Golden Blocks Walking Tour in Augusta

The Golden Blocks Walking Tour takes visitors to the various key locations that comprise The Golden Blocks in the historic Laney Walker District of Augusta. During the time of segregation, this area was the heart of Augusta’s black business community. Federal “Red Line” policies prevented citizens from receiving bank mortgages within certain areas that were predominantly non-white populations, and businesses elsewhere in the city were allowed to discriminate against black patrons due to Jim Crow era laws. In the Laney Walker and Bethlehem neighborhoods, black-owned banks, insurance companies, theaters and other businesses worked to offset this discrimination and thrived, creating a strong sense of community. The tour walks through the history of this neighborhood and the Golden Blocks Project, a collaborative project between the City of Augusta Housing and Community Development, The Lucy Craft Laney Museum of Black History, and the Greater Augusta Arts Council, which has brought several public art murals to the neighborhood, helping to tell the history of the Golden Blocks and Augusta.