Civil Rights Tour through Alabama

The Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the American Civil Rights Struggles that shaped the world are highlighted in this tour.

Day 1

Leave the UK and arrive in Atlanta afternoon/evening. Drive to Alabama’s Capital City, Montgomery, and check into hotel.

Day 2

Montgomery is a true southern city. Montgomery is not only the capital city of Alabama , but a place where the southern flavour runs as deep as the nearby Alabama River . Both Civil Rights and Civil War history was made in this capital city of Alabama . It was in Montgomery that King came to preach and ended up starting the Civil Rights Movement in America .  Tour the Rosa Parks Museum, named after the woman who refused to move to the back of a city bus. With the help of Dr. King and other civil rights activists, a year long boycott that started the Civil Rights Struggle in America. Stand in the pulpit where Dr. King preached in the only church that he was a full time minister. See the home where he and his family lived in, and which was fire bombed by the Klan.  Tour the Civil Rights Memorial. Also downtown is the Alabama State Capitol where Jefferson Davis was shown in as President of the Confederate States of America and where 100 years later protesters march to demand the right to vote. The Capitol has been restored to the Civil War era and sits next to the First White House of the Confederacy.

Walking along the downtown streets of Montgomery you will pass the Winters office building where the telegraph was sent to start the American Civil War.  Also as you see, the fountain where slaves were auctioned to plantation owners. Turning the corner, the buildings still have that old southern charm but now house the museum dedicated to America ’s first country music superstar, Hank Williams.  At the end of the street is the Alabama River and the Harriott II, a riverboat name after the first steamship to make the trip up the Alabama River to Montgomery .

Day 3

Travel to Selma where American history was made during the Selma-to-Montgomery Civil Rights March.  Tour the Museum dedicated to the march before travelling to Birmingham to overnight

Day 4

You are now in Birmingham , Alabama ’s largest city, with a population of 1 million nearby.  In the historic 4th Avenue area of downtown sits the Birmingham Civil Rights Museum, the 16th Street Baptist Church, where four children died in a bombing, and the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame. Look to the mountain ridge at the edge of downtown and see the world’s largest cast iron statue, Vulcan. Travel to Atlanta to overnight

Day 5

You are now in Atlanta, Georgia , one of the top ten largest cities in America .  Atlanta is the home of Coke, Martin Luther King, and the largest Aquarium in the world.  See as much of the World of Coke, the Georgia Aquarium and the King Center as possible before your flight leaves afternoon / evening

Day 6

Arrive back in UK