The six best places to see Boston's African American culture and history

Boston is a city of neighbourhoods, and if you wander off the 2.5-mile Freedom Trail that passes through 16 significant sites in US history, you'll find extraordinary stories tucked in every nook and corner. Getting visitors to explore the city's varied cultural districts has long been a goal of Collin Knight, who founded Live Like a Local Tours in 2019. As a native of Roxbury, the neighbourhood that's the beating heart of Boston's Black community, he's working to highlight the city's rich African American culture while also acknowledging Boston's history of racial tensions.

Though Boston is perhaps most famous for its strong Irish roots, the city's Black history runs deep. Prior to the US Civil War, Boston was one of the most important stops on the Underground Railroad. The first chartered branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People civil rights organisation was founded here in 1911. Malcolm X moved to Boston 30 years later, followed by Dr Martin Luther King Jr, who considered the city his "second home" and fell in love with his would-be wife, Coretta Scott King, here. Today, 25 percent of Boston's population is Black – twice the percentage of the Black population in the US.