{"id":33004,"date":"2026-02-23T13:51:14","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T19:51:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wearememphis.com\/?p=33004"},"modified":"2026-02-25T11:28:04","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T17:28:04","slug":"a-tour-of-possibilities-reframing-memphis-black-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wearememphis.com\/meet\/a-tour-of-possibilities-reframing-memphis-black-history\/","title":{"rendered":"A Tour of Possibilities: Reframing Memphis Black History"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>When Carolyn Michael Banks talks about Memphis, she doesn\u2019t begin with the usual headlines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yes, this is the city of barbecue and blues. Yes, it\u2019s where Dr. King was assassinated. But to Carolyn \u2014 founder and social curator of<a href=\"https:\/\/www.atopmemphis.com\/\"> A Tour of Possibilities<\/a> \u2014 Memphis is a majority-Black city layered with history that\u2019s often hidden in plain sight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And she\u2019s made it her mission to uncover it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-a-journey-rooted-in-purpose\">A Journey Rooted in Purpose<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Carolyn\u2019s path to Memphis began in Washington, D.C., where she worked for a national sightseeing tour company and eventually became a general manager. While there, she began adding African American history to tour scripts, something few national companies were intentionally doing at the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After stops in Savannah and Philadelphia, and eventually being downsized, she decided to build something of her own. Drawing from years of experience weaving Black history into public storytelling, she launched A Tour of Possibilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Memphis came later \u2014 and once she arrived, she quickly realized the city\u2019s untold stories were too powerful to ignore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe amount of history that was hidden, often in plain sight,\u201d she says, inspired her to rebuild the tour here in the Bluff City.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-it-s-the-story-in-between\">It\u2019s the Story in Between<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>A Tour of Possibilities is a two-and-a-half-hour driving experience that explores Memphis through an African American historical lens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Guests pass iconic landmarks like the National Civil Rights Museum and Slave Haven Underground Railroad Museum. But as Carolyn explains, the heart of the tour isn\u2019t just where you go \u2014 it\u2019s what you learn along the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s the story in between the landmarks,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s context you won\u2019t find in a guidebook. It\u2019s history woven into neighborhoods, streets, and spaces you might pass every day without realizing their significance. And it\u2019s perspective that reshapes how you see Memphis long after the tour ends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For Carolyn, this work is about expanding the narrative \u2014 honoring the richness, resilience, and contributions of Black Memphians beyond the moments most commonly referenced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Because Memphis is more than a headline. It\u2019s a living story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-plan-your-visit\">Plan Your Visit<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Ready to experience Memphis from a different perspective?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A Tour of Possibilities offers public and private two-and-a-half-hour driving tours throughout the city. Whether you\u2019re a visitor or a lifelong Memphian, you\u2019ll leave with a deeper understanding of the history that shaped the place we call home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Learn more and book your tour at<br><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.atopmemphis.com\/\">A Tour of Possibilities<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When Carolyn Michael Banks talks about Memphis, she doesn\u2019t begin with the usual headlines. Yes, this is the city of barbecue and blues. Yes, it\u2019s where Dr. King was assassinated. But to Carolyn \u2014 founder and social curator of A Tour of Possibilities \u2014 Memphis is a majority-Black city layered with history that\u2019s often hidden&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":89,"featured_media":33022,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[52],"tags":[5732,5727,5729],"class_list":["post-33004","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-meet","tag-black-legacy-lives-here","tag-black-legacy","tag-profile"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.4 (Yoast SEO v27.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>A Tour of Possibilities: Reframing Memphis Black History - We Are Memphis<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A Tour of Possibilities: Reframing Memphis Black History\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/wearememphis.com\/meet\/a-tour-of-possibilities-reframing-memphis-black-history\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Tour of Possibilities: Reframing Memphis Black History\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A Tour of Possibilities: Reframing Memphis Black History\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/wearememphis.com\/meet\/a-tour-of-possibilities-reframing-memphis-black-history\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"We Are Memphis\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/wearememphis\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-23T19:51:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-25T17:28:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wearememphis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Black-Legacy-solo-ATOP-3.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"We Are Memphis\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@wearememphistn\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@wearememphistn\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"We Are Memphis\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wearememphis.com\\\/meet\\\/a-tour-of-possibilities-reframing-memphis-black-history\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wearememphis.com\\\/meet\\\/a-tour-of-possibilities-reframing-memphis-black-history\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"We Are Memphis\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wearememphis.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d4a7b095e987e78e7689e5d4c7242068\"},\"headline\":\"A Tour of Possibilities: Reframing Memphis Black History\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-23T19:51:14+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-25T17:28:04+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wearememphis.com\\\/meet\\\/a-tour-of-possibilities-reframing-memphis-black-history\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":421,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wearememphis.com\\\/meet\\\/a-tour-of-possibilities-reframing-memphis-black-history\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wearememphis.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/Black-Legacy-solo-ATOP-3.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"black legacy lives here\",\"black-legacy\",\"profile\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Meet\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wearememphis.com\\\/meet\\\/a-tour-of-possibilities-reframing-memphis-black-history\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wearememphis.com\\\/meet\\\/a-tour-of-possibilities-reframing-memphis-black-history\\\/\",\"name\":\"A Tour of Possibilities: Reframing Memphis Black History - 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