Understanding the Civil Rights Movement
Walk across Selma’s Edmund Pettus Bridge and through the doors of Little Rock High School. Meet with 16th Street Baptist Church bomb survivor Carolyn McKinstry, Bloody Sunday foot soldier Annie Pearl Avery, and Little Rock Nine member Elizabeth Eckford. Experience the new Memorial for Peace and Social Justice in Montgomery.
Itinerary
Independent arrivals in Jackson. Transfer to the Westin Jackson. Afternoon visit to the newly opened Mississippi Civil Rights Museum. This museum provides an honest and painful account of the Civil Rights Movement in Mississippi, beginning with the back story to the civil rights period – the European slave trade. Evening welcome reception and dinner at the
Westin Jackson Hotel. (D)
Our morning begins at the Medgar Evers Home Museum, where Evers lived and was later assassinated in 1963. Walk through the home, which has been restored to the way it looked in 1963. End the morning at Malaco Records, an American independent record label based in Jackson, that has been the home of various major blues and gospel acts. Stop by the Big Apple Inn, where we will meet with the owner, Geno Lee, whose unique delicacy, Pig’s Ear Sandwich, has attracted the likes of BB King and even President Obama.
Explore Farish Street with a local business owner, passing by the Collins Funeral Home, where a throng of 4,000 mourners marched after the death of Medgar Evers. Lunch at a local restaurant. Meet with Dr. Robert Luckett, Director of the Margaret Walker Center at the COFO Civil Rights Education Center. Continue on to meet with Dr. Charles Beady who runs the Mississippi Food Network working to eliminate poverty-related hunger in Mississippi. Enjoy a special dinner at Frank Jones Corner with a private performance by a local Blues musician.
Westin Jackson Hotel (B,L,D)
Depart Jackson this morning for Little Rock, stopping by the BB King Museum. Continue to Baptist Town where Mary Hoover will prepare barbecue ribs before stopping in at Hoover’s Store and the Back in the Day Museum, owned by Sylvester and Mary Hoover. Tour the Back in the Day Museum, a community museum exploring the history of African-American culture in the Delta. Continue on to the nearby town of Money to see the remains of the Bryant’s Grocery, the site associated with the murder of black teenager Emmett Till.
End the day in Sumner at the Emmett Till Interpretive Center and meet with museum director, Patrick Weems where we will learn of the apology resolution written by the community. Enjoy dinner at Sumner’s Grille before continuing on to Little Rock and the
Burgundy Hotel. (B,L,D)
Today begins with a visit to Little Rock High School, a national emblem of the often violent struggle over school desegregation. The crisis here forced the nation to enforce African-American civil rights in the face of massive southern defiance during the years following the Brown decision, a major triumph of the movement. Here we will have the opportunity to meet with Elizabeth Eckford, one of the Little Rock Nine.
Continue on to the William J. Clinton Presidential Center housed in a gleaming modern space overlooking the Arkansas River. Enjoy lunch in the beautiful restaurant at the center. Continue on to Memphis and check into the Hu Hotel before dinner at a local restaurant.
Hu Hotel (B,L,D)
Begin the morning at the Lorraine Motel, now the home of the National Civil Rights Museum. Martin Luther King, Jr. stayed at the motel on April 4, 1968, the day of his assassination. Enjoy lunch at The Four Way, one of the oldest soul food restaurants in Memphis whose regulars included Martin Luther King Jr, Isaac Hayes and Aretha Franklin.
This afternoon, we will focus on Memphis’ music history with a visit to the Stax Museum of American Soul, located in Soulsville. End the day with a visit the Slave Haven Underground Railway house, where dark cellars, hidden passageways and trap doors were used by runaway slaves attempting to flee north to freedom. Dinner is at your leisure this evening.
Hu Hotel (B,L)
This morning, travel to Birmingham and stop at the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church where a bomb killed four young girls as they prepared to sing in their choir on September 15, 1963. We have asked Carolyn McKinstry, who was 14 and inside the church when the bomb exploded, to join us on our visit. After lunch, drive to Selma for a conversation with Foot Soldier, Annie Pearl Avery at the Selma Interpretive Center.
Continue to the Edmund Pettus Bridge where we will walk two by two in memory of those who were beaten while seeking the right to vote. Continue on to Montgomery and check into the Renaissance Montgomery Hotel. Dinner this evening is at your leisure.
Renaissance Montgomery Hotel (B,L)
Begin the morning with a visit to the Dexter Avenue King Memorial Parsonage where Martin Luther King Jr. lived as a pastor. End the morning at the Legacy Museum, situated on the site where enslaved people were once warehoused.
Enjoy lunch at a local restaurant before visiting the newly opened National Memorial for Peace and Justice, created by the Equal Justice Initiative. Here we will have a chance to see Dana King’s outdoor sculpture commemorating the Montgomery Bus Boycott. End the day with a debrief led by staff members of the Equal Justice Institute. Enjoy a farewell dinner at the Central Restaurant.
Renaissance Montgomery Hotel (B,L,D)
Independent transfers to the airport for return flights home. (B)
Cost and Details
$3,995 per person, double occupancy
$950 single supplement
Included:
Accommodations and meals as per itinerary; All sightseeing in an air-conditioned coach; Bottled water on the bus; All entrances and events as listed; Discussion Leader to accompany the group; Pre-departure materials and reading list; The services of a professional tour manager to accompany the group; Welcome and Farewell receptions; Gratuities
Not Included:
Airfare to Jackson and back from Montgomery; Alcoholic drinks except for wine and beer at welcome and farewell events; Excess luggage charges; Trip Insurance; Items of a purely personal nature
Please note that our itinerary involves some time driving from city to city, as well as a fair amount of walking around the sites including climbing up and down stairs. Some days have an early-morning start and include a full day’s schedule of activities, lectures and special events. Participants must be in good health and able to keep up with an active group. The temperatures in the region average in the 60’s - 70's (°F) and can be slightly humid. This program will be covering topics that include violence, and that may be difficult for children. Lectures and discussions are geared to an adult audience. Therefore, we do not recommend this program for people under 16 years of age.
Educational Highlights
Throughout the trip participants will hear from a variety of guest speakers such as 16th Street Baptist Church bomb survivor Carolyn McKinstry, Bloody Sunday foot soldier Annie Pearl Avery, and Little Rock Nine member Elizabeth Eckford, to name a few.
Dana King is an artist who brings humanity to the African American story. Black Art in America has identified King as one of 10 Emerging Black Female Artists to Collect and calls her work “important, as it places history in contemporary contexts so that we are reminded of those who fought for our freedom.” King’s public sculptures include “Guided by Justice” located at the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama. She is currently the Chair of the Community Engagement Committee and Secretary of the Board at the Oakland Museum and has been a trustee at the museum for seven years. Prior to molding a career as a sculptor, King was a broadcast journalist. King’s work received five Emmy and two Edward R. Murrow Awards during her 25-year career, covering news in the Persian Gulf, Middle East, Central America, Eastern Europe as well as here in the Bay Area while working at KPIX TV.
Terms and Conditions
The Commonwealth Club (CWC) has contracted with Distant Horizons (DH) to organize this tour.
Reservations:
A $1,000 per person deposit, along with a completed and signed Reservation Form, will reserve a place for participants on this program. The balance of the trip is due 90 days prior to departure and must be paid by check made out to Distant Horizons.
Cancellation and Refund Policy:
Notification of cancellation must be received in writing. At the time we receive your written cancellation, the following penalties will apply:
- 91 days or more before departure: $500 penalty
- 90-30 days before departure: 50% of fare
- 29-1 days before departure: No refund
The tour can also be cancelled due to low enrollment. Neither CWC nor DH accepts liability for cancellation penalties related to domestic or international airline tickets purchased in conjunction with the tour.
Eligibility:
We require membership to the Commonwealth Club to travel with us. People who live outside of the Bay Area may purchase a worldwide membership. To learn about membership types and to purchase a membership, visit our membership page or call (415)597-6720.
Trip Cancellation and Interruption Insurance:
We strongly advise that all travelers purchase trip cancellation and interruption insurance as coverage against a covered unforeseen emergency that may force you to cancel or leave trip while it is in progress. Baggage insurance is also recommended. In the event you must cancel your participation in the travel program, trip cancellation insurance may be the only source of reimbursement. Information will be sent upon registration and can be viewed Travel Insurance Services website
Medical Information:
Participation in this program requires that you be in good health. It is essential that persons with any medical problems and related dietary restrictions make them known to us well before departure.
Itinerary Changes & Trip Delay:
This itinerary is based on information available at the time of printing (June 2019) and is subject to change. We reserve the right to change a program’s dates, staff, itineraries, or accommodations as conditions warrant. If a trip must be delayed, or the itinerary changed, due to bad weather, road conditions, transportation delays, airline schedules, government intervention, sickness or other contingency for which CWC or DH or its agents cannot make provision, the cost of delays or changes is not included.
Limitations of Liability:
CWC and DH its Owners, Agents, and Employees act only as the agent for any transportation carrier, hotel, ground operator, or other suppliers of services connected with this program (“other providers”), and the other providers are solely responsible and liable for providing their respective services. CWC and DH shall not be held liable for (A) any damage to, or loss of, property or injury to, or death of, persons occasioned directly or indirectly by an act or omission of any other provider, including but not limited to any defect in any aircraft, or vehicle operated or provided by such other provider, and (B) any loss or damage due to delay, cancellation, or disruption in any manner caused by the laws, regulations, acts or failures to act, demands, orders, or interpositions of any government or any subdivision or agent thereof, or by acts of God, strikes, fire, flood, war, rebellion, terrorism, insurrection, sickness, quarantine, epidemics, theft, or any other cause(s) beyond their control. The participant waives any claim against CWC/ DH for any such loss, damage, injury, or death. By registering for the trip, the participant certifies that he/she does not have any mental, physical, or other condition or disability that would create a hazard for him/herself or other participants. CWC/DH shall not be liable for any air carrier’s cancellation penalty incurred by the purchase of a nonrefundable ticket to or from the departure city. Baggage and personal effects are at all times the sole responsibility of the traveler. Reasonable changes in the itinerary may be made where deemed advisable for the comfort and well-being of the passengers.
Registration
Commonwealth Club of California-CST# 2096889-40
