New York City Slavery And Underground Railroad Tour

Sean was extremely knowledgeable and spoke about the history in an impactful and respectful way. Standing in the burial ground was humbling and emotional.

Sean was a great tour guide. Humbling and inspiring! Enjoyed learning. Refreshing to the soul. Would do it again.

A very interesting, informative, and meaningful tour. Sean, our tour guide, was extremely knowledgeable and presented the history of slavery in a very engaging and compelling way. He shared the history with great depth and sensitivity, helping us to better understand this painful and important part of history. His knowledge and storytelling made the tour both thought-provoking and valuable. Highly recommended!

The tour brought history to life. Our guide, Ludie, combined her deep knowledge of history with outstanding teaching skills, making every stop engaging and meaningful. Our whole family learned so much, and by the end of the tour, history felt real in a way that books alone could never capture. Highly recommended!

Really interesting and important tour explaining the history of slavery and the underground railroad in 17th/18th century NY. Our guide Ludie was superb in bringing the history to life, and kept us captivated by the way she weaved the history into a narrative story. I'd highly recommend this tour to anyone visiting NYC.

I took this tour in November 2024, loved it, and brought a family member back to enjoy it with me. This time, it didn't seem like the same tour. The guide, while knowledgeable, told long, rambling stories out of chronological order, which was very confusing. Needless to say, it was disappointing, so much so that we ended up leaving about 45 minutes before the tour was due to end.

Stacey is an extremely knowledgeable, passionate, kind and considerate guide. She gave us a very impressive tour that moved us deeply. Highly recommend!

Sean was absolutely amazing! He is an incredible guide and his depth of knowledge made the tour unforgettable.

The tour guide Luby was amazing! So knowledgeable and attentive to the details, the narrative, and the story behind history. You walk away with such a thorough understanding of the topic, both in its more historical and systematic aspect, and in the lived realities of the people who were impacted and who made a difference within it. Can’t recommend it enough!!

My tour was canceled due to “weather”. There were zero weather issues in NYC today. It was a beautiful day. Yes, it’s cold but not dangerously cold. Bundled up like the rest of us and do the tour you promised.

Maia was an excellent tour guide. 2 1/2 hours went by so quickly. I lived in New York City for about 18 years and everything that I learned on this tour was pretty much new information to me. Maia was so knowledgeable and engaging. I can’t wait to do some more of these tours.

Great tour guide who shared her wealth of knowledge with us. Even if you think you already know a lot about the topic you'll learn something new

Ludie is a history professor. I learned so much on this tour. Her energy and enthusiasm made the tour more interesting then I expected. I want to come back a do another tour with her.

They were very knowledgeable and enthusiastic. The students enjoyed every bit of the experience! Thank you very much!

This tour was pretty good and I learned a lot. I came with my school and we can’t stop talking about it on the bus. Highly Recommend.

This was different, but in a good way. I learned so many new things, and both guides were so helpful and informative, they were both so fun and seemed as if they actually WANTED to talk about this. Not just “oh I have to do this just to do this.” No they wanted to teach people, they wanted to show us new perspectives and overall it was just very great, I wouldn’t have chose a different guide. Especially Ms. Loody, she really dug deep and made sure that we were well informed, interacted, and even acted out that way we could really feel. Overall 10/10-Forever Moore

I feel like this was a great experience and definitely recommend to come here. 10/10 for sure l, I've learned so much, love NY

Ludi is great— passionate and knowledgable!! She knows so much and makes the tour very engaging for all ages. Timely and organized, I wish we had more time!

School group for history trip. Really enjoyed it and loved Ms. Loody. Very informational and beautiful sites that reflect on the history of Harlem and Black Pride.

It’s was very innovative. Learning more black history in Harlem is interesting. More people should experience this so they can fully understand African American history.

This Tour was very educational and sentimental. The African Burial Grounds was so touching. If you like history this is definitely a must do tour. I was not aware that so much took place in New York during slavery. I learned a lot

Educational. Not meant for kids in elementary school as the tour is more educational than it is site seeing of sites. Expect 2 hrs total.

Our Tour Guide, Maya, was phenomenal! I learned so much, and walked away with book and museum recommendations to further my learning. I would highly recommend this tour to anyone interested in learning more about the Underground Railroad and New York City’s rich history.

Ludi was so great! She was so informative and made sure she didn't leave anyone behind (we had a wheelchair in our group). She was so sweet and very connected to the story that she tells along with pictures. I would recommend this tour to everyone and this is our 4th one in 4 days and it was the best!

The tour was interesting and I did learn a lot but it is a lot of standing for long periods while the tour guide talks. There is not a lot to really SEE. Unfortunately several of the parts of the tour were under construction or blocked off (the statues outside the Museum of the American Indian, the African Burial Ground) which was disappointing. I wish the tour company had let us know that in advance, although the tour did go into the African Burial Ground museum since the area itself was closed. Again, I learned a lot and found the information interesting, but be warned that it is a lot of standing and listening at various street corners.

My sister was visiting but I live in New York. I loved Maia's incredible knowledge about history. Thank you for allowing me to see the past from a more personal perspective. I had dinner and drinks at Fraunces Tavern and plan on visiting other places mentioned in the tour.

Our 10 member book club recently took a trip to NYC to visit sites we had read about such as the Morgan Library (The Personal Assistant), New York Public Library (The Lions of Fifth Avenue), The Outsiders on Broadway and Inside Out Tours' NYC Slavery and Underground Railroad Tour (Clint Smith's How the Word is Passed). Our tour leader for the Underground Railroad tour was Ludi and she was fabulous. She gave the topic the gravity and respect it merited and also showed us a lively, thought provoking good time. One of our members told Ludi, "I wish you had been my high school history teacher." We highly recommend this tour.

History teacher Damani educates and enlightens sharing facts and information missing from U.S. history books and Internet searches. NYC Slavery and Underground Railroad Tour is a "must-do" 2.5 hour walking tour ending at the African Burial Ground National Monument and Museum.

I went on the Underground Railroad tour with Ludie and she was incredible. Not only was she so knowledgeable about this subject, she brought us into the experience of those who were enslaved in such a compelling and respectful way, helping us to imagine exactly what the various experiences they underwent were like. I learned so much and gained knew perspective on a subject that I thought I already understood pretty well.

Damani was an amazing tour guide! He was very knowledgeable and despite this being a heavy topic he kept everything light and interesting but still historically accurate. This was our favorite tour we went one while in New York and we would definitely recommend it.

Maia was super knowledgeable and enthusiastic, just a great communicator. Highly recommend this guide! Only problem was the frigid, rainy, windy weather, which made it impossible for me to finish the tour. If we had been able to keep walking the whole time rather than standing and listening, or had been able to move inside to a coffee shop or bar (one person's suggestion) I would have been able to hang in there.

Excellent, learnt so much. It pains me that people are not taught more about the history of the US and the heartbreak and inhumanity of the transatlantic chattel slave trade and how its ramifications impact us ALL to this very day. Ludie our guide brought this history to life, through her knowledge and passion. A thoroughly engaging 2.5 hours and well worth the fee.

This was a very informative and fun tour. Our guide was knowledgeable and entertaining to talk to. He showed us many places that would otherwise have passed us by, and told us about the history.

My second time participating. The information learned is inspiring, jaw-dropping, essential. Recommend for everyone —at least once, if not twice! I’ll be bringing others to share this life-changing experience! Our tour guide,Maia, was amazing.

It was a very cold day in January in NYC and our tour guide Maia made it worth walking the windy streets for 2+ hours. She was incredibly knowledgeable, able to answer everyone's questions and is clearly very passionate about history. My 12 year old daughter and I loved it.

The walking tour was amazing. I learned so much that I never knew. Our guide, Sean was well informed and a great orator. Great job!

Our tour guide was great , he was friendly and very informative, he took his time to explain and educate us on the horrors of American slavery. we will definitely recommend

Was a good tour, many interesting elements. Did not fully live up to the reviews I read. Would have liked more info about Underground Railroad route. Guide came with their material not prepared, spent a lot of time trying to find the right images… even showed us images of people who were not who they said they were and were corrected by the tour attendees. That said, the guide was personable and humorous… I think we may have caught them on a non-typical day. I found the ending to be inspiring.

If you want to better understand our current political situation today, take this tour. This is a very well-researched tour that connects the dots from the early 1600's to today. Don't miss it!

Sean did an outstanding job educating us on the history of slavery and the underground railroad in NYC. His depth of knowledge, as a historian, was impressive, as was his storytelling. I didn't realize how little I knew about slavery in this city and the history is quite extensive. This tour is a MUST if you are visiting NYC.

Maia gave us an outstanding tour. There were 9 people in the group and we could always hear easily and ask questions. Maia is super knowledgeable and shared so much history and context with the group. This is one of the best tours we've taken.

The tour narrative was really good and finished at the African Burial Ground National Monument. Very Interesting, 2-1/2 hours well spent. Tour guide Ludy had a binder with photographs of historical figures and places, illustrating story of slavery in New York City- who knows all this?

Lots of interestimg info. Our guide was a historian as opposed to a tour guide which generally made for a better experience. Good pace. Well worth a try.

I thought that I would learn something that I didn't already know about the subject of the walking tour so I was disappointed that this tour did not add to my knowledge and we visited locations I had already seen, if you are new to this subject then this tour would perfect. Our guide I thought did too much talking and rushed everywhere so we could not keep up with her, she did not take into consideration the different ages of people on the tour.

Maia is a passionate storyteller. She guides you through the history of enslaved people in New York City, as well as the city’s history, from the beginning up until a surprising and moving end. This is a highly recommended experience if you appreciate history. Highly recommend!

Amazing tour. Very informative. Sean was out guide, he really knew his stuff. The stories he told really brought alive the history.

This tour was extraordinary. Ludie our guide made the history of slavery in NY come alive. In her descriptions and use of visuals we could use our imaginations to feel the pain and diminished humanity of an enslaved person. Her knowledge of history is deep and she conveyed her information so you could place yourself in 17th - 19th century Manhattan. I am hard of hearing and despite the city noise I could hear every word. Judy

The most memorable piece was seeing the burial to honor the slavers who were found in NYC. Our guide Sean was able to provide additional context in the symbols carved into the monument.

Amazing tour, extremely informative. My best experience in NYC. Go through history and New Yorks part in both slavery and the Underground Railroad.