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B M & T ••• May/June 2013••• www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com 50 NORTH CAROLINA The state's 300 miles of coastline is perfect for a range of summer activities from swimming, to jet skiing, fishing to sun worshipping. In the mountains its hiking, golfing, whitewater rafting and rock climbing. Winter activities include; skiing, tubing and snowshoeing. Charlotte is home to the Charlotte Motor Speedway and the NASCAR Hall of Fame, one of the city's most visited attractions. Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts & Culture in Charlotte features exhibits such as the John & Vivian Hewitt Collection of African American Art. A series of bronze statues along Parrish Street in Durham chronicles the his- tory of an area once known as "Black Wall Street." African-American heritage also includes a stop at Stagville, a plantation now dedicated to the preservation of African-American history. North Carolina Central University Art Museum is a great place to visit. Winston-Salem and the HBCU that bears its name is a great stop for African-American heritage attractions. GREENSBORO A seminal moment of the Civil Rights era occurred on February 1, 1960, when four Black North Carolina A & T University students sat down at the F.W. Woolworth "whites only" lunch counter. That act of defiance launched the sit- in movement. The International Civil Rights Center and Museum is now housed in the same building as the Woolworth store. The original lunch counter and stools are still in their same location. The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday year-round. The African American Atelier Gallery provides rotational exhibits, gallery talks and artist forums from local, regional, national and interna- tional artists. Visit the Charlotte Hawkins Brown Museum at Historic Palmer Memorial Institute. It's North Carolina's only state-supported site honoring a woman and one of the first to honor an African-American woman. This site a former African-American preparatory school established in 1902. For college sports aficionados the Atlantic Coast Conference Hall of Champions is a great place to brush up on your ACC history. The Greensboro Coliseum Complex offers 197,000 sq. ft. of exhibit space and is easily converted into a variety of configurations. Meeting planners might also consider the adjacent 23,500-seat coliseum arena or the 2,376-sq. ft. War Memorial Auditorium. Greensboro, downtown skyline Photo Credit: David Liu MISSISSIPPI From the Civil War to Civil Rights, Mississippi's story is the American story. The Mississippi Blues Trail tells the story of men and women who shaped this quintessential American art form. Sites run the gamut from city streets to cotton fields and churches. A recent addition is the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale. Visitors can retrace the steps of civil rights workers on the Freedom Summer Trail in Hattiesburg. Gulfport features the 562-room Island View Casino Resort, the CEC & Seabee Memorial Museum and the Lynn Meadows Discovery Center. Located on the Mississippi River, Natchez is the birthplace of author Richard Wright, R&B sensation Alexander O'Neal and the first African- American U.S. Senator, Hiram Rhodes Revel. Visit the African-American History Museum. Historic homes here include; the Evans Bontura House, built by free African-American businessman, Robert Smith, while Grand Village of the Natchez Indian Villages captures hundreds of years of Native American history. JACKSON Known as the "City with a Soul," Jackson has hundreds of events, museums and attractions that stir your soul. The city's musical legacy is captured at the Jackson Rhythm and Blues Festival pre-concert in mid-July and the two-day fes- tival itself slated for mid-August. Both events feature Rock and Roll Hall of Famers and Grammy Award winners. The Farish Street Historical District, once the center of Black life is home to Ace Records, Trumpet Records studio, the Alamo Theater, Farish Street Baptist Church, the Smith Robertson Museum and Cultural Center and Birdland – the live music venue where jazz legends Armstrong, Ellington and Hampton per- formed. The Medgar Evans Home Museum and the Margaret Walker Alexander National African-American Research Center are great places to visit. Celebrate the spirit of the Civil Rights Movement at Smith Robertson Museum and Cultural Center. Take the family to the Jackson Zoological Park and if you love sports, try the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum. The Jackson Convention Complex – the centerpiece of the city's down- town renaissance – has a 382-seat theater and 330,000 sq. ft. of prime meeting and exhibit space. Jackson has over 5,500 hotel rooms and 300 restaurants. Mississippi State Capitol, Jackson Photo Credit: Jackson, CVB