(light jazz music) (light jazz music) (light jazz music) (light jazz music) [Preston] Well, the truth of the matter is I'm passionate about my beloved community, North Omaha, and that passion has taken on the form of me wanting everyone who comes in contact or who does not to learn more about our community, its history and its culture.

(mellow jazz music) [Narrator] Writer, activist and native Nebraskan Preston Love Jr., is on a mission to change people's perspectives on the North Omaha community and he's found an innovative way to do it by bringing them to the historically African American neighborhood.

it's[Preston] That's why I'm doing the tour for the purpose of educating and hopefully waking up people and making them more aware of this wonderful, my beloved, but wonderful, glorious community.

[Narrator] Called the North Omaha Legacy Tour it focuses on the rich heritage, legacy and historical contributions of the community.

It begins with a short orientation to provide context for the tour, followed by a drive through areas that are culturally significant.

(light jazz music) [Preston] The Omaha Star is historic in so many ways but it tells a story about a community, like communities all over this nation who grew their own things because of racism and discrimination and bigotry.

The Omaha Star was founded in 1938 by a very eccentric woman by the name of Mildred Brown.

Mildred Brown was a unique lady in her day because she was an African American business woman in a day where there weren't a lot and she was a go-getter, she started that business.

It is still going, but The Star has quite a history.

It was started with the idea that it would only write the good news about the residents of North Omaha and it has stayed with that all along.

You have the most current edition in your pack that I gave you.

(light jazz music) [Preston] The Great Plains Black History Museum is a chronicle in itself.

It's a tour within four walls, if you will.

And so, it has great, great value for people to learn about the past and how it connects with the future.

Many things I'm going to turn you over to the executive director of the Great Plains Museum, Eric Ewing.

[Eric] As you look around the exhibit that you'll find in this space is the history of historically Black colleges and universities.

This is a year long exhibit, so actually, even what you see right now by the end of this week, it will be 10 to eight new institutions because there's so many schools we couldn't feature 'em all at once, so what we decided to do was make it a year long exhibit and each month we change out the institutions that are on display.

[Narrator] But this tour isn't just about North Omaha's past, it's about revitalizing this once thriving community.

[Preston] We visit some of our community gardens which are propping up.

We visit and comment on the amount of vacant lots that are unutilized property in the community.

We visit the many wonderful new and exciting murals in the community and then we visit the significant residuals of this long-term community disinvestment, the community's economic devastation.

All of that is caught up and is mentioned and part of the tour as well.

[Narrator] It also includes a stop at the site that was once home to the first Black honoree in the Nebraska Hall of Fame.

[Preston] The Malcolm X Center speaks for itself in my mind because people are interested and some are just learning that the iconic Malcolm X was born in this community and so we go to his birth site.

It's a natural and it is significant.

[Schmeeka] Thank you everyone for being on this great tour for stopping to visit us here at the Malcolm X Memorial Foundation.

We want everyone to come and learn the truth of who he was as a man, as a child, as a husband, as a father, and learn and help support our mission in uplifting this community.

[Narrator] Opening minds and changing opinions is what Preston Love Jr. hopes to achieve through the tour, and it seems to be working.

Well, the things with the Malcolm X thing at the end of the tour was interesting to me.

I mean, the things that we heard about Malcolm X years ago were not very nice to say the least, and so to see what's happened and how the people here have taken an interest in showing what he really did and things that have happened and are trying to make changes in this whole area based on his foundation here.

So, I think that's fantastic.

Probably one of the most exciting things that I can mention about the tour, which was expected, but underestimated was the economic impact that we're having on this poverty stricken community.

Since we've started, our estimate is that we have impacted financially over $50,000 of money that has come into the community that would not have come if it weren't for the tour.

That's the tours, buying from our retail since they're here, having meals here since they're here returning after the tour.

(upbeat jazz music) [Gladys] What being a part of the Legacy tour has done for Big Mama's is, you know, continue my mom's vision of bringing people together over great food.

The tours bring folks from all over the state, from all walks of life and in these crazy times that we live in, we need things to bring people together and my mother always felt that you could change the world if you prepared somebody a great meal.

(upbeat jazz music) [Preston] I think the tour is serving a great purpose.

I want people to come and take this tour because they will learn about a community when they come from outside the community that they don't know.

Several times I said, I didn't know that.

The red line delineating white neighborhoods from black neighborhoods, I found very interesting.

It never occurred to me that there was an exact dividing line between neighborhoods.

I didn't know that.

You know, one of the things I'm really proud of, somewhat unexpected but it is that we really are really making a difference as it relates to bridging the gap between communities and culture within the city.

We are really making the difference and I'm proud that as people learn about our community then they have a tendency to wanna learn more, number one and reach out and develop new relationship.

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