I was reading the Sunday, March 22, 2009, Montgomery Advertiser when I noticed that Montgomery historian Dr. Richard Bailey and Mary Ann Neeley were conducting a guided walking tour AT 2PM of historic Monroe Street one of Montgomery’s original thoroughfares. Debra and I put on our walking shoes after church and joined about 25 people on the tour. The tour began on the corner of Bainbridge and Monroe Streets. The highlight of the tour on this beautiful spring afternoon for Debra and me was the focus on the Monroe Street Historic District. The District reflected early 20^th Century development of African American owned, managed and supported businesses in the City. We learned from Dr. Richard Bailey that the district was the center of African American professional success and social life from the early 1900s’ until the middle part of the 1940s. We took great pride in learning that African Americans were still able to succeed despite crippling circumstances and insurmountable odds caused by racial segregation and discrimination. Among the many successful businesses located on Monroe Street and the surrounding area were the Pekin Theater, H.J. Bailey Shoe Shop, the Emancipator Newspaper Publishing Company and Dean Drug Store. We were fortunate to have in our company on the tour, The Harris sisters who spoke about their family’s drugstore, and General Tankersly who gave many extra historical facts throughout the tour. We also learned that during the time that Monroe Street was at its peak, African Americans patronized African American physicians, barbers, beauticians, undertakers, hotels and rooming houses, theaters and eateries. Dr. Bailey gave a special shout out to Victor Tulane. He was one of Montgomery’s most successful African American businessmen. Tulane ran the Montgomery branch of the Alabama Penny and Savings Bank. We had to hold back the tears when Dr. Bailey spoke about the E.L. Posey parking lot. He explained to the group that Posey’s parking lot served as the central dispatch/pickup station and post for the chief dispatcher during the historic Montgomery Bus Boycott. The role these African American businesses played in the boycott is evidence of the importance of Monroe Street in the life and history of the City of Montgomery. If you travel down Monroe Street today you would quickly realize that the few businesses that remain are still dependent on African Americans for their economic success. It was a wonderful tour.