Civil Rights Tour through Alabama
A must-do Road Trip for anyone interested in American history! The Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the American Civil Rights struggles that shaped the world are highlighted in this Tour.
Day 1
Drive to Alabama’s Capital City, Montgomery, and check into one of its many welcoming hotels.
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 famous woman who refused to move to the back of a city bus. With the help of Dr. King and other CivilRrights 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 marched 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, you will 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 stay overnight.
Day 4
You are now in Birmingham, Alabama's largest city, with a population of nearly 1 million. In the historic 4th Avenue area of downtown sits the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, the 16th Street Baptist Church, where four children died in a bombing, and the Kelly Ingram Park where many freedom rallies took place. Look to the mountain ridge at the edge of downtown Birmingham. The 5 Points South is the dining centre of the town at one end of the 20th Street while a new entertainment district sits near the other end of this main downtown street. Other sites include Barber Motorsports Museum with the world's largest collection of motorcycles and the oldest baseball park in America, Rickwood Field.
For further information, please do get in touch with our Alabama experts.
