Return to Virginia Business - April 2001

Hospitality:  A Special Report
The African-American Tourist:
Despite its painful history, Virginia is a top tourism draw

Related stories:
• A hard sell for history
• Finding that elusive mix

by Holly M. Rodriguez

If Gov. Jim Gilmore has his way, Virginia will become an even bigger draw. His year-old African-American Heritage Co-Operative Marketing program will give the Virginia Tourism Corp. some $500,000 over two years to help qualified travel planners and agents promote African-American tourism. To qualify, applicants were required to find at least two partners to assist them in efforts to improve awareness of their particular program. In addition, they had to demonstrate how the program would promote awareness of African-American history to residents in and outside of the state. The Virginia Foundation for the Humanities will receive an additional $400,000 to develop an African-American heritage trails project by conducting research to find and inventory all African-American sites in the state.

So far, the state has awarded funding to 22 applicants including Hampton University Museum in Hampton, the Historical Society of Washington County in Abingdon, the Valentine Museum/Richmond History Center, and the Greater Lynchburg Visitor’s and Conventions Bureau in Lynchburg. The funds will go to programs in areas known to be rich in African-American history, such as Richmond, Hampton, and Williamsburg. However, some recipients are located in areas that aren’t as known for the contributions of African-Americans in their communities, such as Orange and Washington counties and the city of Staunton.

Richmond's annual Second Street Festival

So, why are the governor and the General Assembly suddenly interested in the underexposed past of African-Americans? It isn’t about whom is black or white; it is about who can provide the green. "Tourism is part of Gov. Gilmore’s strategy," says Gayle Morgan Vail, the president and CEO of the Virginia Tourism Corp. "The emphasis on African-American tourism has increased, because economically it is good for Virginia and it is part of the governor’s initiative of overall inclusiveness — to break down barriers" between blacks and whites. "We want them to see what Virginia has to offer," she says. "We want them to feel as welcome here as much as anyone else."

Morgan Vail hopes to see the percentage of African-American tourists increase to 12 or 13 percent over the next few years. In the past, most of these tourists have preferred spending time with friends and staying with family rather than going to a hotel and visiting attractions. If they are persuaded to spend a little more of their money during their stay, the state could see a 9- to-1 return on the money invested into the grants.

But will African-Americans ever feel welcome in a state that was the birthplace of slavery in the English Colonies, an institution that has had a rippling effect of racism that, nearly four centuries later, still remains? Bruce Twyman, a tourism development manager for the state’s Virginia Tourism Corp., says that acknowledging the truth of the entire history of Virginia, the good, the bad, and the ugly, is a first step. "African-American history is painful and triumphant," he says. "We want the complete history to be told because if any portion of it is ignored, it will divide us."

Art from the Hampton University Museum

The up-to-now hidden contributions of many African-Americans will also be revealed. For instance, Hampton University Mus-eum, the nation’s oldest African-American art museum in the country, plans to display the artistic contributions of African-Americans in a special exhibit April 29 - July 29. Entitled, "To Conserve a Legacy: American Art from Historically Black Colleges and Universities," the exhibit will feature more than 200 works from Fisk University, Tuskegee University, the University of North Carolina, Central; Howard University, Clark-Atlanta University, and Hampton University art collections.

"We partnered with the Chrysler Museum in Norfolk, the Hampton Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, and the American Theatre," says Jeanne Zidler, director of the museum. While most art on display will be African-American, Native American and European art will be included with some white American art. Zidler intends to use the award to target alumni from Virginia’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU), because these schools have scores of graduates living in and outside of the state. The exhibit provides an opportunity for them to get back together and reconnect. "This is a prime tourist destination for African-Americans," she says.

In the western part of the state, the Historical Society of Washington County in Abingdon received a grant to incorporate a genealogy workshop for African-Americans into the Virginia Highlands Festival. Why? "The interest in genealogy [in general] is on the rise," says Jennifer Wagner, president of the association. She says that before ever receiving any type of grant money, the association came across bits and pieces of information every now and then. But the award of several smaller grants resulted in the discovery of African-Americans’ contributions to country music and the struggles they endured while attempting to receive an education. "It’s amazing — the accomplishments of blacks despite the less than favorable conditions they endured," she says.

While the program is a positive step toward closing the racial divide, the initiative is also a smart public relations move on the part of the governor, because everybody wins. Eyebrows in the African-American community will certainly be raised. That would possibly attract support for the governor from a group of voters who traditionally vote majority Democrat. Plus, Gilmore is potentially generating additional revenue for the state from African-American tourist dollars. In addition, award recipients are thankful to receive money they have desperately needed to improve their programs. This could be one of the few times in Virginian and American history when a leader makes everyone happy. And who is going to argue with that?

Return to Virginia Business - April 2001