Grant Awarded: April 2005

Type of Grant: Humanities Project Grant

Sponsor: MotorCities National Heritage Area, Inc.

Contact: Brenda Plakmeyer, 313-259-3425, bplakmeyer@experienceeverythingautomotiveorg

Website: experienceeverythingautomotive.org

Award: $2,500

The MotorCities National Heritage Area will undergo a seven-month planning process to determine the goals, scope, format and list of themes and sites for an African American Automotive Heritage Tour. Development and testing will begin in 2005 and the tour will be made available to the public in 2006.

The development of the African American Automotive Heritage Tour will be a highly collaborative project, involving representatives of several museums, institutions of higher learning, tourism officials, and a large number of community experts. The goal is to create a tour that is authentic, entertaining, unique, and compelling for diverse audiences, and which becomes a permanent part of the tourism and educational resoruces of the region.