Black Meetings and Tourism

Black Meetings & Tourism February/March 2009: www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com 92 the public. Visitors to the home may also tour Haley's gravesite and other Haley family plots including the nearby grave of Chicken George. In Knoxville, Tennessee attractions of interest include the Beck Cultural Exchange Center, a museum for research, preservation and display of Knoxville's African-American citizens' achievements from the 1800s; and Haley Heritage Square, home of the 13- foot bronze Alex Haley statue – the largest statue of an African-American in the United States. Chattanooga also has its own African-American museum. The Chattanooga African-American Museum has a reservoir of materials on almost any aspect of Black American history and effectively portrays African- American contributions to the growth of the city and the nation. One of Louisville, Kentucky's top attractions is the Muhammad Ali Center, an international, cultural and education- al institution that is guided and inspired by the ideals of Muhammad Ali as they relate to our individual lives. This non- traditional museum experience follows Muhammad Ali's steps to "personal greatness," which are goal-setting, train- ing, motivation, and humanitarianism. In addition to the visitor experience, the Center includes educational classrooms and distance learning facilities, an orien- tation theater, an auditorium, an exhibit gallery, a library and archives, multi-func- tion rooms for up to 300 people, a shop and a café. The Afro-American Cultural Center (AACC) of Charlotte, North Carolina is a distinguished, 33-year old institution that preserves, promotes, and presents African-American art, history and cul- ture through comprehensive programs and presentations in the visual arts, per- forming arts, and through innovative educational programs. A new 44,000-sq. ft. headquarters on Stonewall Street between South Tryon and College Streets is being designed as a four-story CCC_CV_BlkMeetings_Culture.indd 1 Young vistior at the Muhammad Ali Center Photo Credit: Louisville CVB

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