This region has a rich history of never-enslaved people who were joined by others fleeing or freed from slavery. Together they educated their children, cultivated their lands, and built their communities into the time of reconstruction.

From that period, through continued segregation and discrimination, two world wars, the Great Depression, and into the later twentieth century, New Bern’s African Americans struggled, endured, and prospered.

Today, the stories of New Bern’s African Americans speak of a shared heritage with all who have settled in Eastern North Carolina. The African American Heritage & Culture Center actively presents the historic impact & progression of African American heritage & culture of Eastern North Carolina. AAHC preserves, promotes, and celebrate the African American arts, music, culture and heritage in our region.

New Bern also holds an important place in North Carolina’s African American history through sites and stories that continue to be preserved and shared today.