Black history in plain sight: One woman’s quest to topple stereotypes

Valerie Cunningham is a truth-teller. She’s known for busting myths by bringing hidden stories of African Americans to life – stories that can help shape a better understanding of the nation’s early chapters.

Through decades of digging alone in church basements, archives, and courthouses, Ms. Cunningham laid the foundation for the Portsmouth Black Heritage Trail, which turns 25 next year and includes a large memorial for the 18th-century African Burying Ground. By the 1800s, the burial site had been built over and forgotten, but now visitors to this seacoast city can find it alongside a residential block and pause to contemplate the striking sculpture of an African woman and man who stand back to back against a granite slab, their hands almost touching. And when tourists walk by famous

A curious listener and persistent questionerA far-reaching effect