As the number of halls of fame has grown, so has the specificity of those halls. In sports, for instance, there are halls of fame for professional leagues, colleges, regions, and even team specific halls.
Another subset of halls of fame are those for black or African Americans.
To date, I have tallied 23 black halls of fame or walks of fame in the U.S., including nine with physical locations that people can visit. The rest are virtual halls that exist only online.
Here’s a summary of those halls.
Let’s start with the nine physical halls or walks of fame for African Americans.
Black College Football Hall of Fame
The Black College Football Hall of Fame honors the greatest football players, coaches and contributors from Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
The Black College Football Hall of Fame is located in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.
African American Hall of Fame, Alexandria, Va.
The African American Hall of Fame in Alexandria, Va., tells the story of black residents who have succeeded in education, business, religion, sports, medicine, literature, and politics.
The hall is located in the Charles Houston Recreation Center.
African American Hall of Fame, Peoria, Ill.
The African American Hall of Fame in Peoria, Ill., preserves the history of local black residents and provides educational scholarships for deserving students.
The hall resides within the Peoria Riverfront Museum.
Black Cowboy Hall of Fame
The Black Cowboy Hall of Fame is located at the Black Cowboy Museum in Rosenberg, Texas. The museum preserves the legacy of America’s black cowboys, including Bass Reeves, Nat Love, and Bill Pickett.
National Black Radio Hall of Fame
The National Black Radio Hall of Fame is located in St. Louis, Mo. Artifacts, memorabilia and exhibits are at Harris-Stowe State University.
The hall of fame recognizes the contributions of personalities and pioneers to black radio nationally.
Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame
The Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame is located in Atlanta, Ga. It honors African Americans, and black people internationally, for their achievements in entertainment.
Cincinnati Black Music Walk of Fame
The Cincinnati Black Music Walk of Fame opened in July 2023 near the Ohio River.
It celebrates the music artists, songwriters, producers, and musicians from Cincinnati, Hamilton County, and Southwest Ohio.
Greater Flint African American Sports Hall of Fame
The Greater Flint African American Sports Hall of Fame preserves the history of African American professional, college, city and high school athletes from the Flint, Mich., area. Exhibits are located at the Flint Public Library.
Texas Black Sports Hall of Fame
The Texas Black Sports Hall of Fame celebrates the contributions African American Texans have made to the history of sports.
It has an exhibit at the African American Museum of Dallas.
Two additional black halls of fame have plans for physical museums.
Louisiana Black History Hall of Fame
The Louisiana Black History Hall of Fame preserves the history of black Americans in the state of Louisiana.
The hall plans to have a permanent home at the Lincoln Theater in Baton Rouge, La. The Lincoln Theater is a historical national landmark that is being renovated to serve as a performing arts theater and museum.
Illinois Black Hall of Fame
The Illinois Black Hall of Fame commemorates the accomplishments of African Americans with Illinois connections.
A physical hall is planned at Governors State University in University Park, Ill.
Now let’s turn to the many virtual halls of fame for black Americans.
African American Golfers Hall of Fame
The African American Golfers Hall of Fame (AAGHOF) is one of two halls of fame devoted to black golfers in the U.S.
The AAGHOF hopes to one day have a physical museum to showcase the history of African Americans playing golf. It is mulling a facility in Riviera Beach, Fla.
The AAGHOF is affiliated with Inner City Youth Golfers and the African American Collegiate & Youth Golfers Hall of Fame.
However, it is not affiliated with the National Black Golf Hall of Fame.
National Black Golf Hall of Fame
The National Black Golf Hall of Fame is based in Atlanta, Ga.
The hall celebrates and honors exemplary achievements of blacks in the golf industry.
National Black College Alumni Hall of Fame
The National Black College Alumni Hall of Fame honors alumni leaders, alumni chapters and national alumni associations who make tremendous contributions to their institutions.
The foundation behind the hall of fame seeks to ensure the “stability, strength and excellence of the nation’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities.”
Black Inventors Hall of Fame
The Black Inventors Hall of Fame is based in Wharton, N.J. It has hosted a number of traveling exhibits showing the contributions of African American inventors.
The hall highlights notable innovations and projects from academia, manufacturing and agriculture to advancements in medicine and the sciences.
Black Authors Hall of Fame
The Black Authors Hall of Fame honors black authors, poets and playwrights.
NAACP Image Award – Hall of Fame Award
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) holds an annual awards ceremony called the NAACP Image Awards. It honors outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature by people of color.
Since 1983, the NAACP Image Awards have bestowed its Hall of Fame Award on prestigious people such as Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Sidney Poitier, Little Richard, and Spike Lee.
In February, the NAACP Image Award – Hall of Fame Award went to the Wayans Family. (See article by People.)
Arkansas Black Hall of Fame
The Arkansas Black Hall of Fame honors accomplished African Americans with Arkansas roots. The foundation behind the hall of fame works to improve the education, health, and social wellbeing of marginalized populations throughout Arkansas.
Greater Cleveland Association of Black Journalists Hall of Fame
The Greater Cleveland Association of Black Journalists announced the inaugural class of inductees into its newly established Hall of Fame on Jan. 18, 2025.
A ceremony honoring the inductees was held on Feb. 22, 2025, at the Cleveland History Center.
There also are three inactive halls of fame for black or African Americans.
Massachusetts Hall of Black Achievement
The Massachusetts Hall of Black Achievement spotlighted the significant contributions of African Americans, Cape Verdeans, and Hispanics of African descent who made significant contributions to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
The yearly HOBA celebration was discontinued after 2011.
Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame
The Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame honored black filmmakers at an annual awards ceremony from 1974 to 1993.
In 2014, its archives were given to the Black Film Center/Archive within the College of Arts and Sciences at Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind.
National Black Sports and Entertainment Hall of Fame
The National Black Sports and Entertainment Hall of Fame inducted its first 24 members, half from sports and half from entertainment, at a ceremony in Harlem, N.Y., in August 2001.
But the effort went silent after that.
(See articles by the New York Times, UPI and Celebrity Access.)
