The ire sparked by the guidebook sheds light on the charged sentiments that continue to define the delicate task of curating Boston’s black history.
“I think that the publication … is diminished and deficient for including only a glancing reference to the Black Heritage Trail and no reference to several specialized tours that have been done by the Boston African American National Historic Site for years,’’ said Marty Blatt, chief of cultural resources at Boston National Historical Park.
“Walking Tours of Civil War Boston’’ went on sale in June for $9 at www.civilwarboston.org and at souvenir shops. It was released to coincide with the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War.
“My hope, of course, is that this book will change that perception that Boston only has history from the Revolutionary War,’’ said Barbara Berenson, a senior attorney at the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court and the book’s lead author. “People who know history know that all these things are here, but there really hasn’t been a user-friendly way to explore this history.’’
The book outlines four routes that pass sites significant to the Civil War’s start, such as Faneuil Hall, where politicians debated the future of slavery, and the African Meeting House, once the city’s first black church.
Berenson called the book a labor of love that she researched and wrote after work and on weekends. In December, she approached the Freedom Trail Foundation.
“One of the reasons why this project was so fascinating to me was that so many of these people, both black and white, were so motivated by the heroes and patriots of the American Revolution,’’ she said.
Berenson asked Blatt to read the guidebook before publication. His major concern with the initial draft was introductory text stating that there were no tours on abolitionist history in Boston.
“That jumped out at me, because that’s really inaccurate,’’ Blatt said.
