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Buffalo African American Museum Press Release & Graphic
After a highly successful pilot year, bus tours will be offered every Saturday in February as part of the third annual “Together As One: The Journey Continues,” a WNY regionwide celebration of Black History Month.
The 2025 bus tours, which will take place from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Saturdays, Feb. 1-22, will explore Black history at different sites across Western New York. The tours will include The Michigan Street Baptist Church in the AAHC, the Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Museum, the history of Freedom Park, The Freedom Wall, the Burchfield Penney Art Center, the Black Doll Exhibit and the BAMM MLK Making of a Monument at the Central Library downtown, Buffalo Black Achievers Museum, The Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site, Open Buffalo, and the Castellani Art Museum of Niagara. Each tour will take a unique route, and will include a complimentary snack sponsored by the Buffalo African American Museum.
For more information or to register, visit www.bfloafricanamericanmuseum.org/tours.
“Together as One: The Journey Continues” is a collaborative project launched in February of 2023 that also provides a comprehensive digital guide for discovering Black History Month exhibits and programs at cultural sites across Western New York. The idea is the brainchild of Clifford Bell, chairman of the Buffalo African American Museum, who aimed to bring the community “together as one” to observe and celebrate the contributions of African Americans.
The coordinated effort led by the Buffalo African American Museum includes the following participating organizations: The Buffalo Black Achievers Museum, Buffalo & Erie County Public Library, Buffalo Museum of Science, Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy, Burchfield Penney Arts Center, Michigan Street African American Heritage Corridor, Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Center, Buffalo Freedom Park, The Buffalo AKG Art Museum, Open Buffalo, the Calvary Baptist Church, The Buffalo History Museum, The Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site, Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens, and the Castellani Art Museum of Niagara, and the City of Buffalo.
To register for a bus tour and learn more about February events, exhibits and programs at all participating organizations, visit www.bfloafricanamericanmuseum.org/tours.
BAAM’s mission is to build a historical and educational museum that celebrates the rich heritage, culture and life experiences of African Americans by providing authentic presentations and representations of the contributions African Americans have made to the history and the development of the City of Buffalo and Western New York, through art and other cultural exhibits and displays.
With the main purpose to house and promote exhibits that reflects Buffalo African American history, BAAM curates traveling exhibits while working toward having a physical structure to house historic content. The first exhibit curated by the Buffalo African American Museum featured the founding and history of the Michigan Avenue YMCA.
BAAM was founded by Bell, a community activist in Buffalo. He is the former chairperson of the Dr. Martin Luther King Birthday Celebration Committee and one of the pioneers of the Dr. Martin Luther King Memorial Trust Fund. Both committees led to the establishment of the historic MLK Monument Plaza in MLK Jr. Park. He has dedicated his life to working with local city, state, business and community groups to improve Buffalo.