 2008). Other studies explored Black travel through a historical lens (Alderman, Williams, and Bottone 2019), heritage sites dedicated to slavery (Benjamin et al 2016), critical discourse of traveling while Black in the American south (Duffy et al 2019), and Black travel experiences shared on social media (Dillette, Benjamin, and Carpenter 2018). The scarcity of research spread across varying fields reveals a significant gap in the literature around the intersections between tourism, racism, and social movements.…”