Champaign County African American Heritage Trail, Champaign County

2026 Landmarks Illinois Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Preservation Award for Stewardship

The Champaign County African American Heritage Trail is a community-driven and volunteer-led initiative that celebrates the lives and contributions of African Americans in the Champaign County area. Sparked by the national protests in 2020 against racial injustice, the trail connects local sites of Black historic significance through public-facing interpretive material. The project is led by Experience Champaign-Urbana Foundation and stewarded by co-chairs Barbara Suggs Mason and Angela Rivers, local educators and descendants of family members who first moved to Champaign County in the 1860s. The project has activated 45 historic sites across the county with interpretive signage, digital tours and the integration of public art and educational programming with commemoration of often-overlooked stories of local history. Through interdisciplinary collaboration and an innovative partnership of community members, the Heritage Trail moves beyond traditional preservation projects that focus on physical sites and static stories and instead sees the preservation of each place as connected to the interpretation of Black historical sites writ large.

 

(Trail Markers for Douglass Community Center and Douglass Branch Library. Credit: Experience Champaign Urbana.)

Additional information

The Heritage Trail connects separate Black history sites into one cohesive story that makes the region’s Black history visible to local residents and visitors alike. The trail engages its visitors through guided interpretive bus tours; partnerships for second-grade tours with the Champaign Unit 4 School District; live performances of over 90 Black musicians with roots in Champaign County; and a music tribute wall at Champaign’s Skelton Park. The Heritage Trail is entirely volunteer-run and funded with a broad coalition of support from state, local and regional partners. In addition to a Tourism Incentive Grant from the State of Illinois and support from the Illinois Tourism Office, this project is sponsored or funded by local cities and villages (Champaign, Urbana, Savoy and Rantoul); city offices (the Champaign Park District, the Urbana Park District, the Champaign Public Library), the University of Illinois; and local nonprofits, community organizations and businesses (Rotary Club, 40 North, Carle, Ameren Illinois, the Urbana Free Library, Champaign Urbana Public Health, Looking for Lincoln, Busey Bank, Community Foundation of East Central Illinois, Citizens Equity First Credit Union (CEFCU) and The News Gazette).

(Barbara Suggs Mason and Angela Rivers standing in front of the Douglass Bus mural wrap created by Keenan Dailyin collaboration with MTD and the Champaign Park District, July 2023. Photo credit: Champaign Park District)

Project Principals

• Project Owner / Lead Organization: Experience Champaign-Urbana Foundation
• Tourism, Marketing and Community Engagement Partner: Experience Champaign-Urbana
• Jayne DeLuce, President, CEO, & Foundation Executive Director for Experience Champaign-Urbana
• Terri Reifsteck, Vice President of Destination Branding & Development for Experience Champaign-Urbana
• Robert White, Champaign County African American Heritage Trail Manager for Experience ChampaignUrbana
• Dr. Barbara Suggs-Mason, Co-Founder / Historian / Community Advisor
• Angela Rivers, Co-Founder / Historian / Community Advisor
• Champaign County African American Heritage Trail Committee, Community Stewardship, Programming and Advisory Support
• CCAAHT Historians, Docents, Volunteers, Donors and Supporters, Research, Interpretation, Tours and Community Engagement

 

Additional Project Partners and Contributors

• 40 North | Champaign County Arts Council: Public Art and Cultural Partner
• Champaign Park District: Community/Site Partner
• Urbana Park District: Community/Site Partner
• Rotary Club of Champaign: Community/Site Partner
• Community Foundation of East Central Illinois: Community/Site Partner
• Champaign County Forest Preserve District: Community/Site Partner
• Homer Historical Society: Community/Site Partner
• City of Champaign, Municipal/Site Partner
• City of Urbana, Municipal/Site Partner
• Village of Rantoul, Municipal / Site Partner
• Village of Savoy: Municipal/Site Partner
• Champaign County: Municipal/Site Partner
• Carle Health: Corporate/Site Partner
• Busey: Corporate/Site Partner
• Ameren: Corporate/Site Partner
• Spherion: Corporate/Site Partner
• UI Community Credit Union: Corporate/Site Partner
• Unit 4 School District, Education Partner
• University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Education, Research, Engagement and Site Partner
• Bruce D. Nesbitt African American Cultural Center, Cultural and Educational Partner
• Parkland College, Education Partner
• Urbana Free Library, Public Programming and Community Engagement Partner
• Champaign Public Library Douglass Branch: Community Programming and Site Partner
• Peoria Charter, Guided Tour Transportation Partner
• Community Contributors
• Local African American churches, schools, neighborhoods and community institutions represented on the Trail
• Artists and muralists connected to Trail sites
• Local educators, historians, cultural leaders and community members
• School, senior, university and community tour participants

 

Why is this place important to you?

Robert White, Champaign County African American Heritage Trail Manager for Experience ChampaignUrbana, and the Champaign County African American Heritage Trail Team

The Champaign County African American Heritage Trail is important to me because it represents the power of a community coming together to preserve the stories that have always been here but have not always been visible.

For too long, the contributions of African Americans who helped shape Champaign County were known by families, churches and neighborhoods, but not always recognized in the public spaces where history is remembered. The Trail changes that.

What has been most meaningful to me is that this project has always belonged to the community. The vision, leadership and stories came from community members who trusted us to help preserve their history. That trust is something I will always treasure.

The Trail has also reminded me that historic preservation is about more than protecting places. It is about honoring people, strengthening community identity and ensuring future generations understand the lives, achievements and sacrifices of those who came before them.

Nothing is more rewarding than watching a young person discover someone who looks like them in our community’s history, seeing an elder feel the pride of having their story recognized or hearing a visitor say they now understand Champaign County in a completely different way.

To me, the Trail is an act of stewardship. It preserves stories that deserve to be remembered, celebrates places that deserve to be honored and reminds us that our shared history is richer, more complete and more meaningful when every voice is included.

(Mural in Douglass Park by artist Ryan Adams inspired by a Frederick Douglass’ speech.)

How did saving this place impact people in your community?

Robert White, Champaign County African American Heritage Trail Manager for Experience Champaign Urbana, and the Champaign County African American Heritage Trail Team

The Champaign County African American Heritage Trail transformed overlooked history into a shared community asset.

By creating a museum without walls, the Trail made African American history visible, accessible and part of everyday life. Rather than asking people to visit a single museum, the Trail brings history to the streets, parks, churches, schools, murals, neighborhoods and public spaces where these stories actually unfolded. That simple shift has changed how people experience our community.

A park becomes more than a park. A mural becomes more than public art. A church, neighborhood or school becomes part of a larger story of resilience, leadership, faith, education, creativity and service. Places people pass every day have become places of discovery, reflection and pride.

The Trail has also strengthened education by connecting students, teachers, university classes, community groups, residents and visitors with local history in meaningful ways. Instead of learning about African American history only through national events, they discover the people, places and stories that shaped their own community. That local connection makes history more personal and more lasting.

Perhaps the greatest impact has been creating a stronger sense of belonging. For many community members, seeing African American history recognized and preserved in public spaces sends a powerful message: your story belongs here. Your family’s contributions matter. Your history is part of the story of Champaign County.

The Trail has also inspired new partnerships among historians, artists, educators, cultural organizations, local governments and neighborhood leaders, creating a shared commitment to preserving and sharing these stories for future generations.

While the Trail has attracted visitors and strengthened cultural tourism, its greatest success is the pride it has fostered within the community itself. It has created places where people gather, learn, reflect and connect across generations.

The impact is far more than educational or economic. It is deeply personal. The Trail has strengthened people’s connection to place, history and one another, ensuring these stories remain visible and valued for generations to come.

(Barbara Suggs Mason and Angela Rivers giving a community tour in front of the Fredrick Douglass visit to Champaign Trail Marker on the corner of Neil and Main St. in Aug 2024. Credit: Experience Champaign Urbana.)