Welcome to the Cornerstones of Freedom walking tour.

Cornerstones of Freedom: A Walking Tour of Huntsville’s Reconstruction History brings to life the stories of Black Huntsvillians whose leadership shaped our community and nation.  As we reflect on the 250^th anniversary of our nation’s founding, we are reminded of the four million formerly enslaved men, women, and children whose exercise of their freedoms brought us closer to a more perfect union.

Following the Civil War, amendments to the United States Constitution guaranteed protective rights to formerly enslaved individuals. The Thirteenth Amendment, ratified in 1865, abolished slavery.  The  Fourteenth Amendment, ratified in 1868, granted citizenship to freed people and their descendants. The Fifteenth Amendment, ratified in 1870, provided voting rights to male citizens, regardless of race.

Unfortunately, in the following decades, shifting political alliances chipped away at these rights. Freed of federal oversight, southern state legislatures and courts began to implement laws that codified legal discrimination—laws upheld by the United States Supreme Court.

Even as state and federal institutions narrowed their freedoms, Black Americans held tight to the inalienable rights guaranteed by the Constitution. Huntsville’s Black leaders rallied around education, entrepreneurship, and political equality.

These are their stories.