NPS Offers New Civil War to Civil Rights Trading Cards

Date: June 25, 2012
Contact: Outer Banks Group, 252-473-2111

Trading cards have been popular with kids for generations, from images of sports figures to movie stars. Now, Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, Cape Hatteras National Seashore, and Wright Brothers National Memorial are offering free trading cards featuring individuals and sites linked to the "Civil War to Civil Rights" theme.

Fort Raleigh NHS cards include:

·the Freedmen's Colony on Roanoke Island,

·the First Light of Freedom Memorial,

·Horace James (superintendent of the Freedmen's Colony).

The Cape Hatteras National Seashore cards include:

·Hotel D'Afrique (first escaped slave safe haven in NC),

·Pea Island Lifesaving Station (first all-African American station),

·Richard Etheridge (first African American to command a US Lifesaving Station).

The Wright Brothers National Memorial cards include:

·The Tuskegee Airmen,

·Bessie Coleman (the first African American female pilot,

·Amelia Earhart.

The cards, available at the visitor centers of each of these parks, are part of a series of 550 cards available at participating national parks throughout the United States. To "earn" a trading card, kids may participate in a ranger-led tour or answer a question about their visit to the park.

"The trading cards are a great way to engage kids with our history as a nation, both here at the Outer Banks Group national park sites and throughout the United States," said Superintendent Mike Murray. The cards also provide an incentive to families with children to visit all parks which offer the cards.

Each trading card tells a little-known story, including the stories of civilians, women, and African Americas.Collectively the cards describe the struggles we have endured as a nation to strive for freedom and equality. The Civil War Sesquicentennial and the 50^th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Movement provide opportunities to reflect upon our past, celebrate the strides we have made and look forward with commitment to achieve a more perfect union.

For more information, call park headquarters at 252-473-2111.

-NPS-