Stepping away from the lunch counter, my palms had been shaking and tears had been welling up in my eyes. I glanced over at Hannah, who at 13 was simply sufficiently old to take part on this interactive exhibit on the Heart for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta. As our eyes met I knew that the expertise was simply as highly effective for her because it was for me.
You’d suppose that after ten days on a Civil Rights highway journey studying in regards to the Civil Rights Motion, we’d have turn into desensitized. However as you sit down, clamp the headphones over your ears, put your palms flat on the countertop, shut your eyes and hearken to the voices shouting in your ears you possibly can nearly really feel the offended mob respiration down your again.
Because the countertop shakes, you flinch, ready for the blow to return for you. It solely takes a minute and a half of moving into the sneakers of a lunch counter sit-in protester to test your privilege and get a glimmer of understanding for the bravery it took to face your floor within the face of violence and the specter of loss of life.
It isn’t simple. It will not be what you consider as a “enjoyable” household trip. However I can’t consider a greater time to show our youngsters about bigotry, discrimination, the legacy of slavery and the continued battle for human and civil rights each in the US and world wide.
As we left for our journey, the NAACP had issued a journey warning to advise individuals of coloration that their civil rights could also be violated in the event that they go to Missouri. We flew house to the appalling information of white supremacists taking to the streets of Charlottesville, a city we beloved visiting, spreading their vile illness of hate. We had been heartbroken by the tragic lack of life and violence by the hands of a homegrown racist terrorist.
You may’t ignore the truth that the battle for the phrases of the Structure to essentially apply to everybody equally is ongoing. Over 50 years have passed by because the passage of the Civil Rights Act and we’re nonetheless coping with gerrymandering, profiling, and people whose hatred stems from a deep-rooted perception that one race is superior to a different.
This can be a subject that touches my coronary heart, but it surely was truly Hannah who picked to do a Civil Rights highway journey for our annual mother-daughter journey. After learning Civil Rights at school, studying books like The Watsons go to Birmingham, and watching motion pictures like Selma, she needed to grasp extra.
I consider strongly that it’s incumbent on us as dad and mom to ensure our youngsters perceive the place racism comes from, why it’s rooted so deeply into our society, the battle and bravado it takes to combat for equal civil rights and tips on how to be an efficient ally.
You may get a way for this by studying books, watching motion pictures, and learning it at school. But it surely doesn’t sink all the way in which in till you stroll within the footsteps of Martin Luther King, Jr., John Lewis, Rosa Parks, Diane Nash, Fred Shuttlesworth, Ralph Abernathy, Hosea Williams, and different leaders of the U.S. Civil Rights motion.
Hopefully you possibly can a minimum of go to one of many many museums and facilities devoted to the motion on a civil rights tour. However in the event you actually need the message to hit house, then I’d encourage you to plan a civil rights highway journey.
Planning a Civil Rights Highway Journey
Notice: this publish is written in partnership with Moon Journey Guides. All opinions are my very own.
The official U.S. Civil Rights Path covers 15 states and the District of Columbia. The itinerary that we adopted on our highway journey coated simply a part of the Civil Rights Path. When planning your personal journey, I’d additionally extremely suggest investing in a duplicate of U.S. Civil Rights Path: A Traveler’s Information to the Folks, Locations, and Occasions that Made the Motion, revealed by Moon Journey Guides.
You have to per week to 10 days to do a civil rights highway journey proper. There are such a lot of websites to go to, however I’d suggest together with stops in a minimum of Atlanta, Montgomery, Birmingham, and Memphis. It is smart to begin in Atlanta, the birthplace of Martin Luther King, Jr., and finish in Memphis on the Lorraine Motel the place he was assassinated.
Nevertheless, there actually is not any proper or incorrect approach to go. We truly began in Nashville, as a result of Southwest had a fare sale there and I’ve been desirous to see the Music Metropolis anyway. So our highway journey went like this: 3 nights in Nashville-3 nights in Memphis-1 evening in Birmingham-a cease in Selma-1 evening in Montgomery-3 nights in Atlanta.
If you wish to do one thing comparable, right here is your information. If you wish to additionally see extra websites, ensure that to take a look at the Alabama Civil Rights Path for concepts just like the Tuskegee Airmen Nationwide Historic Web site.
Civil Rights Websites in Nashville
Notice: We obtained media charges or reductions for a few of our lodge stays and excursions, all opinions are my very own. This publish incorporates affiliate hyperlinks. For those who click on a hyperlink and make a purchase order, I could obtain a small fee.
Nashville might sound like a shocking alternative for a civil rights highway journey, however most of the lunch counter protestors had been educated in Nashville. Much more Nashville college students participated within the Freedom Rides. In fact, a cease in Nashville is all the time a pleasant manner so as to add some enjoyable to the journey.
This rising metropolis is hopping with vitality, nation music, and wonderful meals. Stroll the streets of downtown to see the markers commemorating the lunch counter sit ins. Keep on the historic Union Station Resort for simple strolling entry to each the downtown honky tonks, Nation Music Corridor of Fame, and the favored Gulch district.
Civil Rights Websites in Memphis
Simply three and a half hours southwest of Nashville, Memphis was the subsequent cease on our civil rights highway journey. Whereas many individuals come to Memphis to see Graceland or possibly hearken to some blues, the not-to-be-missed website in Memphis is the Nationwide Civil Rights Museum on the Lorraine Motel, which is the place the place Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated.
The reveals begin very appropriately with a glance again at slavery. As you consider the 250 years that slavery existed in our nation, it’s simpler to grasp how racial prejudices have taken such deep root. When one race dares to carry one other as “property,” the ethical justification is that the “subservient” race is in some way lower than the race claimed to be superior. These attitudes run deep within the tradition and are clearly taking a very long time to alter utterly.
Guests then enter right into a theater for a take a look at segregation up by way of the Jim Crow period. From there, a sequence of exhibitions stroll you thru the primary moments of the Civil Rights motion together with: faculty desegregation, the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the Freedom Rides, pupil sit ins, the March on Washington, the Selma marches, the rise of the Black Energy motion, and a lot extra.
The reveals embrace video (reminiscent of MLK Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech,) and replicas of the bombed Freedom Rides bus and a Montgomery metropolis bus. Stepping onto the bus and having the bus driver recording admonish you to go to the again of the bus provides you a small style of what it was wish to be black within the segregated south. Nothing as highly effective of the lunch counter exhibit in Atlanta, however I can’t watch a video of MLK Jr.’s speeches with out being moved by tears.
The ultimate cease within the museum overlooks the rooms within the Lorraine Motel the place Dr. King and his staff spent his final hours. As you solemnly gaze out on the balcony the place he was killed, you possibly can’t assist however be full of emotion in such a tragic spot. Throughout the road, you too can go to the Legacy constructing, the place the gun that killed Dr. King was shot. The reveals right here speak about potential alternate theories into who killed MLK, or a minimum of, who else was concerned.
Your foray into historical past in Memphis shouldn’t cease on the Lorraine Motel. There may be a lot African-American Historical past to discover in Memphis. The very best intro can be to take the “Tour of Prospects” with Queen. She is going to drive you round and let you know all in regards to the space’s historical past, communities, and leaders (plus level out some wonderful locations to eat.) Although Queen is a New York-native, she could be very effectively linked in the neighborhood (as you possibly can inform by everybody waving as her van drives by), and retains the tour very entertaining.
One other must-do website is Slave Haven, an antebellum house that was as soon as a cease on the Underground Railroad for escaped enslaved individuals looking for freedom within the north. A fast take a look at this house may make you suppose it’s one thing you possibly can both skip or solely spend a couple of minutes wanting round and poking your head into the basement the place enslaved individuals waited till it was secure to proceed on their journey. Not so.
For those who take a tour, the caretakers will stroll you thru the Center Passage into slavery, discuss to you about how the hymns and quilts handed the message of the path to freedom, educate you on how stereotypes in promoting had been used to maintain individuals of coloration down, and offer you a glimpse on the bravery and ingenuity it took for the escapees and people who helped them. Plan on spending a minimum of an hour and be ready to open your self as much as a strong expertise.
For those who go to Memphis, you should definitely depart time for one thing a bit of extra lighthearted, just like the Duck Ceremony on the Peabody Memphis! We loved our keep at this grand dame of motels, conveniently situated to all of the downtown sights. Don’t miss some scrumptious soul meals at Alcenia’s throughout your keep (see my different suggestions on the place to eat in Memphis.)
Civil Rights Websites in Birmingham
From Memphis, it’s a few three-and-a-half drive all the way down to Birmingham. In case you are in search of a great cease alongside the way in which, take a detour to the faculty city of Oxford, Mississippi. Pop into Sq. Books for some studying materials and have lunch on the Ajax Diner (however be warned that the parts are enormous so it would be best to share!)
Birmingham is a crucial cease on a civil rights highway journey. Whereas the town going by way of a revitalization in spots, Birmingham was truly fashioned post-Civil Struggle. Its complete historical past is rooted in segregation because it was being constructed. That is additionally why you noticed such resistance to alter and desegregation in Birmingham.
It was completely chilling to hearken to civic leaders in Birmingham espouse their views about how the “negroes had been higher off beneath the white man.” It additionally resonated to see how onerous the white supremacists fought in opposition to change that they felt was being compelled on them by the liberal Yankees stirring up bother – that rhetoric sounds so acquainted to what we’re listening to at this time.
What was completely different in regards to the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute in comparison with different civil rights museums is that it’s targeted largely on the civil rights points and motion in Birmingham and Alabama. The reveals begin off with a brief movie that explains how Birmingham was created and the rise of Jim Crow and segregation.
The reveals then attempt to create an understanding of the results of segregation by displaying the variations in training, employment alternatives, and entry to medical care.
Whereas the reveals aren’t as excessive tech as what you can find in Atlanta or Memphis, the give attention to Alabama gave it a distinct perspective, went deeper into some occasions and points, and bolstered what we had realized in Memphis. There are additionally some superb reveals that target worldwide human rights and the continued combat for civil rights globally.
After visiting the Civil Rights Institute, you possibly can stroll throughout the road and go to the Sixteenth Avenue Baptist Church, the place the horrific bombing in 1963 took the lives of 4 younger women attending Sunday faculty.
You also needs to take a stroll by way of Kelly Ingram Park, which is throughout the road from the Heart and Church. The sculptures across the Freedom Stroll by way of the park are highly effective monuments to the heroes and reminders of the challenges of the combat for equality and civil rights.
Whereas the world across the Civil Rights Institute is fairly quiet, Birmingham has many revitalized neighborhoods so there is no such thing as a scarcity of cute, enjoyable locations to eat throughout your go to. We stayed on the Westin Birmingham, which is a part of the Uptown eating and leisure district.
Whilst you might wish to drive in case you are going out of this space, we had a superb dinner of tapas at Ovenbird, lastly tried Nashville’s scorching rooster at Hattie B’s, and located a cute espresso store and breakfast spot at Feast & Forest.
Civil Rights Websites in Selma
I had been warned that the city of Selma is struggling and is pretty depressed so there isn’t rather a lot to see, however I nonetheless needed to see the Edmund Pettus Bridge in individual. Hannah and I watched the film Selma earlier than we began our journey and it appeared essential to stroll throughout the bridge ourselves.
It isn’t too far of a detour to cease in Selma in your manner from Birmingham to Montgomery. Sadly, we arrived in a torrential rain storm and we had been soaked to our pores and skin simply strolling as much as the bridge and over to the small Nationwide Park interpretive heart on the foot of the bridge.
So we didn’t fulfill our hope of strolling the span of the bridge. The interpretive heart is small and when you’ve got already realized in regards to the Selma marches for voting rights in Memphis or Birmingham, then you might not discover something new, but it surely did reinforce our earlier museum visits.
Civil Rights Websites in Montgomery
Montgomery is about an hour from Selma, or an hour and a half from Birmingham in case you are going direct. Whereas it’s the state capital, the town itself additionally feels pretty quiet. There are a number of civil rights-related locations to go to, however on our one-day go to we targeted on the Rosa Parks Museum and the Freedom Rides Museum.
The Rosa Parks Museum is extraordinarily effectively performed. You could want to attend on your subsequent “tour” to begin, however it’s a self-guided museum. They simply begin teams within the expertise on the similar time and after the preliminary video experiences, you’re free to discover by yourself.
The Rosa Parks Museum begins by bringing you again to the occasions of December 1, 1955, when a drained Rosa Parks, who was sitting within the space permitted for African People, refused to surrender her seat for a white individual as soon as the bus was full. For years, I used to be beneath the misunderstanding that she was sitting within the entrance of the bus the place she wasn’t allowed. Not true.
I additionally didn’t notice that federally, any such segregation wasn’t allowed however Montgomery was following state legal guidelines. It was not simply eye-opening, the exhibit actually places you within the second when Rosa Parks needed to make this life-changing determination that earned her the title of the “Mom of the Civil Rights Motion.”
From there, the museum follows the timeline of the Montgomery Bus Boycott and all of the challenges concerned. Once more, I didn’t notice that this boycott, which was universally adopted by all African People and lots of whites within the metropolis, went on for 13 months! Think about the dedication! Since metropolis residents had been so depending on the bus system to get to work, particularly for ladies, a boycott of that size was difficult.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was very concerned in organizing carpools to assist these girls get to work. In fact, in an effort to derail the boycott, the police harassed these taking carpools, limiting how many individuals may very well be in a automotive and making it unlawful to pay as if it was a taxi service.
Protestors had been additionally not allowed to satisfy in teams and the bus firm tried to sue in opposition to the boycott, as a result of it had such a fiscal affect on their enterprise. Hannah and I each actually loved this museum and it was a visit spotlight.
Subsequent door on the Rosa Park Kids’s Library, you too can board a “time machine” that walks you thru the event of Jim Crow legal guidelines and the historical past of segregation. You’ll step onto a bus, which rocks and shakes as you leap by way of time, so it’s entertaining for younger youngsters however possibly not people who get scared too simply.
After the Rosa Parks Museum, we additionally walked over to the Freedom Rides museum, which is only a small museum, situated in a part of the unique Greyhound bus station the place the Freedom Riders arrived. The museum is small with only a few reveals but it surely gives a deep dive into the Freedom Rides and allows you to study extra in regards to the courageous people that took half in these rides.
We stayed at a Fairfield Inn exterior of Montgomery as a result of we wanted to do some laundry (plus love the free breakfast and night receptions), however in the event you want solutions on the place to remain and the place to eat in Montgomery, try solutions from VacationMaybe.
Civil Rights Websites in Atlanta
The ultimate cease on our civil rights tour was Atlanta, only a two-and-a-half-hour drive from Montgomery (not together with the time change from Central to Japanese.) Because the birthplace of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the assembly place of many civil rights leaders, Atlanta must be part of any civil rights journey.
There are two foremost websites to go to. The primary is the Heart for Civil and Human Rights. Situated in the identical space because the Georgia Aquarium and World of Coca-Cola, you should dedicate half a day to go to the Heart for Civil and Human Rights (simply notice that they’re closed on Mondays.) This museum is trendy and all of the reveals make highly effective use of expertise to teach and evoke an emotional response, particularly the lunch counter exhibit that I referenced above.
The museum is so effectively performed but it surely doesn’t change what we had already seen or realized in Memphis, Birmingham and Montgomery. For those who can solely go to Atlanta, then sure, it provides an excellent overview of most of the foremost moments of the motion. Nevertheless, I really feel that simply because you’ve been to the Heart in Atlanta, doesn’t imply you shouldn’t go to different civil rights sights.
We each beloved that it additionally contains reveals on worldwide human rights. It highlights the defenders of human rights, and showcase the world’s worst human rights offenders. The reveals additionally offer you meals for thought by speaking in regards to the human rights impacts of our client selections round items like soccer balls, chocolate, and occasional.
The opposite must-visit spot in Atlanta is the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Nationwide Historic Web site. Along with a customer heart, you too can go to the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, the place MLK, and his father earlier than him, was a minister. There may be additionally the Martin Luther King, Jr. Nationwide Historic Web site, the place you each Martin and Coretta Scott King are each entombed, and an everlasting flame continues to burn. Enjoying within the background is the audio of MLK’s “I Have a Dream” speech, offering a shifting house to pay your respects. Down the highway, you possibly can even go to MLK Jr.’s start house.
I’ll throw in yet one more factor to do in Atlanta that has to do with the civil rights motion, and that’s the Martin Luther King Jr. Meals Tour with Surprising Atlanta. Sound shocking? We love exploring cities by way of meals excursions however this one combines historical past and wonderful southern meals.
The tour kicked off at Paschal’s, which nonetheless makes use of the identical fried rooster recipe as when Martin Luther King, Jr. and his colleagues would meet at Paschal’s to plan protests and even the march on Washington. The tour finishes only a 10-minute stroll to the MLK Nationwide Historic website, rounding out a day of studying and consuming.
We spent three nights on the Loews Atlanta in Midtown, giving us loads of time to discover the civil rights websites of Atlanta.
I do know {that a} civil rights highway journey will not be on the prime of your bucket listing. Your youngsters (or admit it, even you) might groan when they give thought to a trip full of museums and historic sights. However take into consideration what is occurring in our nation at this time. Have a look at the rise of white supremacists and the nationwide consideration these alt-right teams are getting.
We have to take our youngsters to go to these websites. We have to discuss to our youngsters about these points. It’s only by addressing these points head on that we will train our youngsters the values that we wish to instill and present them why silence and ignorance aren’t choices.
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