‘The DeVilliers Cultural Heritage e-Museum -Redeveloping  a Community with Cultural Commerce and Arts'!:

 

The De Villiers Cultural Heritage e-Museum is a tourism marketing development project in support of the National Cultural Heritage Tourism Initiative. The Initiative is under the management of the Florida Black Chamber of Commerce, Inc., and in partnership with the National Black Chambers of Commerce, Inc.; Washington, D.C.  This site serves as a community based tourism model for the National Cultural Heritage Tourism Initiative.

The e- Museum is duplicatible and is provided as a template to encourage other communities to partner and create "Cultural Heritage Societies" promoting their historic communities and tourism related activities in partnership with the National Cultural Heritage Tourism Center, Inc. at www.nchtc.com.   Contacts for this project are Charles Debow II, Special Projects & Eugene Franklin, Board Member – National Black Chamber of Commerce, Inc., Washington, D.C.  In addition to the e-Museum and Cultural Heritage Societies Program, other major related projects include the National Arts & Entertainment Network, National Cultural Heritage Guides,The Forgotten Communities Program, Tourism & Travel Clubs and the Rebuilding The Walls Program. 

The Initiative was created to forge a relationship with community activist in the fields of the arts and entertainment, to include; writers and  historians in a national effort to preserve local historical communities and market the culture and heritage as a tourism attraction. The DeVilliers Cultural Heritage e-Museum promotes the Forgotten African American community known as Belmont DeVilliers located in Pensacola Florida. It is unknown to most Americans that Pensacola is "America's First Settlement" and DeVilliers is the city's most prominent historic black community.  Pensacola has a unique and untold rich cultural history that was touted by Booker T. Washington as "The Most Progressive City In The South." 

Belmont DeVilliers was a major entertainment destination on the Chitlin' Circuit.  The community was the location for several major clubs, including the famous 'Abe's 506 Club and the Historic Bunny Club'.  Some of America's greatest entertainers performed in these venues, including Louis Armstrong, James Brown, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Ike & Tina Turner, Fats Domino, B.B. King and Sam McClain.  This area is being revitalized and is once again a cultural heritage tourism attraction and is a major asset in the city's tourism marketing program, which makes it an outstanding community based tourism model.

The Cultural Heritage e-Museum also promotes festivals and other events associated with the De Villiers Cultural Heritage Society and the arts, to include the showcasing of local and  national  blues, gospel and jazz artists. The primary concern being the creation and promotion of a ‘Gathering Place’ that will focus on the culture, music, arts and history of  Pensacola's African American Community.