ROMEO, Mich. – A new branch of the NAACP has created a self-guided tour through the Village of Romeo so people can learn about its role in abolition and civil rights.
The self-guided tour takes people to the headstones of Black Union soldiers, a place where slaves were hidden along the Underground Railroad and more.
Romeo has a history of proactive civil rights and social justice movements as early as the 1800s. There are numerous historical landmark plaques and stories. There is a home on Church Street, which served as a stop on the Underground Railroad.
Tristom Craig is the first Vice President of the newly formed Northern Macomb County NAACP branch. Craig is particularly proud of the driving tour that’s been created because he grew up in Romeo. The tour book and map is available online.
The First Congregational Church was established on July 4 of 1876. It went against the times by publicly supporting the rights of Africa 100 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Amanda Moore Elementary was named after the Black woman who took it upon herself to educate Black children. And among the 14 stops on the tour is the Second Baptist Church, the first Black congregation established in Macomb County in 1917.
Click here to view the guidebook or to download it for yourself.