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 hotel.
Westin Jackson Hotel (D)

Our morning begins at the Medgar Evers Home Museum, where Evers lived and was later assassinated in 1963. Continue to 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. After lunch, we meet with Dr. Robert Luckett, Director of the Margaret Walker Center at the COFO Civil Rights Education Center. After time to freshen up we have dinner in a private location, with music from 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 learn of the apology resolution written by the community during a discussion in the courthouse. Enjoy dinner at Sumner’s Grille before continuing on to Little Rock. 
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 one of the students from that time. Continue on to the William J. Clinton Presidential Center housed in a gleaming modern space overlooking the Arkansas River. Continue on to Memphis and check into our hotel before dinner at a local iconic Memphis BBQ restaurant. 
Memphis 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. 
Memphis 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.
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. After lunch, visit the newly opened National Memorial for Peace and Justice, created by the Equal Justice Initiative. 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)