Georgia/Alabama
The Civil Rights Movement: Atlanta, Montgomery, Selma, Birmingham
Program No. 22657RJ
Journey through the Deep South to learn the history of the Civil Rights Movement and its defining clashes. Hear powerful stories of struggle and be inspired by resilient heroes.
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8 days
7 nights
17 meals
7B 5L 5D
1
Check-in, Registration, Orientation, Welcome Dinner
Atlanta, Georgia
2
Civil Rights Time Line, Atlanta Field Trip, Sweet Auburn
Atlanta, Georgia
3
Special Forum, Atlanta Capitol, Carter Center
Atlanta, Georgia
5
Legacy Museum, Memorial of Peace & Justice, Sculpture Park
Montgomery, AL
6
To Selma, Edmund Pettus Bridge, Local Civil Rights History
Birmingham, AL
7
Civil Rights Institute, 16th St. Church, Kelly Ingram Park
Birmingham, AL
8
Departure Birmingham to Atlanta
Birmingham, AL
At a Glance
Journey south into the heart of the civil rights movement to gain a deeper understanding of the historic and continued struggle for racial equality in the United States. Follow in the footsteps of the venerable Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his legendary marches, and hear the moving story of Rosa Parks and the Montgomery bus boycott. Walk across the Selma Bridge with an activist who took part in the peaceful protest that devolved into unforgivable violence known as “Bloody Sunday.” Pay homage at the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church as you learn the story of the victims of the 1963 KKK bombing. Study how these catalysts ignited a movement that would define this pivotal moment in American history.
Activity Level
On Your Feet
This programs involves walking up to two miles daily over uneven terrain. Standing for lectures in museums up to an hour. Some historical structures have stairs/no elevator.
Best of all, you’ll…
- Commemorate the central figures of civil rights on field trips to the Rosa Parks Museum, Georgia State Capitol and the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site.
- Follow the path of heroic marches through Atlanta and Birmingham and from Selma to Montgomery, now a National Historic Trail.
- Learn from an activist who was a witness and participant in some of America’s most significant civil rights battles.
General Notes
Select dates are designated for small groups and are limited to 24 participants or less.
Featured Expert
All trip experts
Dianne Harris
Dianne Harris has received the Congressional Foot Soldier Medal and Certificate, as well as numerous other medals and awards for her ongoing fight for racial equality. She is an avid public speaker, appearing on NBC Today in 2015 and is often interviewed by newspapers, magazines and other media outlets for her unending vigil for justice. She remembers her involvement in the movement like it was yesterday. She particularly remembers listening to Martin Luther King and the events of Bloody Sunday in Selma, Alabama.
Please note: This expert may not be available for every date of this program.
Tom Murray
View biography
Tom Murray is a graduate of San Jose State University but is a Southerner by choice, having spent more than 45 years in the South absorbing the culture, customs and history of the region. Tom specializes in coastal history with an emphasis on the sea islands of Georgia. Few people know and love beautiful Cumberland and Amelia islands better than Tom. He has spent 25 years lecturing and leading Road Scholar groups to sites from the mountains to the sea.
Camilla Comerford
View biography
Camilla Comerford is certified in leading educational adventures and has traveled throughout Switzerland, France, Italy, Spain, and Ireland. Camilla also worked for almost 30 years in the commercial real estate business in Atlanta, Georgia and other cities throughout the South. She looks forward to sharing her love for the region with you!
Larry Spruill
View biography
Dr. Larry Spruill is a graduate of the State University of New York system. It provided social programs which afforded disadvantaged students opportunities to experience upward social mobility. His academic career began in an upstate New York community college and introduced him to the rigors of higher education and facilitated his entrance into doctoral studies. He is a retired school principal specialist and instructor and currently a full-time professor of history at Morehouse College, Georgia. He also served as a foreign missionary, teacher and pastor.
Dianne Harris
View biography
Dianne Harris has received the Congressional Foot Soldier Medal and Certificate, as well as numerous other medals and awards for her ongoing fight for racial equality. She is an avid public speaker, appearing on NBC Today in 2015 and is often interviewed by newspapers, magazines and other media outlets for her unending vigil for justice. She remembers her involvement in the movement like it was yesterday. She particularly remembers listening to Martin Luther King and the events of Bloody Sunday in Selma, Alabama.
Terrie Dal Pozzo
View biography
Terrie was raised in New Orleans and moved to the U.S. Virgin Islands at the age of 18. She became the youngest woman in the Virgin Islands to obtain a Coast Guard license to operate motor and sailing vessels. Terrie skippered sailing vessels, taking guests on journeys through the Leeward Islands, teaching them to sail and snorkel and educating them on island life. She later lived in Kitzbuhel, Austria and Perth, Australia before returning to the Virgin Islands. She currently lives in eastern Tennessee.
Denise Swain
View biography
Denise Swain is a Southerner who loves sharing the culture, climate, and curiosity of the Deep South. Her hometown was the coastal region of Georgia, better known as the Golden Isles. Denise resides today in northern Alabama. Her passion is to keep stories alive while enabling participants to observe sometimes overlooked people and spaces. She is a certified exploration director and spent more than 40 years in the advertising industry. She now enjoys hiking, biking, outdoor concerts, and leading Road Scholar groups on educational adventures.
Anne Peery
View biography
Anne Peery has traveled extensively in the Southeastern United States. She has served in various leadership roles including the Executive Director of the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation. Anne holds a B.S. in education from Mississippi State University. She has worked with a volunteer group making medical-grade PPE for first responders in the Big Bend region of Florida.
Suggested Reading List
(9 books)
Visit the Road Scholar Bookshop
You can find many of the books we recommend at the Road Scholar store on bookshop.org, a website that supports local bookstores.
The Civil Rights Movement: Atlanta, Montgomery, Selma, Birmingham
Program Number: 22657
Courage to Dissent: Atlanta and the Long History of the Civil Rights Movement
The Civil Rights movement that emerged in the United States after World War II was a reaction against centuries of racial discrimination. In this sweeping history of the Civil Rights movement in Atlanta--the South's largest and most economically important city--from the 1940s through 1980, Tomiko Brown-Nagin shows that the movement featured a vast array of activists and many sophisticated approaches to activism. Long before "black power" emerged and gave black dissent from the mainstream civil rights agenda a new name, African Americans in Atlanta debated the meaning of equality and the steps necessary to obtain social and economic justice.
This groundbreaking book uncovers the activism of visionaries--both well-known legal figures and unsung citizens--from across the ideological spectrum who sought something different from, or more complicated than, "integration." Local activists often played leading roles in carrying out the integrationist agenda of the NAACP, but some also pursued goals that differed markedly from those of the venerable civil rights organization. Brown-Nagin discusses debates over politics, housing, public accommodations, and schools. She documents how the bruising battle over school desegregation in the 1970s, which featured opposing camps of African Americans, had its roots in the years before Brown v. Board of Education.
Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Years, 1954-1965
From the Montgomery bus boycott to the Little Rock Nine to the Selma–Montgomery march, thousands of ordinary people who participated in the American civil rights movement; their stories are told in Eyes on the Prize. From leaders such as Martin Luther King, Jr., to lesser-known figures such as Barbara Rose Johns and Jim Zwerg, each man and woman made the decision that somethinghad to be done to stop discrimination. These moving accounts and pictures of the first decade of the civil rights movement are a tribute to the people, black and white, who took part in the fight for justice and the struggle they endured.
Walking with the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement
The award-winning national bestseller, Walking with the Wind, is one of our most important records of the American civil rights movement. Told by John Lewis, who Cornel West calls a “national treasure,” this is a gripping first-hand account of the fight for civil rights and the courage it takes to change a nation.
In 1957, a teenaged boy named John Lewis left a cotton farm in Alabama for Nashville, the epicenter of the struggle for civil rights in America. Lewis’s adherence to nonviolence guided that critical time and established him as one of the movement’s most charismatic and courageous leaders. Lewis’s leadership in the Nashville Movement—a student-led effort to desegregate the city of Nashville using sit-in techniques based on the teachings of Gandhi—set the tone for major civil rights campaigns of the 1960s. Lewis traces his role in the pivotal Selma marches, Bloody Sunday, and the Freedom Rides. Inspired by his mentor, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Lewis’s vision and perseverance altered history. In 1986, he ran and won a congressional seat in Georgia, and remains in office to this day, continuing to enact change.
The late Edward M. Kennedy said of Lewis, “John tells it like it was…Lewis spent most of his life walking against the wind of the times, but he was surely walking with the wind of history.”
A Perilous Path: Talking Race, Inequality, and the Law
This blisteringly candid discussion of the American dilemma in the age of Trump brings together the head of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, the former attorney general of the United States, a bestselling author and death penalty lawyer, and a star professor for an honest conversation the country desperately needs to hear. Drawing on their collective decades of work on civil rights issues as well as personal histories of rising from poverty and oppression, these leading lights of the legal profession and the fight for racial justice talk about the importance of reclaiming the racial narrative and keeping our eyes on the horizon as we work for justice in an unjust time.
Politics, Civil Rights, and Law in Black Atlanta 1870-1970
Lynching in America: Confronting the Legacy of Racial Terror
Lynching in America: Confronting the Legacy of Racial Terror documents EJI's multi-year investigation into lynching in twelve Southern states during the period between Reconstruction and World War II. EJI researchers documented 4075 racial terror lynchings of African Americans in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia between 1877 and 1950 - at least 800 more lynchings of black people in these states than previously reported in the most comprehensive work done on lynching to date. Lynching in America makes the case that lynching of African Americans was terrorism, a widely supported phenomenon used to enforce racial subordination and segregation. Lynchings were violent and public events that traumatized black people throughout the country and were largely tolerated by state and federal officials.
Selma, Lord, Selma: Girlhood Memories of the Civil Rights
Sheyann Webb was eight years old and Rachel West was nine when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. arrived in Selma, Alabama, on January 2, 1965. He came to organize non-violent demonstrations against discriminatory voting laws. Selma, Lord, Selma is their firsthand account of the events from that turbulent winter of 1965--events that changed not only the lives of these two little girls but the lives of all Alabamians and all Americans. From 1975 to 1979, award-winning journalist Frank Sikora conducted interviews with Webb and West, weaving their recollections into this luminous story of fear and courage, struggle a
Voices of Freedom: An Oral History of the Civil Rights Movement from the 1950s Through the 1980s
In this monumental volume, Henry Hampton, creator and executive producer of the acclaimed PBS series Eyes on the Prize, and Steve Fayer, series writer, draw upon nearly one thousand interviews with civil rights activists, politicians, reporters, Justice Department officials, and hundreds of ordinary people who took part in the struggle, weaving a fascinating narrative of the civil rights movement told by the people who lived it.
Join brave and terrified youngsters walking through a jeering mob and up the steps of Central High School in Little Rock. Listen to the vivid voices of the ordinary people who manned the barricades, the laborers, the students, the housewives without whom there would have been no civil rights movements at all.
This remarkable oral history brings to life country's great struggle for civil rights as no conventional narrative can. You will hear the voices of those who defied the blackjacks, who went to jail, who witnessed and policed the movement; of those who stood for and against it—voices from the heart of America.
Where Peachtree Meets Sweet Auburn: A Saga of Race and Family
A fascinating tale of two cities told through the rise of two of Atlanta's most illustrious political families...highly significant in what it reveals about ambition, hard work, success, and race relations.
Program
At a Glance
Duration
8 days
Program Begins
Atlanta, Georgia
Program Concludes
Birmingham, AL
Meals
17 (
7B, 5L, 5D
)
Activity Level
Journey south into the heart of the civil rights movement to gain a deeper understanding of the historic and continued struggle for racial equality in the United States. Follow in the footsteps of the venerable Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his legendary marches, and hear the moving story of Rosa Parks and the Montgomery bus boycott. Walk across the Selma Bridge with an activist who took part in the peaceful protest that devolved into unforgivable violence known as “Bloody Sunday.” Pay homage at the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church as you learn the story of the victims of the 1963 KKK bombing. Study how these catalysts ignited a movement that would define this pivotal moment in American history.)
Best of all, you'll...
- Commemorate the central figures of civil rights on field trips to the Rosa Parks Museum, Georgia State Capitol and the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site.
- Follow the path of heroic marches through Atlanta and Birmingham and from Selma to Montgomery, now a National Historic Trail.
- Learn from an activist who was a witness and participant in some of America’s most significant civil rights battles.
General Notes
Select dates are designated for small groups and are limited to 24 participants or less.
Featured Expert
Dianne Harris
Dianne Harris has received the Congressional Foot Soldier Medal and Certificate, as well as numerous other medals and awards for her ongoing fight for racial equality. She is an avid public speaker, appearing on NBC Today in 2015 and is often interviewed by newspapers, magazines and other media outlets for her unending vigil for justice. She remembers her involvement in the movement like it was yesterday. She particularly remembers listening to Martin Luther King and the events of Bloody Sunday in Selma, Alabama.
Please Note:
This expert may not be available for every date of the program
Tom Murray
Tom Murray is a graduate of San Jose State University but is a Southerner by choice, having spent more than 45 years in the South absorbing the culture, customs and history of the region. Tom specializes in coastal history with an emphasis on the sea islands of Georgia. Few people know and love beautiful Cumberland and Amelia islands better than Tom. He has spent 25 years lecturing and leading Road Scholar groups to sites from the mountains to the sea.
Camilla Comerford
Camilla Comerford is certified in leading educational adventures and has traveled throughout Switzerland, France, Italy, Spain, and Ireland. Camilla also worked for almost 30 years in the commercial real estate business in Atlanta, Georgia and other cities throughout the South. She looks forward to sharing her love for the region with you!
Larry Spruill
Dr. Larry Spruill is a graduate of the State University of New York system. It provided social programs which afforded disadvantaged students opportunities to experience upward social mobility. His academic career began in an upstate New York community college and introduced him to the rigors of higher education and facilitated his entrance into doctoral studies. He is a retired school principal specialist and instructor and currently a full-time professor of history at Morehouse College, Georgia. He also served as a foreign missionary, teacher and pastor.
Terrie Dal Pozzo
Terrie was raised in New Orleans and moved to the U.S. Virgin Islands at the age of 18. She became the youngest woman in the Virgin Islands to obtain a Coast Guard license to operate motor and sailing vessels. Terrie skippered sailing vessels, taking guests on journeys through the Leeward Islands, teaching them to sail and snorkel and educating them on island life. She later lived in Kitzbuhel, Austria and Perth, Australia before returning to the Virgin Islands. She currently lives in eastern Tennessee.
Denise Swain
Denise Swain is a Southerner who loves sharing the culture, climate, and curiosity of the Deep South. Her hometown was the coastal region of Georgia, better known as the Golden Isles. Denise resides today in northern Alabama. Her passion is to keep stories alive while enabling participants to observe sometimes overlooked people and spaces. She is a certified exploration director and spent more than 40 years in the advertising industry. She now enjoys hiking, biking, outdoor concerts, and leading Road Scholar groups on educational adventures.
Anne Peery
Anne Peery has traveled extensively in the Southeastern United States. She has served in various leadership roles including the Executive Director of the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation. Anne holds a B.S. in education from Mississippi State University. She has worked with a volunteer group making medical-grade PPE for first responders in the Big Bend region of Florida.
Activity Level
On Your Feet
This programs involves walking up to two miles daily over uneven terrain. Standing for lectures in museums up to an hour. Some historical structures have stairs/no elevator.
Suggested Reading List
View Full List
(9 Books)
You can also find many of the books we recommend at the Road Scholar store on bookshop.org, a website that supports local bookstores.
HAVE QUESTIONS?
Prefer to enroll or inquire by phone?
We can help. Give us a call, and we can answer all of your questions!
Call
800-454-5768
While we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of our published materials, programs are typically advertised more than a year prior to their start date. As a result, some program activities, schedules, accommodations, personnel, and other logistics occasionally change due to local conditions or circumstances. Should a major change occur, we will make every effort to alert you. For less significant changes, we will update you during orientation. Thank you for your understanding.
Duration
8 days
7 nights
What's Included
17 meals (
7B, 5L, 5D
)
4 expert-led lectures
12 expert-led field trips
1 performance
An experienced Group Leader
7 nights of accommodations
Taxes and customary gratuity
Road Scholar Assurance Plan
Day
1
Check-in, Registration, Orientation, Welcome Dinner
Location:
Atlanta, Georgia
Meals:
D
Stay:
Hyatt Place Buckhead Atlanta
Activity Note
Hotel check-in from 4:00 p.m. Remember to bring your nametag (sent previously). Walking 1 block to dinner.
Afternoon:
Program Registration: At 5:00 p.m. after you have your room assignment, come over to the Road Scholar table in the conference room to register with the program staff and get your welcome packet containing an up-to-date schedule that reflects any last-minute changes, and to learn when and where the Orientation session will take place. If your arrival is delayed, please ask for your packet when you check in. Orientation. The Group Leader will greet everyone and lead introductions. We will review the up-to-date program schedule, discuss roles and responsibilities, logistics, safety guidelines, emergency procedures, and answer questions. Periods in the schedule designated as “Free time” and “At leisure” offer opportunities to do what you like and make your experience even more meaningful and memorable according to your personal preferences. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions. Program activities, schedules, personnel, and indicated distances or times may change due to local circumstances/conditions. In the event of changes, we will alert you as quickly as possible. Thank you for your understanding.
Dinner:
At a local restaurant one block away from the hotel.
Evening:
Continue getting to know your fellow Road Scholars, settle in, and get a good night’s rest for the day ahead.
Day
2
Civil Rights Time Line, Atlanta Field Trip, Sweet Auburn
Location:
Atlanta, Georgia
Meals:
B,L,D
Stay:
Hyatt Place Buckhead Atlanta
Activity Note
Walking up to 2 miles throughout the day. Getting on/off a motorcoach; driving about 25 miles, approximately 2.5 hours riding time.
Breakfast:
At the hotel.
Morning:
In the conference room, start the morning off with an expert who will set the tone for your civil rights and freedom exploration in Georgia and Alabama. The civil rights movement took place mainly during the 1950s and 1960s. The movement was for Black Americans to gain equal rights under the law. Although the Civil War officially abolished slavery, it didn’t end discrimination against Black people. They continued to endure the effects of racism, especially in the South. By the mid-20th century, Black Americans along with many white Americans, mobilized and began an unprecedented fight for equality that spanned two decades. The travels you take this week will be your classroom as you learn about the events and the people who brought about change. Afterward, we will board a motorcoach and drive past historic buildings and places where Black people struggled and prospered to make Atlanta the cradle of the Civil Rights movement. Along the way, we will see The Atlanta University Center Consortium which is a collaboration between four historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in southwest Atlanta, Georgia. Institutions included are: Clark Atlanta University, Spelman College, Morehouse College, and the Morehouse School of Medicine. It is the oldest and largest contiguous consortium of African-American higher education institutions in the United States.
Lunch:
At a local restaurant.
Afternoon:
After lunch, we’ll continue our studies as we travel by motorcoach to the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site in the Sweet Auburn neighborhood with our local expert. Managed by the National Park Service, we’ll visit the Martin Luther King Memorial and Dr. & Mrs. King’s Crypt. We will be getting off the motorcoach while our expert points out historical facts. The Ebenezer Baptist Church is where King was baptized, and both he and his father were pastors. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s funeral was held in this church.
Dinner:
At a local restaurant.
Evening:
At leisure.
Day
3
Special Forum, Atlanta Capitol, Carter Center
Location:
Atlanta, Georgia
Meals:
B,L
Stay:
Hyatt Place Buckhead Atlanta
Activity Note
Sidewalks and uneven terrain may be encountered. Standing in museums up to an hour and a half. On and off motor coach. Total time on coach is approximately one hour.
Breakfast:
At the hotel.
Morning:
In the conference room, we will hear from a Morehouse College retired professor on the rationale to use photography and publicity as nonviolent weapons in the struggle for human equality and racial justice. Today’s presentation offers an opportunity to take a closer look at Dr. Martin Luther King’s sophisticated public relations skills. Leaving the hotel by motorcoach, we will continue our studies with a visit to the Georgia State Capitol which contains a wealth of Civil Rights History. Portraits range from national figures such as, Martin Luther King Jr. and President Jimmy Carter to first-generation black elected figures such as Grace Hamilton and R. A. Dent. The Capitol also contains portraits representing the opponents of civil rights such as Eugene Talmadge and Lester Maddox. A visit to the Georgia State Capitol will provide the forum for a lively discussion of Southern History.
Lunch:
At the Carter Center.
Afternoon:
After lunch, we will visit the The Jimmy Carter Museum where highlights include a life-size replica of the Oval Office, a dramatic “Day in the Life of the President” presentation on 13 ft. screens, a walk-through cabin setting for the crucial Camp David Meetings exhibition, and an Interactive Map Table that takes you with the Carters to monitor elections and fight diseases. President Jimmy Carter championed racial equality stating "there's no difference with people in the eyes of God". The Presidential Library and Museum is nestled between two lakes on 30 acres of park land and provides a tranquil setting with a view of the Atlanta skyline.
Dinner:
This meal has been excluded from the program cost and is on your own to enjoy what you like. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions.
Evening:
At leisure. Prepare for check-out and transfer in the morning.
Day
4
Montgomery, Rosa Parks, Church, Civil Rights, Freedom Riders
Location:
Montgomery, AL
Meals:
B,L,D
Stay:
Embassy Suites by Hilton Montgomery Hotel
Activity Note
Getting on/off a motorcoach; driving about 160 miles, approximately 2.5 hours riding time. Rest stop along the way. Walking and standing in museums. Incline sidewalk leads to the Civil Rights Memorial.
Breakfast:
At the hotel.
Morning:
We’ll check out of the hotel and begin our transfer to Montgomery, Alabama. Upon our arrival in Montgomery, we will stop at the Rosa Parks Museum, a state-of-the-art museum depicting events that started the bus boycott and early Civil Rights movement. It provides an interactive multimedia presentation. We’ll explore part of the museum with an expert before spending some time on our own to see the exhibits.
Lunch:
At a local restaurant
Afternoon:
After lunch, we will drive by Dexter Parsonage, home of the Rev. Martin Luther King while he was pastor in Montgomery. We will end up at the Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church where Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. first preached, at this National Historic Landmark,. This church was also a center point of the Montgomery bus boycott. A dynamic expert will lead us through the history and events that took place that changed the civil rights movement as we enter the church that was so important. We’ll then visit the Civil Rights Memorial Center. The Memorial, dedicated in 1989, was designed by Maya Lin, who found inspiration in the paraphrase from Amos 5:24 that King used in his “I Have a Dream” speech: “We will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.” On the Memorial’s circular, black granite table, water emerges from the center and flows evenly across a timeline, reminiscent of a sundial, that chronicles the major events of the movement and records the names of 40 men, women, and children who were killed during the struggle. Behind the table, a thin sheet of water flows down a 40-foot-long curved, black granite wall on which the words “until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream” are inscribed. On the last field trip of the day, we will visit the Freedom Riders Museum where 21 young people transformed our nation’s history using nonviolent protest methods. The Museum states that “Freedom Riders, black and white, male and female, none of them older than 22, stepped off a bus at the Montgomery Greyhound Station on May 20, 1961. They were prepared to meet mob violence with non-violence and courage. They prepared farewell letters and wills. Their goal was to help end racial segregation in public transportation. And they did.” We'll check into our hotel in the late afternoon.
Dinner:
At the hotel.
Evening:
Step back in time with a visit from a surprise guest. This moving reenactment connects all the feelings of the Civil Rights Movement and what this special person endured on the bus on that December 1, 1955, day when she refused to give up her seat to a white man.
Day
5
Legacy Museum, Memorial of Peace & Justice, Sculpture Park
Location:
Montgomery, AL
Meals:
B
Stay:
Embassy Suites by Hilton Montgomery Hotel
Activity Note
Walking and standing in museums. Walk from hotel to National Legacy Museum is .5 mile.
Breakfast:
At the hotel.
Morning:
This morning we will walk to the National Legacy Museum of Peace and Justice to investigate America's history of racial injustice and its legacy. The Museum is located on the site of a former warehouse where Black people were forced to labor in Montgomery, Alabama. This narrative museum uses interactive media, sculpture, videography, and exhibits on a self led field trip. We'll board our motor coach to travel a short distance to the National Legacy Memorial of Peace and Justice. On a six-acre site atop a rise overlooking Montgomery, the national lynching memorial was started in 2010 and is now a sacred space for thought and reflection about racial terror in America and its legacy. We will also visit Freedom Monument Sculpture Park, a 17-acre site the sits along the Alabama River. The park honors the lives and memories of the 10 million Black people who were enslaved in America and provides a glimpse into the lives of enslaved people.
Lunch:
On your own to enjoy what you like in the heart of downtown Montgomery. Walk to many restaurants that surround the hotel, then meet the Group Leader at a designated spot near the hotel.
Afternoon:
After lunch, we’ll have free time to explore more sites in downtown Montgomery. You may even want to return to the National Legacy Museum of Peace and Justice, due to the enormous amount of material and videos. Your ticket is good for the day.
Dinner:
On your own to enjoy what you like or sample the local fare. Dine individually or join your fellow Road Scholars in one of Montgomery’s many restaurants.
Evening:
At leisure. Free to walk around or relax and get ready for the next day.
Day
6
To Selma, Edmund Pettus Bridge, Local Civil Rights History
Location:
Birmingham, AL
Meals:
B,L,D
Stay:
Hampton Inn & Suites Birmingham-Downtown-Tutwiler
Activity Note
Drive approximately 50 miles, taking about 1 hour. Approximately 90 miles from Selma to Birmingham, taking about 2 hours. Walk over the Edmund Pettus Bridge is .2 mile.
Breakfast:
At the hotel.
Morning:
Check out of the hotel and depart for our transfer to Selma. Selma is best known for the 1960s Selma Voting Rights Movement and the Selma to Montgomery marches, beginning with "Bloody Sunday" in March 1965 and ending with 25,000 people entering Montgomery at the end of the last march to press for voting rights. On the way to Selma our group will stop by the Lowndes Interpretive Center for a self led field trip. Upon arriving in Selma, we will be joined by a local expert who will provide commentary. Brown Chapel AME Church is undergoing renovation, therefore, we will meet at the library with a representative from the church to hear about the history and the importance of the church in the movement. We'll then trace the footsteps of the civil rights marchers as we walk across the historic Edmund Pettus Bridge.
Lunch:
Lunch at a local restaurant.
Afternoon:
Depart for Birmingham. Arrive and check into the hotel in the late afternoon.
Dinner:
At a local restaurant.
Evening:
At leisure.
Day
7
Civil Rights Institute, 16th St. Church, Kelly Ingram Park
Location:
Birmingham, AL
Meals:
B,L,D
Stay:
Hampton Inn & Suites Birmingham-Downtown-Tutwiler
Activity Note
Walking up to 2 miles throughout the day, standing during presentations for up to 30 minutes.
Breakfast:
At the hotel.
Morning:
With a local expert, we will visit a variety of sites aboard the motorcoach, learning about the Civil Rights Movement and its events in Birmingham. We’ll take a field trip to the historic Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, bombed by Klansmen in 1963, killing four little girls. We’ll stroll through the Kelly Ingram Park where sculptures depict the reality of the police dogs and fire hoses that were turned on demonstrators who gathered here to protest segregation laws. We’ll also visit the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute that tells the story of a people and a movement with commentary by your local study leader.
Lunch:
At a local restaurant.
Afternoon:
Free time or join the group leader aboard the motor coach for a visit to Vulcan Park and Museum to hear about Birmingham's industrial past and race relations. If you had rather return to the Kelly Ingram Park or Civil Rights Institute, it is only a .5 mile walk from your hotel.
Dinner:
At a local restaurant as we continue our conversations about the emotional week we have just experienced and as we sort out and discuss the activities that we have participated in that tell the story of the Civil Rights Movement.
Evening:
At leisure. Prepare for check-out and departure in the morning.
Day
8
Departure Birmingham to Atlanta
Location:
Birmingham, AL
Meals:
B
Activity Note
Hotel check-out by 11:00 a.m.
Breakfast:
At the hotel.
Morning:
Our program concludes following breakfast. Our motor coach will depart by 7:00 am (Central Time) for Atlanta International Airport. It is approximately a 2 hour and 15 minutes, drive depending on traffic. Participants should arrange flights home at 1:00 PM (Eastern Time), or later. After dropping participants at the Atlanta airport, the motor coach will then travel to the Hyatt Place, the originating hotel, to drop anyone who may have left a car at the hotel. This concludes our program. If you are transferring to another Road Scholar program, detailed instructions are included in your Information Packet for that program. We hope you enjoy Road Scholar learning adventures and look forward to having you on rewarding programs in the future. Don’t forget to join our Facebook page and follow us on Instagram. Best wishes for all your journeys!
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MEALS
17 Meals
7 Breakfasts
5 Lunches
5 Dinners
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Participant Reviews
Based on 113 Reviews
Sort By:
This was an incredibly powerfull and impactful trip. Denise, our group leader, skillfully brought us together and provided support as we learned and re-learned the painful history of slavery and cruelty demonstrated before, during, and after the Civil War and reconstruction. The sites we visited graphically and meaningfully showed me the power of exclusion and discrimination BUT also the power that comes when we band together and fight against our dark and painful history. Since the tour ended just before this most recent presidential election I was somehow supported and prepared to face what I feared most.....the election of a person who could easily have the power to destroy our democracy. I came home prepared to not give up the effort to make my world and my community a better place. I was inspired by learning and being reminded of all those brave civil rights leaders, many of whom are still active today.
— Review left November 11, 2024
Most invigorating field trip I have ever been on. I actually felt the experience. A must see for people of all ages
— Review left November 11, 2024
A must do informative and educational experience.
— Review left November 11, 2024
This was a fabulous, immersive program which I will recommend to my friends. Not a vacation, but a deep learning experience. Much of the history we were exposed to was familiar to those of us who lived through the 1960s, but the trip added meaningful depth to our understanding of the civil rights struggle, which still continues today. We need our young people to know this history, and I applaud Road Scholars for offering a Family Trip with this itinerary.
— Review left November 6, 2024
The Civil Rights Trip was a fantastic learning experience. The speakers shared interesting insights and experiences, we went to museums and buildings that were important to the movement, watched documentaries and had handouts with additional information. The trip was very worthwhile.
— Review left November 4, 2024
This is a trip every U.S. citizen should take. I wish I had done it years ago.
— Review left October 17, 2024
What a fabulous week! This was my first Road Scholar tour, but it won't be the last.
— Review left October 5, 2024
Thanks, Road Scholar for guiding and enriching me with an interesting program.
— Review left October 2, 2024
The Civil Rights Movement Tour was amazing. It gave me new insights on our country's difficult history and the ability to be "in the room where it happened." I highly recommend this experience.
— Review left September 26, 2024
The Civil Rights Movement program takes learning about this period to a level beyond the history books. We trod the same steps that the heroic men, women, and children did in their struggle for racial justice. The speakers who recounted their extraordinary and often painful experiences were excellent, and the various historical sites we visited all left deep impressions. The accommodations and meals were high quality, and the tour bus was modern, clean, and comfortable. I highly recommend this program, from which I returned not only enlightened but inspired.
— Review left September 17, 2024
The Civil Rights Movement: Atlanta, Montgomery, Selma and Birmingham trip was life-changing. Essential for understanding the power of non-violent social action and the roots of systemic racism in the US today. Road Scholar's program with local experts offered a learning experience that couldn't be done traveling to these cities and sites on one's own.
— Review left May 7, 2024
This was an excellent program. Although I knew about many of the events that were talked about on the tour, my level of knowledge was superficial. This program brought me to a much deeper level of understanding and knowledge about the devastating impact slavery and discrimination had on Blacks people
— Review left May 6, 2024
Great educational program. Learned so much! Road Scholar does a great job end-to-end.
— Review left May 4, 2024
I got so much information about the civil rights movement that I had never learned before. My eyes were opened to both the history and current state of affairs.
— Review left April 29, 2024
The US would be in a better place if everyone could take this tour.
— Review left April 29, 2024
Best RS program I've participated in. It was moving, educational, difficult, painful and hopeful all at the same time. Phenomenal speakers and local guides who brought the Civil Right movement to life and helped us link it to what still needs to be done.
— Review left April 29, 2024
Very well organized visits of important sites along with lectures by people with expertise on the topic of US civil rights and its history. The museum's and films gave a clear and objective picture of the times and experiences of American Civil Rights leaders.
— Review left April 28, 2024
The Civil Rights Movement trip was an invaluable way to learn about this so-important part of our history. Seeing Civil Rights sites first-hand, especially the Legacy Museum in Montgomery, made an enormous impact on me.
— Review left April 25, 2024
I cannot overstate the richness of this experience. The people we met, the experts who taught us, the museums and sites we visited - they all were life-changing (no hyperbole!). History became real, and I am dedicated to learning more - and living my life anew with the lessons learned.
— Review left April 24, 2024
It was an incredible experience which was long overdue!!
— Review left April 22, 2024
I learned so much! Eventhough I lived through the 1950-70's and was locally politically involved (in Minnesota), I learned much from the terrific museums and the speakers that were included in this program. Road Scholar has never disappointed me!
— Review left April 17, 2024
A trip every American should take. The program is informative, inspirational, and maybe life-changing. The museums are only part of the experience--the firsthand, lived experiences of the leaders, guides, and lecturers is unique to Road Scholar. And the food is amazing, often featuring local rather than chain restaurants.
— Review left April 8, 2024
This trip was outstanding, but at times emotionally exhausting--some of the content is (and should be) disturbing. The Martin Luther King Center is gorgeous, very interactive & inspirational. The Center for Civil and Human Rights Museum (Montgomery) is also very interactive, I'm a professor who teaches civil rights. It was very moving and allowed me to 'touch' and experience the history I've lived through, and teach. The lunch top sit in demonstration is profound. We visited the Carter Presidential Library/Museum, Loved it... Both Carters have given so much back to the US & globally since their brief and troubled Presidency. Our current time would benefit from true public servants seeking to improve the world for all. The Rosa Parks Museum, 16th St Baptist Church, & Dr. King's Ebenezer Baptist Church, as well as the Freedom Walk, were profound personal experiences, some sacred. I did skip the Legacy and Lynching Museums (others shared photos & reactions--very disturbing for them). The highlight which brought me to tears, was walking over the Edmund Pettus Bridge, the site of "Bloody Sunday" March 7 1965--lead by John Lewis (a hero of mine) and Jose Williams. It ended in brutal violence projected into all Americans TV screens living rooms. A week later, then President Lyndon Johnson addressed Congress--advocating for the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which he signed into law in August 1965 -- only six months later. Our Tour Director, Denise and James were wonderful, always finding information, offering 'insider suggestions' for maximizing our visits (which I wish were longer), accommodating personal concerns, limitations, and making our visits a life-time memory. Local speakers/experts, especially Diane Harris (a participant in the Bloody Sunday march) and Dr Spirull's lecture/King photos were outstanding, I learned a LOT & started with a good foundation of knowledge before coming. I am already wait listed for my 2nd trip (Xmas Biltmore). Elizabeth W
— Review left April 4, 2024
After this trip I "get-it" Living in the N. I was pretty isolated with the conditions in the S. I failed to realize how really Horrific treatment of black people was, particularly during the Jim Crow era.
— Review left March 20, 2024
I highly recommend the Civil Rights program of Road Scholar. In one week you travel to several of the major locations in the context of where the Movement was born. We learned about the key events, leaders, and issues that impacted and gave impetus to the birth of the Civil Rights Movement in the US. Issues and challenges were both mentioned and analyzed, and nothing was held back. This program broadened and deepened my understanding of the era, and has provided me with both tools and the motivation to further study the issues explored.
— Review left March 11, 2024
The Civil Rights Movement: Atlanta, Montgomery, Selma, and Birmingham went way beyond my expectations. My fellow travelers, the excellent and attractive hotels, the restaurants, the sites visited, and the superb speakers all made this one of the best and most transformative trips I have ever made. Thank you.
— Review left February 26, 2024
I rarely do reviews because I feel they have no effect. However, I need to get this off my chest:
1. I went on the Civil Rights trip in November 2023.
2. Substantively, I found the trip different than the description in your catalogue. It was much more superficial than I had hoped for. Although the Museums and Civil Rights sites were awe inspiring, (especially the Legacy Museum), our lecturers seemed stuck in the 60's. Any attempt to put the Civil rights struggle in a current context was rebuffed.
3..The first two places we went to in Atlanta had nothing to do with the Civil Rights movement. (The Capitol and the Carter Center. ) We saw remnants of the Confederacy in the capitol. When our guides were asked about this, they did not respond. I was left with the impression that there was disdain for white northerners and our curiosity.
4. Most of the women on the trip were Jewish and any attempt by any of the women to put the war in the Middle East and the Civil Rights struggle in some context was rebuffed.
5. In addition, I was told by some of the women that the bus driver had said something quite anti-semitic. (I believe it was something along the lines of the Jews controlling all the money. I did not hear this trope so I can not say for sure it was said. I did sense a certain hostility however.)
6. I had a /trip to the ER in Montgomery. I was in 5 Ubers in a 24 hour period, trying to find the antibiotics the Dr. had ordered. The first Uber driver would not take me to the CVS he was routed to because he said it was not safe. This began a 5 hour journey for me through some pretty rough neighborhoods in Montgomery.
7. The hotels and the food were abysmal. (I had to move after the first night in Atlanta and I am told that some of the women found cockroaches in their rooms.)
8. When I suffered the cut and had to go to the ER in Montgomery, our Guide set up a Case for me so I could get reimbursed. RS has refused to honor this submission.
— Review left February 18, 2024
An excellent educational week on Civil Rights Movement. It covered material very thoroughly and you will learn a lot. Physically and emotionally spent by the end of the week.
— Review left February 12, 2024
This is a thought provoking program. It offered me wonderful insights about a challenging time in American history which we must remain cognizant of today.
— Review left February 1, 2024
What an incredible and emotionally painful week of enlightenment! Thank you Road Scholar, our hosts Tom and Janet, our driver James and my newest travel friends for taking this journey with me!
— Review left January 21, 2024
This was a moving experience with important lessons in effective approaches in the journey toward a unified multicultural society. The experiences immerse you into the times and struggles of a critical time in our country history.
— Review left January 21, 2024
Program was very informative. It was well organized yet flexible enough to change as unpredicted situations arose.
— Review left January 16, 2024
This was my first Road Scholar tour. From the first day of the tour, the excellence of the program and the tour guides and leaders were evident. As the days passed I only became more and more convinced that this is the way I want to travel in the future. I met so many fellow travelers and guides too, who share my curiosity about the world. I am so grateful that I discovered Road Scholar. Thank you!!
— Review left January 16, 2024
This was an awe-inspiring, highly educational trip. I would recommend it to anyone with an interest in the history of our country and in the courage of those people who fought to make it live up to its ideals.
— Review left January 15, 2024
If you do no other traveling, you must take this trip. This is an in-depth look at the history of the Civil Rights movement, right where it all happened. The tour guides knew their subject matter and the guest speakers were experts. The food options were incredible. It’s a wonderful, yet heart-breaking look at some of the uglier sides of our nation’s history and some of the leaders who made “good trouble.” Highly, highly recommend!
— Review left December 5, 2023
Excellent program. Highly recommended.
— Review left November 19, 2023
Unique, excellent program. Lots to learn about and see
— Review left November 6, 2023
What an amazing glimpse into our history. Every voter should be informed and understand our collective history. Bring your children or grandchildren and make a difference in your community.
— Review left November 5, 2023
This was my first Road Scholar trip; therefore I cannot compare it with anything. It more than met my expectations. Thank you!
— Review left October 18, 2023
A deeply important trip.
— Review left October 9, 2023
First of all, our guide Denise Swain could not have done a better job. She shared her deep knowledge and kept the group together and on schedule. As expected, the trip was thought provoking and very often emotional given the grim history that was detailed. Our guide also took into consideration the emotional stress we might be experiencing. I would make one suggestion: The National Center for Civil and Human Rights was a deeply absorbing place to visit. I would suggest building an additional half-hour or so into the visit there.
I wonder whether it would be possible to prevail upon Bryan Stevenson to spend even a brief Q&A session with this group. I'm very impressed with all that he has done--a compelling book and two impressive sites in Montgomery, all completed in a relatively short period of time, all contemporary.
This was a trip that will live with me for a long time. Frequently at our dining tables we spoke of what we could/would do to improve our communities when we returned home. I'm still mulling that question. Perhaps someone--maybe Mr. Stevenson--could address that question with the group.
Michael
— Review left September 28, 2023
Civil Rights and racism in the United States are difficult and uncomfortable topics. This Road Scholar program gives much information and opportunity for people to learn and perhaps resolve their quandries. I loved every minute.
— Review left September 27, 2023
The Civil Rights Movement program was shocking, mind-blowing, and life changing. If you want to learn about this important part of American History, I highly recommend it. You will never be the same.
— Review left September 19, 2023
All I can say is that all Americans need to take this trip. The materials, the presentations and the sites visited were superb. I know folks who did a self guided tour. The experience is, I believe, deeper and more meaningful when in the context of speakers and a guide. Yea for Road Scholar including this as one of their programs. It is so much more than "travel".
— Review left June 28, 2023
The Civil Rights Tour is so enlightening and educational, although the subject matter is sobering. We visited many really good museums and saw the important places in the struggle. I recommend this tour to anyone who wants a better understanding of this period of American history.
— Review left May 25, 2023
I recently participated in "Civil Rights Movement" tour. It was enlightening, and in that way quite excellent. I would like to know from others who have completed this program what follow up they may be planning as a way to improve the many remaining hardships consistent with being black in the United States. I intend to identify actions that I can take within my own sphere of influence, but I have not as yet made any plans, and would like to know what recommendations others can offer. Thank you.
— Review left May 22, 2023
I highly recommend The Civil Rights Movement trip. Growing up during this historical time in America peaked my interest in this trip. The books I read in preparation for this trip, the museums we visited and the speakers (many of whom were part of the movement) greatly enhanced my knowledge. I found this trip very apropro for the times we are living in currently in America.
— Review left May 22, 2023
This was the tour of a lifetime for those of us who were raised in the white culture and think we understand slavery and it's consequences. I recommend it to all who think they get it...there is way more to learn.
— Review left May 16, 2023
This was my 44th program with Road Scholar. And it is probably the most informative that I have been on about an area of our US that I had never visited before and am old enough to remember many of the events that we studied and places that we visited. Being from CA, Atlanta is far away!
— Review left May 15, 2023
I thought the experience was excellent: well organized, with a lot of activity but variety that kept the pace workable. Terrie was very responsive and approached all with flexibility and a positive attitude. The accommodations were comfortable and the bus transport well done.
All of the presenters were excellent, knew their material and also presented a variety of views as well as unusual "lenses" to see and learn more about this history.
Because of a weather threat, more time was allowed at the Legacy Museum in Montgomery than would have been the case on the original schedule. That was a happy accident, and I suggest allowing open-ended time there as we had. It is such an important and well-done venue, even if emotionally exhausting!
— Review left May 15, 2023
The Civil Rights trip is a must for anyone living in today's political climate who doesn't understand the past and how we got here! Fabulous program!
— Review left May 13, 2023
I can't say enough good things about this trip. It was a large group but felt small in part because the group leader (Terrie) did such an excellent job communicating with us. The days were jam packed with lots of interesting experiences. This trip far exceeded my expectations which were high to begin with.
— Review left May 2, 2023
This is a very special program. The educators created rich learning experiences I will never forget. We visited several places I'd read about and always longed to visit.
— Review left May 2, 2023
This trip was exceptionally well presented and organized, giving travelers the opportunity to step back in time and come forward to the present with each speaker, museum, and site visit.
— Review left May 2, 2023
I wish every American could have the Civil Rights Tour experience!
— Review left April 19, 2023
Road Scholar's Civil Rights Program should be required for all new politicians! The program gives you a better understanding of the many other foot soldiers who helped propel the Civil Rights Movement forward as well as the work still required for social justice and equality in the U.S.
— Review left April 17, 2023
This is an excellent program! I'm telling everybody I know about about what a wonderful experience it was.
— Review left April 17, 2023
Everyone should take this trip.
— Review left April 10, 2023
This is a program every American should take.
— Review left April 8, 2023
If you are looking to know more about the Civil Rights Movement and wanting to be inspired by the nonviolent philosophy practiced during the Civil Rights Movement, sign up immediately for this tour. Margaret
— Review left April 4, 2023
This was an excellent program that added to my knowledge of American history. The EJI Legacy Museum in Montgomery is a must-see.
— Review left April 4, 2023
This program was absolutely fantastic and exceeded my expectations. While I can't say I "enjoyed" learning about civil rights (it was violent in some instances), I very much appreciated the information I gained. I also was very impressed with the knowledge of the instructors, the tour leader, and their sensitivity and care in presenting facts and real-life accounts to us, who happened to be an all-white audience.
— Review left April 1, 2023
Move this tour to the top of your list! This turbulent time in history will come alive. The courage and persistence of the thousands that participated is truly remarkable and inspiring.
Nancy
— Review left March 29, 2023
The civil rights trip was a transformative journey. I recommend it to anyone who is interested in gaining a fuller understanding of racism and the violence directed at black people in our country.
— Review left March 25, 2023
Just recently got back f=rom the Civil Rights Tour that I would highly recommend.
— Review left March 23, 2023
Great sights, great presenters for those of us who think we remember the Civil Rights era.
— Review left March 22, 2023
My understanding of the racism and struggles the black community encounters was substantially expanded thought my participation in the tour. I am embarrassed at how we, white Americans, have treated our black fellow citizens.
— Review left March 20, 2023
This is the best learning program of any type that I’ve ever been on. I wasn’t sure what to expect, and it was such a positive experience! We were given a comprehensive view of African American history through lectures, visits to memorials and excellent museums, walking tours. This gave us context for truly understanding the struggles of the Civil Rights movement. Every minute was put to good use, including viewing documentaries on the bus rides. We also enjoyed delicious southern cooking. Our tour leader kept things real and on time — she was upbeat, respectful, knowledgeable. I knew very little about this time in American history, but now I’ve been inspired to read more, do more. This program is Road Scholar at its very best. Highly, highly recommended and well worth the investment of time and money.
— Review left March 14, 2023
The Roads Scholar Civil Rights Movement trip was a learning and inspirational experience for me. Gave me new insights and appreciation for the freedoms we enjoy in our country today and why we must be vigilant in not letting them be taken away from us.
— Review left March 8, 2023
The Civil Rights tour is a lesson in the history of the United States, one which several states are now trying to erase. I wish young people had the opportunity to experience what I did.
— Review left January 24, 2023
This Road Scholar program is literally a life-changing experience! I can say without reservation that it is the best domestic RS program that we have experienced.
— Review left January 23, 2023
This trip was excellent. The field trips and accompanying information provided by our lecturers were excellent. The flow of the various stops was very well planned and helped us build on our knowledge and experience. This trip helped me connect the dots in our very challenging history. The Legacy Museum and Legacy Memorial was outstanding and will stay with me forever.
— Review left November 16, 2022
This was my first Road Scholar tour, and I plan to do many more. It was a great experience. The Road Scholar employees are phenomenal. They are organized, welcoming, and seamless problem-solvers. I met wonderful people and learned so much about a subject I already knew a lot about. The experience was priceless.
— Review left November 10, 2022
This is an amazing program that brings alive the startling pieces of history that took place during our own lifetimes - but at a time when we were still too young to fully grasp what they signified.
— Review left November 9, 2022
The Civil Rights Tour was an incredible and life-changing program. Every American should take it!!
— Review left November 7, 2022
Excellent learning experience. Hotels were comfy. I experienced good Southern cuisine and other good food. Denise our leader and James our driver were both top-notch. Denise was a knowledgeable, skilled and compassionate tour leader. All guides were excellent.
— Review left November 3, 2022
Incredibly enlightening, challenging to face man's inhumanity to man. I would highly recommend to all with interest in this country's painful past that we might work to a brighter tomorrow. Very well presented program. And please, please leave your politics at home in consideration for others.
— Review left September 24, 2022
Outstanding program and an unforgettable learning experience!
— Review left September 23, 2022
This was a very powerful and enlightening trip that I highly recommend to everyone. At times it was emotionally challenging, and it was helpful to have like-minded and concerned trip participants with whom to discuss it all. I had done a lot of reading before the trip, but found myself constantly learning. Camilla our tour leader was wonderful, as was James our bus driver. The lecturers and local guides were all top-notch. Diane (our local guide in Selma) had walked as a young girl in the crowd on Bloody Sunday. Her stories were fascinating. The hotels were all comfortable and well-located. Anyone concerned about the racial history of this country (and its' impact today), would do well to take this trip.
— Review left May 26, 2022
The Civil Rights tour was life-changing. I have studied racial justice issues on my own, and could never duplicate this program’s excellent content, dedicated lecturers, positive learning environment, and logistical support.
— Review left May 22, 2022
I knew the outlines of the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s, but I learned so much more on this trip. It is well organized and paced to provide information on the key events, including the Freedom Riders, Selma march, and Birmingham bombings. The guides are well informed and good presenters. I wish all citizens (and members of Congress) would take this trip.
— Review left May 11, 2022
This was an in-depth and EXCELLENT program on the Civil Rights Movement. We went to incredibly well designed museums. We experienced profound visits to the Legacy Museum and Memorial as well as the the Freedom Riders Museum, Rosa Parks Museum and many others. The instructors were excellent and shared some of their personal experiences crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge on 'Bloody Sunday.' The accommodations were excellent and the meals were mostly all very delicious. The videos we watched on the bus very educational and well done. The schedule was very doable and our trip to the Carter Presidential Center was a delight. You cannot attend a trip like this and not be profoundly changed and empathetic to the plight of Black people in this country. While it is at times painful, I cannot recommend attending this program enough. I would recommend that every high school student go on this program instead of going to Washington DC to learn about America's history. Bravo Road Scholar for this amazing program.
— Review left May 9, 2022
I loved all the singing we did!
— Review left May 3, 2022
This was a great program. The experience enhanced my knowledge of the 1960s Civil Rights period. It was interesting and heartfelt to be at the sites history has memorialized.
— Review left May 2, 2022
This program made the history of the Civil Rights Movement vivid and compelling. It was comprehensive and included both museum visits, site visits and informative and appealing guest speakers. This program should be on everyone's 'bucket list.'
— Review left May 2, 2022
White people can no longer ignore the legacy of slavery in this country. This program presents a thoughtful and powerful perspective about race and racism in this country.
— Review left May 2, 2022
My husband and I just completed our third Road Scholar trip. All have been great but this one, Civil Rights trip to Atlanta, Montgomery, Selma, and Birmingham is exceptional. We highly recommend it to everyone who wants to learn more about the Civil Rights era and how it impacts our lives today.
— Review left April 20, 2022
This is a very valuable program that I would recommend to anyone who has a interest in our nation's history and the impact that past events are having in today's world. Time well spent.
— Review left April 18, 2022
This trip is exceptional! It’s deep, challenging, thought-provoking, insightful, comprehensive, and exposes participants to the truth about this era in our history. It offers an historical perspective that has led to our current times, and is told by people who were and are still there…it’s not what we learned in school.
— Review left April 11, 2022
The Civil Rights Tour provides awesome interactive opportunities to learn about past transgressions against humanity with like-minded participants.
— Review left April 9, 2022
This experience was invaluable to me. I lived through the 60's as a teenager, seeing it all again as an adult, increased my appreciation for the Civil Rights Movement. Knowing this history, helps to understand and appreciated the issues and concerns we have in our country today.
— Review left February 20, 2022
My first Road Scholar tour: "The Civil Rights Movement: Atlanta, Montgomery, Selma, Birmingham". I would do it again ! Also, met a fellow traveler who was on his 65th ! Road Scholar tour, and the perk was he is from Estonia, where my grandfather was born :)
The trip had no glitches. The tour guides/speakers were very well informed and entertaining. Our tour host, Camilla, is retired and now leading Road Scholar groups because she loves doing so. James drove the coach; we were comfortable with his skill. The hotels were pleasant and conveniently located; a breakfast buffet was included at each of our three hotels.
The museums were exceptional but there wasn't enough time to see as much as desired.
There were some diversions due to covid but the substitutions were perfectly acceptable.
— Review left December 4, 2021
This was a good trip in all regards. A good coordinator, very good speakers and activities. Hotels and meals were, in most part, very good. Enough free time to explore further or unwind. Bus was comfortable and clean. I would do another trip based on what I experienced on this trip.
— Review left December 1, 2021
This program was not only educational, but so moving. To be able to visit the MLK Memorial, the Rosa Parks Museum, Selma and the Pettus Bridge, plus the 18th St. Baptist Church in Montgomery - along with local instructors who added so much perspective - was truly a unique experience.
— Review left November 18, 2021
Road Scholar was a great learning experience in Sept 2021 looking for another tour with them next month.
— Review left September 28, 2021
This program exceeded all of my expectations. I learned so much, met so many caring, knowledgeable people that I unconditionally satisfied. It was also a great benefit for the money I spent.
I definitely will plan to attend other Road Scholar programs
— Review left March 1, 2020
I would whole heartily recommend this program. The speakers were excellent; the museums were informative; and may sites were very emotionally moving. Camilla Comerford is an excellent group leader. I was concerned that I would feel rushed at some of the sites, but that was not the case. The days were busy, but Camilla has everything very well planned and also has time built in so that you can return to a museum if you want to. The only suggestion I have is to go on one of the small groups ones if you can because space is limited at some of the sites. But mainly: just go. This is an excellent program.
— Review left February 16, 2020
All Americans should take this trip. It saddened me, but I learned a great deal. I am glad I went.
— Review left January 21, 2020
The Civil Rights Trip was a wonderful, educational, emotional trip which helped me better understand the Civil Rights Movement and the implications of race in America today. The leader, Camilla Comerford, was wonderful -- enthusiastic, knowledgeable, and fostered a wonderful group learning environment. The speakers were great, often with actual directly-related experience. The museum and memorial in Montgomery is something that I think everyone would benefit from seeing. This is not a "fun" trip but it is a deeply meaningful and worthwhile trip.
— Review left January 20, 2020
This is a voyage we all need to make - with our feet, through our minds, and in our hearts.
— Review left January 19, 2020
Road Scholar allowed me to learn about the civil rights events that I missed earlier in my life. Although I have not reenable to attend these events in person at their time,RS has greaty failitated my learning and involvement with these crucial events.
— Review left November 3, 2019
This is a fabulous, informative, perspective-changing trip. Road Scholar planned it beautifully and respectfully. The guides and teachers at each site were amazing.
— Review left May 9, 2019
This program taught me so much about the Civil Rights Movement and helped me connect the dots with my limited previous knowledge. It was very well organized, our speakers were excellent and the excursions added to my educational experience.
— Review left May 7, 2019
Excellent Program. The itinerary and the speakers/leaders were perfect for the theme of the excursion.
— Review left May 7, 2019
This is an extremely important tour. Every U.S. resident would benefit greatly from this trip. I am extremely grateful for the experience.
— Review left May 7, 2019
This program reminds us that we need to understand the complexities of our shared history and we should remain vigilant about threats to our rights as citizens ... of any and all beliefs, viewpoints, colors and interests. Excellent speakers, program and experience.
— Review left May 7, 2019
The Civil Rights Movement trip was superb. It is extremely well organized and includes many wonderful and meaningful places to visit and experience. The content of the trip is at times appropriately sobering, but enlightening as well. The guide was great, patient, organized, and enjoyable to be with. Food and lodging are fine. An excellent Road Scholar trip. (By the way, at the end of the trip the bus DOES return you to the starting point hotel, where you are allowed to park your car for free.)
Anyone that chooses this trip should also see the MEMPHIS Civil Rights Museum, which includes the Loraine Motel as well as an excellent and moving museum.
— Review left April 14, 2019
Don’t miss this educational opportunity of a lifetime! On the civil rights tour you will learn much, be moved much, and emerge a more compassionate and understanding person. All of the sites are essential, and the speakers are first rate. Grab your friends or your mate or both and sign up for this trip!
Susanna Wilson, Los Angeles
— Review left April 14, 2019
This was a transformational trip for me. Just the visit to the Peace and Justice Museum and Memorial made the trip worth it - but there was so much more.
— Review left March 27, 2019
The week is chock full of enlightening experiences. The local experts are not to be missed. Don't hesitate, sign up!
— Review left March 27, 2019
Even though I was around for the Civil Rights events of the early '60s, I really didn't have a deep understanding of what happened. As a result of this trip, I now have a much better grounding in this important aspect of our shared history.
— Review left March 2, 2019
Outstanding tour for anyone interested in learning more about the Civil Rights movement and seeing first-hand key sites. Great tour guides and lecturers at every stop. But be ready for an intensive week-long experience, one that may exhaust you emotionally. As with the two previous Road Scholar trips we have taken, this one was very well organized, and the group we travelled with was very friendly and helpful to each other. We did the "small group" version of the trip, which I would recommend if it's available and fits your schedule, as a few of the sites were hard to fit even the 23 people in our group (for example, Martin Luther King Jr's parsonage in Montgomery).
— Review left February 28, 2019
As always with Road Scholar, I learned how little I know about this time. Haunting and realistic view of a difficult time which reinforced our belief that we may be slow to learn, and we still have far to go, as we seem to repeat some of our past mistakes... well worth the time!
Fellow Road Scholars on every trip always make it the best part of the journey- good food, great lodgings, interesting people, terrific conversations!
— Review left February 23, 2019