Front cover image credits: Louisiana Office of Tourism; Bethel Baptist Church; Historic Dodgertown; Whitney M. Young Birthplace; Bennett College; Southern University; National African American Museum Cover artwork by Donia Simmons
Back cover image credits: Stephen Poff/Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site; Louisiana Office of Tourism; Southern Univeristy
KANSAS CITY
ST. LOUIS
WALKOUT AT ROBERT RUSSA
BROWN V. BOARD OF EDUCATION SUPREME COURT DECISION ILLEGALIZES SCHOOL SEGREGATION
EMMETT TILL MURDERED MONEY, MISSISSIPPI
ROSA PARKS ARRESTED MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA
BUSES DESEGREGATED MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA
MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. LEADS SOUTHERN CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA
CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1957 SIGNED INTO LAW BY PRESIDENT DWIGHT EISENHOWER
INTEGRATION AT CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS
CIVIL RIGHTS TIMELINE MOVEMENT
LUNCH COUNTER SIT-INS GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA
FREEDOM RIDES
MOBS ATTACK FREEDOM RIDERS IN VARIOUS SOUTHERN CITIES
UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI DESEGREGATED OXFORD, MISSISSIPPI
THE BIRMINGHAM CAMPAIGN BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA
MEDGAR EVERS MURDERED JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI
MARCH ON WASHINGTON WASHINGTON, D.C.
BOMBING OF 16TH STREET BAPTIST CHURCH BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA
MANY THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE CONTRIBUTED TO THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT IN WAYS LARGE AND SMALL, BUT NUMEROUS HIGH-PROFILE EVENTS FROM 1951 TO 1968 GALVANIZED THE NATION. HERE’S A TIMELINE OF THE MAJOR MILESTONES DURING THAT PERIOD.
CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964 SIGNED INTO LAW BY PRESIDENT LYNDON B. JOHNSON
“BLOODY SUNDAY” ON THE EDMUND PETTUS BRIDGE SELMA, ALABAMA
VOTING RIGHTS ACT SIGNED INTO LAW BY PRESIDENT LYNDON B. JOHNSON
MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. ASSASSINATED MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE
CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1968 SIGNED INTO LAW BY PRESIDENT LYNDON B. JOHNSON
THE ROAD TO EQUALITY RUNS THROUGH KANSAS.
Kansas sits on the corner of the Civil Rights Trail map but stands central to the civil rights movement.
When families at Monroe Elementary School in Topeka, Kansas challenged the nation’s “separate but equal” mindset, they fought it all the way to the Supreme Court. In 1954, the court declared school segregation is unconstitutional in Brown v. Board of Education. Then, enforcing that ruling fell to President Dwight D. Eisenhower, a fellow Kansan raised in Abilene.
Visit both Kansas stops on the Civil Rights Trail for the complete story.
ABILENE, KANSAS | DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER, PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY, MUSEUM & BOYHOOD HOME TOPEKA, KANSAS | BROWN V. BOARD OF EDUCATION NATIONAL HISTORIC PARK
Scan here to find more museums, monuments, and Black-owned businesses to stop at along the way.
Plan your trip at TravelKS.com
What Happened Here Changed the World.
After Rosa Parks’s arrest on December 1, 1955 for refusing to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama bus to a white passenger, more than 5,000 people gathered at Holt Street Baptist Church on December 5, 1955 to listen to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. deliver a compelling speech promoting nonviolent protest strategies. This event marked the beginning of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, one of the most successful boycotts in history. It was also at this location and on this day that Rev. King was named president of the newly formed Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA).
DAY ONE BIRMINGHAM
Start your journey in Birmingham at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, showcasing the struggles of the Civil Rights Movement. Visit the 16th Street Baptist Church , tragically bombed in 1963. Stroll through Kelly Ingram Park, where sculptures depict the brutality faced by demonstrators. Tour Bethel Baptist Church, headquarters for the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights, led by Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth. Experience the powerful history at these sites.
DAY THREE MONTGOMERY
Continue your journey starting at Holt Street Baptist Church, where the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott was organized and the Rosa Parks Museum, honoring her courageous stand against segregation. Next, the Freedom Rides Museum, First Baptist Brick-A-Day Church and the Harris House; places of attack and refuge for the 1961 Freedom Riders as they challenged interstate bus segregation. Finally, visit Dexter Parsonage, Dr. King’s former home and Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church reflecting on his legacy.
DAY TWO SELMA
Journey to Selma’s Brown Chapel AME Church, where Dr. King launched the voting rights march. Meet Foot Soldiers who survived Bloody Sunday on the iconic Edmund Pettus Bridge. Follow the 54-mile Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail, passing Viola Liuzzo’s historic marker. Stop at the NPS Lowndes Interpretive Center. In Montgomery, drive past the City of St. Jude before reaching the march’s final destination, the Alabama State Capitol, where history was made in the fight for voting rights.
DAY FOUR MONTGOMERY
Finally, honor the martyrs of the Civil Rights Movement at the Civil Rights Memorial Center. Continue to The National Memorial for Peace and Justice, which highlights racial terrorism, then visit The Legacy Museum to explore America’s history from slavery to mass incarceration. Conclude at the 17-acre Freedom Monument Sculpture Park , reflecting and honoring the lives and memories of the 10 million Black people who were enslaved in America and celebrate their astounding courage and resilience.
A Growing Legacy
New Civil Rights sites welcome travelers
BY RACHEL CRICK
The U.S. Civil Rights Trail tells a story that’s still unfolding. The scope of the movement and the events that preceded it span centuries and hundreds of thousands of individual lives. New landmarks, monuments and museums are still being erected; historic figures and their achievements are still being recognized and chronicled today. That is why new sites are still being added to this day.
Visitors can add these new trail sites to their itineraries as they traverse the Southeast.
Courtesy Fredericksburg Economic Development and Tourism Department
Holt Street Memorial Baptist Church
MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA
The story of Rosa Parks’ refusal to give up her seat to a white man on a city bus in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955 is well-known. Her courageous actions resulted in the Montgomery bus boycott, one of the first organized protests of the Civil Rights Movement, and the desegregation of public buses. It also made a national statement and set history in motion. But the boycott may not have happened if not for the Holt Street Memorial Baptist Church, where leaders gathered to organize. Founded in 1909, the church building was completed in 1913 and was an important place of worship and fellowship for Montgomery’s Black community.
On the 69th anniversary of the Montgomery bus boycott, Holt Street Memorial Baptist Church held a ribbon-cutting ceremony and celebrations for the opening of a new museum within. The museum contains exhibits and artifacts commemorating the boycott, its impact and the church’s part in it. Museum tours are available for visitors looking to learn more about the 1955 boycott and Montgomery’s role in the Civil Rights Movement.
HSBCM.COM
St. Augustine Beach Hotel
ST. AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA
St. Augustine, Florida, is one of the oldest cities in the country. On its 400th anniversary in 1964, Martin Luther King Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference staged protests against segregated beaches and pools with a swim-in at the Monson Motor Lodge pool. Later, they organized wade-ins at St. Augustine Beach. King and others were assaulted and arrested as a result, and photos were published of the violent altercations that occurred. The publicization of these events is said to have spurred the passage of the Civil Rights Act.
The St. Augustine Beach hotel and beachfront are recognizable landmarks from the images and serve as a reminder for the violence that protesters endured to affect lasting change. The property is no longer a hotel but is now maintained and cared for by the St. Johns Cultural Council, which uses it as a center for arts, culture and community gathering. Visitors will find a plaque commemorating the wade-ins and the violence they were met with.
STJOHNSCULTURE.COM
HOLT STREET MEMORIAL BAPTIST
CHURCH
WERD Studio Complex
ATLANTA
In Atlanta’s historic Sweet Auburn neighborhood, not far from other Civil Rights Trail sites like the Birth Home of Martin Luther King Jr., travelers will find two captivating stories of Black leadership and innovation within the same unassuming brick building.
Born 1867 in Delta, Louisiana as Sarah Breedlove, the entrepreneur better known as Madam C.J. Walker built a business empire selling haircare and cosmetics for Black women. Her business model employed consistent training and a franchise of beauty shops that made her an easily recognizable brand among Black women. Sweet Auburn, a building that once housed a Madam C.J. Walker Beauty Shoppe, is now home to the Madam C.J. Walker Boutique Museum, honoring Walker’s legacy as the first self-made American millionairess. Though Walker herself did not live in Atlanta, the museum has preserved artifacts and even products from the shop’s heyday. Its exhibits pay homage to Walker and her entrepreneurial spirit.
Upstairs, even more history awaits travelers in what was once the studio for WERD, the first Black-owned-and-operated radio station in the country. Founded in 1949, the radio station was created by the first Black CPA in the U.S., Jesse Blayton. In the museum today, visitors will find records played on the station and one of the largest collections of vinyl in the city.
MADAMECJWALKERMUSEUM.COM
Madam C.J. Walker Museum
Courtesy Madam CJ Walker Museum
ATLANTA’S WERD STUDIO
ST. AUGUSTINE BEACH HOTEL
Courtesy St. Johns County Cultural Council
Courtesy Holt Street Memorial Baptist Church
Explore historic sites across South Carolina that pay tribute to the brave men and women who fought against inequality as you learn more about the fight for civil rights in South Carolina on a new podcast, “A Legacy of Courage,” at SCLegacyofCourage.com
International African American Museum
CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA
During the height of the slave trade, an estimated 150,000 enslaved people were trafficked into Gadsden’s Wharf in downtown Charleston, South Carolina — an estimated 40% of the total enslaved persons entering the country. Today, on that wharf, the International African American Museum rests on pillars to show respect for the tragedy that happened on this land. The $120 million museum opened in June of 2023 and contains nine galleries of exhibits designed to tell the story of the Civil Rights Movement and all the events that led to it, from slavery to the Civil War to Jim Crow segregation.
The museum boasts a permanent collection that features more than 150 objects and 30 works of art dedicated to the history of Black Americans. The collection includes digital assets such as films and photographs. It takes visitors on a chronological journey, from their forced removal from Africa to being trafficked across the Atlantic to becoming enslaved and building America’s infrastructure. Upon their freedom, many continued as laborers and also developed a rich cultural heritage in music, art and literature and added many other modern-day advancements. It also features exhibits on Gullah-Geechee culture and South Carolina’s civil rights history. The property is also home to the African Ancestors Memorial Garden, which visitors can walk through to find additional exhibits, monuments and beautiful landscaping. African American visitors interested in researching their family history can do so at the Center for Family History.
IAAMUSEUM.ORG
Withers Collection Museum and Gallery
MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE
Beale Street in Memphis is already a treasure trove of Black history, from music to the Civil Rights Movement. In 2024, another Beale Street gem was added to the U.S. Civil Rights Trail. The Withers Collection Museum and Gallery preserves and displays the works of Ernest Withers Sr., an acclaimed photojournalist whose important work documented both the daily lives of African Americans and the Civil Rights Movement in the South.
The 7,000-square-foot museum is located at Withers’ last working studio. Withers was a prolific photographer, and the museum’s collection, both physical and digital, is thought to contain about 1.8 million images. These images include shots of everyday life in Memphis, key events of the Civil Rights Movement, and even iconic soul and blues musicians like Elvis Presley, BB King and Aretha Franklin. Due to the personal nature of his photography and the broad range of subject matter, Withers can be considered not only a photographer but also an activist in the Civil Rights Movement. He took some of the most iconic photos of the movement, including images of the Memphis sanitation workers’ strike of 1968, taken just one week before the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. His legacy as both a creative and a civil rights leader can be explored through his works.
In addition to being a museum, the gallery is also a space for the Memphis community to gather.
MUSEUM.THEWITHERSCOLLECTION.COM
Courtesy International African American Museum
By Julian Harper, courtesy Memphis Tourism
BRAVERY, RESILIENCE, HISTORY
Discover Arkansas’ Civil Rights Sites
In Arkansas, the stories of the American Civil Rights Movement come to life. Stand where the Little Rock Nine bravely integrated Central High School, and explore the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, dedicated to preserving the rich history of African Americans in Arkansas. Visit the Elaine Massacre Memorial in Helena, honoring the victims of one of the deadliest racial conflicts in U.S. history. Arkansas offers powerful experiences that educate, inspire and connect. Plan your visit today.
TEXAS AND PACIFIC RAILROAD DEPOT COMING
The Louisiana Civil Rights Trail unveiled its 13th marker last fall in Natchitoches with a ceremony at the historic Texas and Pacific Railroad Depot.
Constructed in 1927 in the Italianate and Spanish Revival architectural styles, the depot is one of the state’s last remaining examples of a facility once segregated for Black and white passengers. It was a conduit for the Great Migration, as 6 million African Americans migrated from rural communities in the South to larger cities in the North and West. During Jim Crow and the early Civil Rights Movement, migration allowed for better economic opportunities, access to better education and a departure point for military service. It was also the departure and arrival point for local and national civil rights leaders who worked on voting and civil rights issues in Natchitoches Parish.
The depot remained operational for passenger service until 1969. It is now part of the Cane River Creole National Historical Park, and having recently undergone a renovation, it will house exhibits and firsthand accounts from the period of segregation and the Civil Rights Movement, part of a more significant effort to magnify the African American experience in Louisiana’s Cane River region.
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Fredericksburg Civil Rights Trail
FREDERICKSBURG, VIRGINIA
Launched in 2023, the Fredericksburg Civil Rights Trail was officially added to the U.S. Civil Rights Trail in early 2024. The trail, a collaboration between the city of Fredericksburg, Virginia, and the University of Mary Washington’s James Farmer Multicultural Center, consists of two parts with 21 stops total that showcase the city’s civil rights history.
Part one of the trail kicks off at the city’s visitor center, where travelers will receive a map of the trail. It takes them on a 2.6-mile walk through the city’s historic downtown. Part two begins on the University of Mary Washington’s campus, takes visitors through a half-mile walk on campus and then includes nearly two miles of driving.
The trail examines the role Fredericksburg played during the Civil War. As a midpoint between Washington, D.C., and Richmond, Virginia, the capitals of the Union and Confederacy, respectively, the city endured chaos, shifting boundaries and fighting between the two sides. The trail also educates travelers about the Freedom Riders, who stopped in Fredericksburg; sit-in movements; Shiloh Baptist Church’s role in the movement; and other monuments, murals and stops.
FXBG.COM/CIVIL-RIGHTS-TRAIL
Mary McLeod Bethune Council House
WASHINGTON, D.C.
Many Civil Rights Trail sites are dedicated to honoring the achievements and activism from the people who played a key role in pursuing racial equality. It’s hard to number the achievements and accomplishments of Mary McLeod Bethune. Bethune was born in 1875 in Reconstructionist-era South Carolina, the daughter of formerly enslaved persons. In her lifetime, she became a champion of gender and racial equality. She founded a boarding school for young Black women, which later evolved into BethuneCookman College. She also became an advisor to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, as well as a vice president of the NAACP.
Travelers can learn about her extensive list of achievements at the Mary McLeod Bethune Council House in Washington, D.C. The townhome is a National Historic Site and was the national headquarters of the National Council of Negro Women, where Bethune and others advocated for the political and social advancement of Black women. The historic site offers free tours of the home. Exhibits discuss her impact on the Civil Rights Movement, her legacy as an educator and her influence on the women she mentored.
NPS.GOV/MAMC
Courtesy NPS
Courtesy Fredericksburg EDTD
FREDERICKSBURG CIVIL RIGHTS TRAIL
D.C.’S MARY MCLEOD BETHUNE COUNCIL HOUSE
By Raphael Tenschert
DAY ONE MEMPHIS
Visit the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spent his final moments fighting for justice before his assassination on April 4, 1968. Explore exhibits tracing the fight for equality. At Clayborn Temple, hear the echoes of striking sanitation workers. End the day on Beale Street, where Memphis’ soul — its music, struggle, and triumph — still reverberates.
DAY THREE NASHVILLE
Walk the historic grounds of Fisk University, where student activists trained for nonviolent protests. Honor Congressman John Lewis on Rep. John Lewis Way, named for the Freedom Rider and Civil Rights leader. Inside the Nashville Public Library Civil Rights Room, explore photos and firsthand accounts of the movement. Then, visit the National Museum of African American Music, where the influence of Black artists on American culture comes to life.
DAY TWO MEMPHIS
Stand inside Mason Temple Church of God in Christ, where Dr. King gave his stirring “Mountaintop” speech. Visit the Withers Collection Museum & Gallery, showcasing Ernest Withers’ powerful Civil Rights photography. Reflect at Robert R. Church Park , honoring the South’s first Black millionaire. End at Stax Museum of American Soul Music, where artists like Otis Redding and Isaac Hayes provided the soundtrack for a movement that changed the world.
DAY FOUR CLINTON
In 1956, 12 Black students integrated Clinton High School , the first public high school in the South to do so. The Green McAdoo Cultural Center shares their courageous story through immersive exhibits. Just beyond, Clinton High School stands as a testament to their sacrifice. In this quiet town, their legacy lives on — a reminder of the challenges they faced and the doors they opened for generations to come.
By Andrea Behrends Photography
By Raphael Tenschert
“FRAGMENTS,” A 38-FOOT-WIDE ART INSTALLATION AT ATLANTA’S NATIONAL CENTER FOR CIVIL AND HUMAN RIGHTS, FEATURES REPRODUCTIONS OF MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.’S HANDWRITING.
Iconic Items
Ordinary objects carry extraordinary meaning
BY CYNTHIA BARNES
Historical objects and artifacts — even if ordinary — reach through time to connect us with the past in a tangible way, bringing stories to life that sometimes mere words cannot. Seeing, and perhaps even touching, these physical remnants can open the door to extraordinary stories about the Civil Rights Movement and the people who participated. Luckily, many significant items have been preserved at museums and historic sites along the U.S. Civil Rights Trail and are on exhibit for visitors and scholars to examine and appreciate. Here are five that should not be missed.
THE MOREHOUSE COLLEGE
MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. COLLECTION
National Center for Civil and Human Rights
ATLANTA
Perhaps no person is more intimately associated with the Civil Rights Movement than Martin Luther King Jr., who before his assassination in 1968 became the movement’s most visible figure. King began his studies at Atlanta’s Morehouse College, and many of his papers (and other objects) collected by Morehouse will be on display in a new first-floor exhibit at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights. In addition to King’s writings, the collection includes one of King’s desks and other items, along with a large-scale art installation titled “Fragments,” a 38-foot stretch of 50 metal panels upon which King’s words have been incised and illuminated.
“We had the King papers on our basement floor, and it was kind of our cornerstone,” said Nicole Moore, director for education at the center. “It was a beautiful space, but it was very quiet and seemed very solemn. Especially for young people today, when they think about Dr. King, they really think about this untouchable icon. But he was a man; he was a father; he was a husband. And so we’re bringing that story to life, making him more approachable, making them understand that here is this man that did extraordinary things, but he was just a man. We’ll have people really understand Dr. King as a human being and then as a leader. And I think that’s what’s important so that when we tell people you can be an agent of change and you too can go on and do great things.”
The center will reopen in fall of 2025. CIVILANDHUMANRIGHTS.ORG
LITTLE ROCK
NINE TELEGRAM
THE MOREHOUSE COLLEGE MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. COLLECTION
LANCASTER PAPERS
Robert Russa Moton Museum FARMVILLE, VIRGINIA
Barbara Johns was 16 years old when she encouraged her classmates to protest inferior facilities by walking out of Robert Russa Moton High School in 1951. This student-led strike produced three fourths of the plaintiffs in Brown v. Board of Education, the landmark 1954 Supreme Court decision desegregating U.S. schools. Rather than comply, Prince Edward County closed their public schools from 1959 to 1964, when another court decision forced integration. The former school is now a National Historic Landmark where visitors can learn about the Civil Rights Movement that was sparked by the student action.
“The museum interprets that history,” said Leah Brown, associate director for education and collections. “We talk about community — who was here, who had to leave. The Moton Museum galleries are unique because they talk about multiple perspectives. The people that wanted to keep segregation, the people that wanted to get rid of segregation — they’re all in these galleries.”
John Lancaster was the president of Moton’s PTA and was fired from his county job in retaliation. Last summer, Lancaster’s family donated his papers, including the PTA ledger, which details how the Black community worked together to lobby for a new and safe school, and to raise funds for its construction. The ledger contains minutes and committee priorities and serves as a record of how the Black community of Prince Edward and Farmville advocated for additional materials in the hope of achieve equal education opportunities for their children. It also highlights aspects of community resistance and political connections with the NAACP and throughout the state.
The museum has also created a website.
“It gives you all the details, all the quotes, more photographs and videos to explain who was here and what was happening and the choices that were made, and then the consequences of those choices,” said Brown.
Courtesy Atlanta CVB
Courtesy Eisenhower Presidential Library
CIVIL RIGHTS
DRED SCOTT CASE 180TH ANNIVERSARY
ST. LOUIS
More than a century before the tumultuous Civil Rights Movement began in the United States, an enslaved man named Dred Scott and his wife, Harriet, filed a federal lawsuit for their freedom in 1846. Though the U.S. Supreme Court eventually ruled against the Scotts, thus upholding the institution of slavery, the Scott case was a lightning rod of attention that helped catalyze and energize the abolitionist movement.
Much of the litigation in the Scott case took place at the St. Louis Circuit Court, and the trial’s venue, the Old Courthouse, is now preserved as part of Gateway Arch National Park. In 2026, the park will commemorate the 180th anniversary of the lawsuit’s filing. In anticipation of that anniversary, the Old Courthouse is undergoing a $24.5 million renovation. When work is complete this summer, the museum will feature numerous new exhibits focusing on the Scotts, their struggle and Missouri’s Black history.
NPS.GOV/JEFF
LITTLE ROCK NINE TELEGRAM
Eisenhower Presidential Library
ABILENE, KANSAS
In September 1957, President Dwight Eisenhower federalized the National Guard and sent U.S. Army troops to the scene to personally guard the “Little Rock Nine,” the first African Americans to attend Little Rock’s Central High.
“We believe that freedom and equality with which all men are endowed at birth can be maintained only through freedom and equality of opportunity for self-development, growth and purposeful citizenship.” These words were sent to Eisenhower by the parents of those nine students, thanking him for his efforts in protecting their children.
The bright pink telegram is only one of the civil rights artifacts on display at Abilene’s Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum.
“Eisenhower, of course, is president from 1953 to 1961, and I think he sometimes maybe gets a little bit overlooked as a president who was very important to the Civil Rights Movement,” said Todd Arrington, director of the facility. “We tend to think of President Kennedy and President Johnson, but in fact, Eisenhower was president during a number of very important events and crises such as when the Supreme Court decided Brown v. Board of Education. He took very seriously his role and his responsibility in making sure that the laws and the decisions that came from the Supreme Court were enforced in the country.”
The collection has about 30 million Eisenhower-related documents, including a letter from baseball great Jackie Robinson and a telegram sent by the mother of murdered teenager Emmitt Till.
EISENHOWERLIBRARY.GOV
“ ” You have the right to an attorney
words transformed lives, and their story begins at the Bay County Courthouse, a historic landmark on the U.S. Civil Rights Trail. Immerse yourself in history, then wander through Downtown Panama City, explore museums, and savor waterfront dining featuring fresh Gulf seafood.
ALICE DUNNIGAN ARTICLES SEEK
Museum
RUSSELLVILLE, KENTUCKY
Alice Allison Dunnigan accomplished many firsts in her career as a journalist, activist and author. In 1947, Dunnigan became the first female of African American heritage to be admitted to the White House and the Congressional and the Supreme Court press corps. She also was the Washington Bureau Chief for the Associated Negro Press. Now the SEEK Museum in her hometown of Russellville, Kentucky, has created a new exhibit featuring more than 500 digitized versions of the stories Dunnigan wrote about civil rights and racism.
“I think by reading the papers, you clearly see the importance of the lack press and the information that they were giving to people, giving to African Americans across the country,” said Gran Clark, chairman of the museum’s board. “The stories that she told were from the perspective of an African American woman who had faced prejudice for her race and for her gender, and those stories just weren’t told anywhere else. And the Black press was a very vital part of the Civil Rights Movement, and these articles [educated] African American communities throughout the nation about the biases, prejudices and inequalities of our country.”
The Dunnigan papers are collected in the 1940s home of her sister-in-law, where the journalist returned to visit family between stints in Washington. The area surrounding the home is being developed as a park and features a bronze statue of Dunnigan — the first public statue of an African American woman in Kentucky.
SEEKMUSEUM.ORG
ALICE DUNNIGAN ARTICLES
EXECUTIVE ORDER 9981
Harry S. Truman Presidential Library
INDEPENDENCE, MISSOURI
Harry Truman once famously said, “There is nothing new in the world except the history that you do not know.” And when Truman learned some things he didn’t know about the historic mistreatment of Black people in the United States, it changed his perspective — and his presidency.
“President Truman was a very unlikely advocate for civil rights based on his background,” said Cassie Pikarsky, who serves as director of strategic initiatives for the Truman Library Institute in Independence, Missouri. “At that time, Missouri was a Southern state. His family going way back were Confederate sympathizers. When he first enrolled in the Missouri National Guard and went to his grandmother’s house to show off his blue uniform, she took one look at him and said, ‘never show up at my house in [a blue] uniform ever again.’ Truman separated what he might think was right or wrong as an individual versus what was right or wrong as president of the United States.”
In 1946, hours after being honorably discharged from the U.S. Army, decorated veteran Sergeant Isaac Woodard was attacked — while still in uniform — beaten and blinded by South Carolina police on his way home after serving in World War II. Horrified by this and other reports of Black soldiers encountering violence, Truman established the President’s Committee on Civil Rights. He addressed the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in 1947, the first president to do so. And on July 26, 1948, Truman desegregated the federal government with Executive Order 9980, and the U.S. military with Executive Order 9981 — the first major civil rights actions. Copies of the executive orders are on display at the library; the originals are housed at the National Archives.
By Joseph Clark, courtesy SEEK Museum
Courtesy Truman Library Institute
SEEK MUSEUM
Virginia is where Black history comes to life—shaping the nation, inspiring the present, and defining the future. Experience a rich legacy woven into vibrant communities, culture, and unforgettable experiences. Plan your journey and see how Black history continues to shape Virginia’s story. virginia.org/blackhistory
Fredericksburg Civil Rights Trail, Fredericksburg
Robert Russa Moton Museum, Farmville Danville Museum of Fine Arts & History
Virginia Civil Rights Memorial, Richmond
DAY ONE DANVILLE
Visit Danville, where several Civil Rights demonstrations garnered national attention. Trace how the Danville Christian Progressive Association and activist groups marched, argued, and fought for equal rights at the Danville Museum of Fine Arts and History’s permanent exhibition, “The Movement: Danville’s Civil Rights.” The museum building itself used to be a segregated library, the site of a sit-in by Black high school students in 1960.
DAY THREE RICHMOND
Explore the Virginia Civil Rights Memorial at the State Capitol Building during your trip to Richmond. You’ll recognize figures from your time in Farmville in the sculpture, including student protest leader Barbara Johns. From there, make your way to Jackson Ward, a historic neighborhood once known as the “Harlem of the South” for its influence in Black culture and business. You’ll also find the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia.
DAY TWO FARMVILLE
Your day in Farmville will immerse you in the fight for equality in education during the Civil Rights Movement. The former Moton High School is now home to the Robert Russa Moton Museum, where in 1951 students organized a non-violent demonstration which led all the way to the Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education. In the afternoon, explore more stories of Virginians who made strides towards equality at the Heartland Regional Visitor Center.
DAY FOUR FREDERICKSBURG
Your last day begins on the Fredericksburg Civil Rights Trail with a walk through the historic downtown district. Visit Shiloh Baptist Church, a center of Black community since 1815, and reflect at several sites of sit-in protests during the Civil Rights Movement. Then, make your way to the University of Mary Washington, where the architect of the Freedom Rides, James L. Farmer Jr., served as a distinguished professor of history.
THE ALABAMA CIVIL RIGHTS EXPERIENCE FEATURES REENACTORS OF FAMOUS CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT LEADERS, SUCH AS ROSA PARKS.
Immersive Understanding
Here are five outstanding visitor experiences
BY RACHEL CRICK
Any good storyteller knows there is power in how a tale is told.
Interactivity and emotion create authentic and highly impactful narratives that can sway hearts and minds. There are few better opportunities for good storytelling than on the U.S. Civil Rights Trail, which brims with powerful, emotional encounters of trials and triumphs of the Civil Rights Movement.
Here are five trail sites that use especially immersive visitor experiences to tell their incredible stories.
Courtesy Alabama Tourism
Central High School
National Historic Site
LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS
Even after the victory of the landmark Brown v. Board of Education case that affirmed racial segregation in schools was unconstitutional, there was still plenty of resistance. In Little Rock, Arkansas, Central High School was the site of a standoff. On one side were nine Black students attempting to exercise their right to attend the previously all-white school. On the other, stood the governor of Arkansas, angry mobs of locals and the National Guard, preventing them from attending. The struggle ended weeks later when the federal government stepped in with President Dwight D. Eisenhower sending federal troops to escort the nine students into the school. And the Little Rock Nine became a symbol of the Civil Rights Movement.
“It was one of those watershed moments where the power of the state, if gone unchecked, would have kept the Little Rock Nine from their Supreme Court-mandated right to go to an integrated school,” said Brian Schwieger, program manager of interpretation, education and visitor services at the national historic site. “This was one of those moments that really set the tone for how the government would handle this. Then it highlighted the power of young people, and young people would really be on the front lines of the Civil Rights Movement.”
Visitors to the national historic site can experience comprehensive ranger-led programs that guide them through the story of the Little Rock Nine and their broader impact on the Civil Rights Movement. The site’s visitors center is full of interactive exhibits and artifacts. Rangers then lead visitors on a walking tour of the site’s commemorative garden and around the property to interpret the events that unfolded. There’s a self-guided audio tour available as an alternative to the ranger-led tours.
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Harpers Ferry National Historic Site
HARPERS FERRY, WEST VIRGINIA
At the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers in West Virginia, travelers will find the Harpers Ferry National Historical Park. There is enough history in the compact area to fill an itinerary for at least a full morning or afternoon. The picturesque mountain town of Harpers Ferry played a key role in the Civil War, and following the abolition of slavery, in the secondary education of Black students. It’s notable for being the site of John Brown’s War on Slavery in 1859, during which Brown, an abolitionist, and his men captured Harpers Ferry in a bid to end slavery, which ultimately pushed the country toward the Civil War. It’s also the site of Storer College, the first Black college in West Virginia.
“At Harpers Ferry we have layered history, and we have so much diversity in our history,” said Dennis Frye, chief historian emeritus at Harpers Ferry National Historical Park.
Visitors can take a self-guided park tour or enlist a private licensed guide in the area. In Oldtown Harpers Ferry, often referred to as Lower Harpers Ferry, visitors can start by heading to The Point, which offers a view of the confluence of the rivers. This vantage point, in addition to offering gorgeous vistas of Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia, demonstrates Harpers Ferry’s strategic position in times of conflict. Then, visitors can head to the U.S. Arsenal Site, which Brown targeted to seize weapons for his war. Next, they’ll see the original location of the John Brown Fort, where Brown was captured, and a museum dedicated to him.
In Upper Town Harpers Ferry, visitors can see the former Storer College campus, including the places where Frederick Douglass and W.E.B. Du Bois gave powerful speeches. The Lockwood House, another trail site, was the first building of Storer College. Many additional historic landmarks help complete the town’s rich history.
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Courtesy NPS
CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE
By Kelsey Graczyk Photos courtesy NPS
HARPERS FERRY LOCKWOOD HOUSE
AN ACTOR IN HARPERS FERRY
Alabama Civil Rights Trail Experience
MONTGOMERY AND SELMA, ALABAMA
Many of the Civil Rights Movement’s most recognizable events occurred in Alabama. Often, they intertwined tragedy and empowerment. Rosa Parks’ arrest spurred the Montgomery bus boycott and eventually the desegregation of city buses. Bloody Sunday, named for a march held from Mongomery to Selma, Alabama, in 1965 during which 600 people were attacked on the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Law enforcement officers beat unarmed marchers with billy clubs and sprayed them with tear gas. This response so shocked the nation that it eventually encouraged the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
“One of the things that we try to do for this type of history is to bring people close to it, because it’s a history that once you experience it, you must feel it,” said Rosemary Judkins of Alabama Tourism. “So what we try to do is bring it to life.”
This effort includes crafting immersive experiences that let visitors walk in the footsteps of the key figures of the movement. On the road between Selma and Montgomery, there are plenty of opportunities. One incredibly moving experience is the walk across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, replicating the protest march from Selma to Montgomery, and even speaking to some of the foot soldiers who were on the bridge on Bloody Sunday.
Another notable opportunity involves a flash mob appearing outside of Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church in Montgomery. After visiting the church, visitors step outside to find a group of actors dressed in period clothing portraying the struggle between peaceful protestors and agitators. The visitors may choose to lock arms and walk to the capitol steps themselves, where an actor portraying Martin Luther King Jr. is delivering the powerful speech King once gave in front of those steps.
“And all the while, everybody is still locked arm-in-arm and as they’re singing,” Judkins said. “I tell you, the emotions get high.”
Visitors can contact Alabama Tourism to arrange their customized experiences in advance.
ALABAMA.TRAVEL
FREEDOM, A WORK IN PROGRESS
The Civil Rights Trail in Fredericksburg, Virginia follows the stories and sites of the local Civil Rights movement and highlights the role of Black residents in Fredericksburg’s history.
Hayti Heritage Center
DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA
Durham, North Carolina, has a rich Black history because of its Black neighborhoods, which were once thriving, self-sufficient communities. Though urban development and gentrification disrupted these communities, their legacy is kept alive through the Hayti Heritage Center, a historical, cultural arts center located in what was once the St. Joseph AME Church building. The center opened in 1975 and is now a hub for education and community events in the Durham area, as well as a U.S. Civil Rights Trail site.
Visitors can tour the building to learn about its long history, starting as a church built in 1891 and becoming a National Historic Landmark. They’ll see plenty of visual art, including rotating exhibits and more permanent fixtures like murals and stained glass. But they’ll also learn about the center’s ongoing community engagement, from annual film festivals to Kwanza celebrations to jazz performances.
The center is also where visitors can meet for a Whistlestop Tour, which takes visitors from the Hayti Heritage Center through the historic Hayti District and other historic Black neighborhoods for in-depth walking history tours. These tours can also be done via step-on guide on a bus and consist of powerful storytelling elements, including reenactors of prominent historic figures from these neighborhoods.
“They should come to learn about the rich heritage we have, the rich Black Wall Street history there,” said Marc Lee, site coordinator at the Hayti Heritage Center. “But there’s also amazing talent they can see on a regular basis, from visual talent with artwork to performances, poets or our musicians.”
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HAYTI HERITAGE CENTER
MOUND BAYOU MUSEUM
Mound Bayou Museum of African American History and Culture
MOUND BAYOU, MISSISSIPPI
Many stories of the Civil Rights Movement are connected by a single thread: Mound Bayou, Mississippi. Founded in 1887 by formerly enslaved people as an independent Black community, the tiny town on the eastern border of the state is notable for its history from its antebellum years to the Civil Rights Movement. It’s on the National Register of Historic Places and has prominent ties to the movement’s leaders and martyrs, from Martin Luther King Jr. to Medgar Evers to Emmett Till. It’s also a place that demonstrated the resilience of its Black community in a time of violent racial segregation in the South. The Mound Bayou Museum of African American History and Culture was founded with the goal of sharing the stories of the community and bringing awareness of its importance to civil rights history.
“The story of Mound Bayou is one remarkable thing after another,” said museum director Hermon Johnson Jr. “There’s lots of those stories, and our focus was to tell that story. When we started working telling that story, the museum is what we ended up with.”
Museum visitors will find a massive collection of artifacts related to Black history and the town. This includes the Dr. Simpson collection, once valued at $3 million, donated to the museum to demonstrate public perceptions of African Americans throughout the course of history; the Emmett Till collection, featuring props from the 2022 film “Till” about Till’s murder; and the Mound Bayou collection, which has artifacts from the town, from its founding to present day. Tours can be customized to pertain to a particular area of history or of the Civil Rights Movement as a whole. The museum is also the site of workshops, lectures and community events.
Courtesy Mound Bayou Museum of African American History and Culture
Courtesy Discover Durham
upgrade your
Civil Rights Museum | Jackson, Mississippi
DAY ONE
SUMNER, MONEY & RULEVILLE
Start your day in Sumner at the Emmett Till Interpretive Center, then visit the nearby courthouse where Till’s murder trial took place. Head to Glendora’s Emmett Till Intrepid Center to explore his tragic story and its impact on the Civil Rights Movement. In Money, see the ruins of Bryant’s Grocery, where Till’s fateful encounter occurred. End in Ruleville, paying tribute to activist Fannie Lou Hamer at her memorial garden and statue.
DAY THREE
PHILADELPHIA & NESHOBA COUNTY
Visit Mount Zion United Methodist Church near Philadelphia, where a memorial honors James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner. Klan members burned the church to attract voting rights activists during Freedom Summer. Next, see the Old Neshoba County Jail, where the three were briefly held. Then, nine miles south on Highway 19, reflect at a historic marker near the site where they were killed, a solemn tribute to their sacrifice.
DAY TWO OXFORD
Visit the University of Mississippi Civil Rights Monument, honoring James Meredith’s historic 1962 enrollment as the school’s first Black student. Walk through the limestone portal inscribed with “courage,” “knowledge,” “opportunity,” and “perseverance,” reflecting his struggle. The statue stands as a tribute to his bravery amid violent opposition, marking a pivotal moment in the fight for desegregation and equal access to education in the U.S.
DAY FOUR JACKSON
Finish your journey at the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, where eight interactive galleries illuminate the state’s key role in the movement. Walk beneath the glowing This Little Light of Mine sculpture, which shines as visitors engage with stories of courage. Exhibits honor heroes like Medgar Evers and Fannie Lou Hamer while exposing the brutal realities of segregation and violence, ensuring the fight for justice is never forgotten.
NEW SITES OBJECTS & STORIES
COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA.
Art Conquers Ignorance
These works transcend words
BY CYNTHIA BARNES
Art often evokes feelings that words cannot.
Transcending the confines of museums and galleries, public art provokes thought and sparks dialogue, inviting viewers to engage and fostering a sense of shared experience and community identity. Around the country, sculptures, murals and other public art installations showcase the stories and the spirit of the Civil Rights Movement and inhumanity of Jim Crow segregation.
Launched in 2018, the U.S. Civil Rights Trail makes it easy for groups to visit more than 100 crucial civil rights sites across 15 states and the District of Columbia. Here are five places with civil rights artwork that will engage and educate viewers of all ages.
Courtesy Jerome Meadows
Daisy Bates Statue at the U.S. Capitol
WASHINGTON, D.C.
Born in Huttig, Arkansas, in 1914 and raised in a foster home after three white men killed her mother when she was 3 years old, Daisy Lee Gatson Bates was a tireless champion of the Civil Rights Movement. She and her husband, Lucious Christopher Barnes, settled in Little Rock and began publishing The Arkansas State Press, one of the only African American newspapers dedicated primarily to the Civil Rights Movement.
After the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education ruling, Bates became president of the Arkansas chapter of the NAACP, planning the strategy to integrate Arkansas’ schools. She personally selected nine students to integrate Central High School in 1957, often driving them to school and fighting to protect them from violent, jeering crowds. The Bates home was frequently the target of vandalism and violence, with shots fired through windows and crosses burned on the lawn.
She was the only woman to speak at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963, where more than 250,000 people gathered to demand an end to segregation and to stand up for other civil rights, and where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his iconic “I Have a Dream” speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.
Daisy Bates was posthumously awarded the Medal of Freedom in 1999. In 2024, a bronze statue of her was added to the U.S. Capitol. AOC.GOV/EXPLORE-CAPITOL-CAMPUS/ART/ DAISY-BATES-STATUE
ROBERT RUSSA MOTON HIGH SCHOOL 85TH ANNIVERSARY
FARMVILLE, VIRGINIA
A number of Civil Rights Movement leaders became nationally known figures. But the effort wouldn’t have succeeded without the contributions of countless thousands of lesser known activists — including students. Many historians trace the beginning of student activism in the Civil Rights Movement to Robert Russa Moton High School in Farmville, West Virginia. It was at this all-Black school that, in 1951, a group of students staged a walk-out to protest the overcrowding and the subpar facilities in which they had been forced by segregation. The students’ walk-out and strike led to a lawsuit, which was eventually merged into the Brown v. Board of Education decision that made school segregation illegal.
Today, that school is preserved as the Robert Russa Moton Museum, which tells the story of the students, their walkout and the impact it made nationwide. In late 2024, the museum and community celebrated the 85th anniversary of the school building, which was constructed in 1939.
By Logan Young, courtesy Memphis Tourism
Courtesy NPS
“BEHOLD” MONUMENT IN ATLANTA
By Craig Thompson, courtesy Memphis Tourism
VIEWING A MURAL AT MEMPHIS’ I AM A MAN PLAZA
‘Behold’ Monument at MLK National Historical Park
ATLANTA
In 1980, President Jimmy Carter signed into law the bill creating the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park in Atlanta. Ten years later, King’s widow, Coretta Scott King, unveiled the “Behold” monument as a tribute to her late husband and as an enduring inspiration to all who fight for dignity, justice and human rights.
With her at the dedication were actor John Amos (who played Kunta Kinte in the “Roots” mini-series) and sculptor Patrick Morelli, who said that the 10-foot bronze overlooking King’s tomb was inspired by the ancient African ritual of lifting a newborn child to the heavens and reciting the words “Behold the only thing greater than yourself.”
“I wanted the ‘Behold’ monument to glorify those aspects of Dr. King’s character that I felt distinguished him as a truly great man,” said Morelli. “The two aspects of Dr. King’s life and works that impressed me most were, first, his ability to defend a morally courageous — though often unpopular — cause in the face of seemingly overwhelming opposition, and second, his ability to maintain his dignity and a genuine spirit of brotherhood in the face of the cruelest and most ignorant threats, insults and indignities believing that the righteousness of his convictions and beliefs would prevail.”
The sculptor had the granite base of the monument inscribed with the words “Dedicated to the Memory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for his moral courage and nobility of spirit.”
In addition to the monument, Dr. King’s tomb and boyhood home, the park’s 35 acres contain a fountain and flowers at the International World Peace Rose Garden, Ebenezer Baptist Church, and the King Center, which continues to spread the reverend’s nonviolent ministry.
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‘I AM A MAN’ Plaza at Clayborn Temple MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE
Just south of Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee, the stately Romanesque Revival church now known as Clayborn Temple was built in 1892 for the (all-white) congregation of Second Presbyterian. After being sold to the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the building became a cultural and political hub for the city’s African American community.
In 1968, Black sanitation workers in Memphis went on strike, protesting low wages, brutal hours and unsafe working conditions. Adult Black men were frequently referred to as “boy” in the Jim Crow South, and the striking workers carried protest signs — printed in the temple’s basement — bearing their new slogan: I am a man. The slogan came to represent the struggle of the working poor and racial inequality in Memphis and beyond. The strike brought Martin Luther King Jr. to Memphis, where he was assassinated on April 4, 1968.
Created by internationally recognized sculptor Cliff Garten, I AM A MAN Plaza features a centrally located bronze and stainless steel sculpture that brings the iconic slogan into the present. Historical and contemporary texts selected by the community are etched into the marble gates to the award-winning plaza’s entry. The texts combine as a meditation on America’s struggle and progress with racism and class inequity since the sanitation workers and King took their historic stand in Memphis. MEMPHISTRAVEL.COM
TAKE HOME A SOUVENIR
‘Speaking Truth to Power’
COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA
On Main Street in downtown Columbia, South Carolina, the Nickelodeon Theater now occupies the site of the former Fox Theatre, where student segregation protests took place in the 1960s. A public art installation, “Speaking Truth to Power,” commissioned by Columbia SC 63, stands in front of the Nickelodeon, commemorating those who contributed to the Civil Rights Movement in South Carolina.
The 2020 work stands eight feet tall with two interlocking bronze sheets depicting a collective of individuals coming together for the cause.
“It’s an abstract sculpture that was done by Jerome Meadows, a phenomenal artist based in Savannah,” said Bobby Donaldson, Columbia SC 63’s director, who is an associate professor of history and African American studies and also serves as executive director of the Center for Civil Rights History and Research at the University of South Carolina. “Initially it looks like two bronze slabs next to each other, but if you stand back, you will see the silhouettes of faces, more or less talking to each other. And that is where Mr. Meadows tries to sort of graphically showcase the efforts of students in downtown Columbia who were challenging segregation and racial discrimination.”
The sculpture is only one part of a curated walking tour through downtown Columbia.
“Our tour begins with the African American Monument on the grounds of our statehouse and moves from that through several blocks of Main Street,” said Donaldson. “Along the way, visitors learn about sit-ins and demonstrations, major lawsuits that went to the Supreme Court. They learn about a woman named Sarah Mae Flemming, who challenged bus segregation in downtown Columbia 17 months before Rosa Parks and how that incident led to a major legal ruling that was then used in the Rosa Parks case. The tour takes about 45 minutes if it’s a guided walking tour, but it can also be self-guided.”
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EXPERIENCECOLUMBIASC.COM
KELLY INGRAM PARK
Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument at Kelly Ingram Park
BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA
Images from Birmingham in 1963 loom large in memories of the Civil Rights Movement.
Police dogs attacking nonviolent protesters. Children sprayed with high-pressure fire hoses. And four little girls — Addie Mae Collins, Carol Denise McNair, Cynthia Wesley and Carole Rosamond Robertson — killed when the Ku Klux Klan placed bombs at the 16th Street Baptist Church.
“The civil rights artwork in Birmingham really serves as a powerful reminder of the city’s pivotal role in the fight for justice,” said Sara Hamlin, vice president of tourism at the Greater Birmingham Convention and Visitors Bureau. “These artistic tributes offer individuals a meaningful journey through the struggles, triumph and encouraging legacy of the Civil Rights Movement. One is the ‘Four Spirits’ sculpture, which is a tribute to the four girls who were killed in 16th Street Baptist Church. The church also has a famous stained glass window that was donated by the people of Wales, showing a Black Christ with one hand pushing away hatred, and the other, extending forgiveness. Another sculpture depicts police dogs being unleashed on peaceful protesters. There are others in the park that memorialize the Children’s Crusade — children who faced arrest and abuse.”
Kelly Ingram Park is across from the 16th Street Baptist Church, two of the seven sites in the district that incorporate the National Monument. The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute is also part of the Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument and an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution. Once among the most segregated cities in the nation, Birmingham now welcomes almost 4 million visitors a year — many drawn by its pivotal role in Civil Rights history.
NPS.GOV/BICR BIRMINGHAMAL.ORG
By Art Meripol, courtesy Greater Birmingham CVB
Photos courtesy Experience Columbia SC
“SPEAKING TRUTH TO POWER” IN DOWNTOWN COLUMBIA
Walk the halls of Monroe School, where brave parents and students took the first steps toward desegregation. Immerse yourself in the galleries and exhibits, where powerful stories and artifacts bring the struggle for civil rights to life. The Brown v Board of Education National Historic Site offers a profound reminder that the fight for equality is never over—it is carried forward by each of us.
105 miles that paved a movement
In 1967, a group of Civil Rights activists led by A.Z. Young, Gayle Jenkins, and Robert “Bob” Hicks marched from Bogalusa to Baton Rouge, determined to be heard. Follow them up the State Capitol steps on the Louisiana Civil Rights Trail.
DAY ONE NEW ORLEANS
Begin in New Orleans at the Louisiana Civil Rights Inaugural Museum. See Dreamcube, an interactive virtual reality room where visitors can hear from actual witnesses and participants. Next, visit Dooky Chase’s Restaurant for delicious Creole cooking and history. National and local civil rights leaders held secret strategy sessions when it was illegal for white and Black people to sit together. Leah Chase would say “Come on to the upstairs dining room, where you can plan over a nice bowl of gumbo.”
DAY THREE BATON ROUGE
Your tour of Baton Rouge begins at Mount Zion Baptist Church where Rev. T.J. Jemison organized the Baton Rouge Bus Boycott in 1953. This was the nation’s first bus boycott. Two years later, King used strategies created in Baton Rouge for the Montgomery Bus Boycott, where Rosa Parks refused to surrender her seat to a white person. Next, head to the Old State Capitol where bus boycotters organized and arranged carpools. People gathered under the Bicentennial Oak to wait for free rides.
DAY TWO NEW ORLEANS
Begin at William Frantz Elementary School where Ruby Bridges became the first Black student to attend the all-white public school. Continue the heroic steps of children at McDonogh 19 where 6-year-olds Leona Tate, Tessie Prevost and Gail Etienne were escorted by federal marshals and their parents. McDonogh 19 is now owned by Leona Tate and is a Civil Rights Interpretive Center. Finish at New Zion Baptist Church, where the Southern Christian Leadership Conference was established.
DAY FOUR BATON ROUGE
Day four starts in Baton Rouge at A.Z. Young Park The Bogalusa to Baton Rouge March marker honors the 105 mile walk for civil rights that grew to include 600 people. The journey ended at Louisiana State Capitol where Young presented Governor McKeithen with grievances regarding employment and election opportunities. Nearby, the Kress Department Store marker represents three 1960 lunch counter sit-ins — Sitman’s Drug Store, Greyhound Bus Station and Kress’s — that lead to Southern University students being arrested.
Contemporary Voices
Everyday Americans recount lifetimes that mattered
BY CYNTHIA BARNES
The Civil Rights Movement wasn’t just about famous leaders; it also thrived on the courage of everyday people.
Neighbors organized carpools to boycott segregated buses. Students braved angry mobs to integrate lunch counters. Churchgoers marched and sang, facing down police dogs and fire hoses.
Through countless acts of defiance and resilience, these ordinary individuals formed the backbone of the struggle. From activists who faced violence in the 1960s to today’s educators and museum curators who are keeping the history alive, the Civil Rights Movement is filled with people — and those people have stories.
Many of the movement’s early foot soldiers are now well into their golden years and can look back on decades of both tragedy and triumph. Others are younger and keep the vision alive for future generations. From community organizers to museum curators, here are the stories of five people crucial to the movement.
Courtesy Cecil Williams
CECIL WILLIAMS DRINKS
William Harris
GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA
Will Harris is a professor from the University of Pennsylvania and principal scholar at the International Civil Rights Center and Museum in Greensboro, North Carolina.
“Our center is in the landmark F.W. Woolworth building, where the sit-ins began,” said Harris. “On February 1, 1960, four freshman students from North Carolina A&T State College sat down at the Woolworth’s lunch counter. By the end of the year, some 70,000 people had been involved in sit-ins. And on July 25th of 1960, that first lunch counter was finally desegregated. Charleston was relatively moderate for a Southern city, and our sit-ins were not violent. That was not the case in many cities.”
The center was founded 50 years later on February 1, 2010, and was recently designated a national historic landmark.
“That’s the highest designation of a historic property in the United States,” said Harris, “and the requirement for eligibility to be nominated for UNESCO World Heritage status, which we are seeking.”
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LEONA TATE
INTERNATIONAL CIVIL RIGHTS MUSEUM
Leona Tate NEW ORLEANS
On November 14, 1960, three 6-year-old Black girls, escorted by federal marshals, walked up the steps of the previously all-white McDonogh 19 Elementary School in New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward. Leona Tate, Gail Etienne and Tessie Prevost (along with Ruby Bridges at nearby William Frantz Elementary School) were not aware, that at the same time, they were also walking into Civil Rights history.
“We didn’t really understand what was going on,” said Tate. “I understood that I was going to a new school. I didn’t understand why.”
“I went through the entire 12 years in white schools,” recalled Tate. “As we changed schools, the schools were integrated — integration progressed as we progressed the grades. It didn’t open up to all grades until we reached 10th grade.” Tate went on to business school in San Antonio, and “from there it was many years that I didn’t even talk about what I had done.”
The three-story brick school was closed in 2004 and further damaged by Hurricane Katrina the following year. Surveying the post-storm destruction with her father, Tate learned that only one school would be reopening in the Lower Ninth Ward. “I thought, ‘Why not this one? It looks fine.’”
That was not to be, but the three McDonogh alumnae did not give up.
“We were very sentimental about [the school],” said Tate. “I knew if I allowed them to tear it down, that our history would be lost. So we got it put on the National Historic Register.”
Today, the former school building is the Tate, Etienne and Prevost (TEP) Interpretive Center, the first dedicated facility in the state telling the story of civil rights in Louisiana.
“We do tours daily, and [visitors] come in through the building just as the three of us entered it,” Tate said. “They’re able to visit the first-grade classroom, and most of the time, I’m there to answer questions.”
TEPCENTER.ORG
Courtesy ICRM
Photos courtesy TEP Center
LEONA TATE EXITING MCDONOGH 19 ESCORTED BY FEDERAL MARSHALS
CIVIL RIGHTS
MEDGAR EVERS’ 100TH BIRTHDAY
JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI
Medgar Evers, a Mississippi civil rights activist, was born in 1925, and after years of work with the NAACP and other organizations, was murdered at his home in Jackson in 1963. Evers’ death brought new attention to the cause of civil rights in the South, and Evers came to be considered a hero of the movement. In 2025, numerous Mississippi organizations are celebrating Evers’ 100th birthday with a yearlong series of events and commemorations. The kickoff took place at the Mississippi State Capitol in Jackson on January 12. The Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument and the Medgar and Myrlie Evers Institute in Jackson will commemorate Evers’ actual birthday on July 2. Groups can learn more about Evers’ life and his impact on the Civil Rights Movement by visit-
Hezekiah Watkins
JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI
Hezekiah Watkins was 13 years old and not listening to his mother when he — accidentally — became the youngest person arrested as a Freedom Rider. “At 13, I was not a Freedom Rider,” said Watkins. “I would just say a little Black boy trying to navigate his way through the city of Jackson.”
Watkins had fallen asleep on that day and awakened to news of the Freedom Riders in Alabama. He and a friend began paying attention and asking questions that their elders did not want to answer. When the activists came to Jackson a month or two later, Watkins and his friend played sick, skipped church and headed to the action.
“Even at that point, neither one of us wanted to be a Freedom Rider,” he said. “We just wanted to maybe go to the bus station and say ‘hi’ or whatever. My friend, as a joke, pushed me inside the station.”
Watson was arrested and placed at Parchman State Prison until word of his arrest reached Washington, D.C. After misleading President John F. Kennedy about minors being held at Parchman, Mississippi Governor Ross Barnett sent Watson back to Jackson.
“The police called my mother and told her to come down,” he recounted. “She thought she was identifying my remains. When she saw me, she collapsed. And when we got home, she beat me with a switch.”
Watkins does not elaborate about his experiences in Parchman, where he was held for 13 days. But his accidental incarceration spurred a lifelong commitment to activism, and he was arrested 108 more times — the most of any Freedom Rider. Now 77, he serves as a docent at Jackson’s Mississippi Civil Rights Museum and travels extensively, speaking to schools, civic groups and churches.
HEZEKIAH WATKINS
MCRM.MDAH.MS.GOV
By Brian Oliver, courtesy MS Civil Rights Museum
HEZEKIAH WATKINS AT THE MISSISSIPPI CIVIL RIGHTS MUSEUM
CECIL WILLIAMS
Cecil Williams
ORANGEBURG, SOUTH CAROLINA
South Carolina wasn’t just the cradle of the Civil War. From its secession from the Union in 1860 (the first Southern state to secede) to the first shots fired during the bombardment of Fort Sumter in 1861, it was the cradle of the Civil Rights Movement as well. President Harry Truman issued an executive order to desegregate the armed forces following the beating and blinding of Isaac Woodard, a decorated and uniformed Black soldier in Batesburg, South Carolina, in 1944. And a year before Rosa Parks sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott, South Carolinian Sarah Mae Flemming became the public face of the fight to desegregate transportation in South Carolina. A U.S. Appellate Court ruled that the principles decided in the 1954 Brown v. Board decision applied to transportation, which meant bus segregation was unconstitutional.
Now 87, then-18-year-old Cecil Williams was a correspondent for Jet and Ebony magazines, taking half a million photos and collecting artifacts while covering the fight for racial justice. After decades of searching for a permanent home for the collection, Williams, his wife and sister “pulled together” to found South Carolina’s first civil rights museum.
“We knew that museums cost millions of dollars,” said Williams. “But at this late stage in our lives we knew that if this was going to happen, we were going to have to do it ourselves.”
The museum’s current exhibit contains 350 of Williams’ works.
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QUANTIA FLETCHER
Quantia Fletcher
LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS
The Mosaic Templars Cultural Center (MTCC) in Little Rock, Arkansas, is the state’s leading repository of Black history and culture. It’s helmed by the dynamic Quantia “Key” Fletcher, who has played supporting roles in the organization since 2007 and became executive director in 2021.
The center, which opened in 2008, is named in honor of the Mosaic Templars, a fraternal and philanthropic organization. Originally established in 1882 to provide insurance for Black families in Little Rock, the Templars quickly expanded their services to include a building and loan association, a publishing company, a business college, a nursing school and a hospital. Today’s center stands at the corner of Ninth Street and Broadway on the site of the organization’s national headquarters in what was once a bustling Black-owned business district.
Fletcher, a New Orleans native, joined the U.S. Army and studied journalism at Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, Louisiana. But it was while working as a forest ranger one summer at the Cane River Creole National Historic Site where she came into her power as a storyteller, a label she still treasures today.
“I became smitten,” she said. “I was infatuated with getting to talk to people about what I wanted to talk to them about — and they actually came to see me. Stories had predominantly only focused on ‘the big house’ and the families that lived there. I got a chance to tell the story of the enslaved communities there that worked the land and worked the plantation, and even these families that existed long after slavery was over because they were tenant farmers and sharecroppers on the land. It’s where I caught the bug.
“Any liberties that have been granted to any one group of people that have been denied to others — no matter how small — is important. And the story deserves to be told; not told in a vacuum, but in a moving way that really helps us capture the true spirit, so that people understand that from birth to the grave, civil rights are things that have impacted all of us.”
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Photos courtesy Cecil Williams
Photos courtesy Mosaic Templars Cultural Center
AN EXHIBIT AT THE CECIL WILLIAMS MUSEUM
For blues music and plenty of festival fun, come to Columbus for Catfish in the Alley. And don’t miss our other exciting April events. Plan your Columbus getaway today.
Spring Pilgrimage: April 1-13 | Tales from the Crypt: April 2, 4, 9, 11 | Eight of May Emancipation Celebration: May 8
DAY ONE
Start at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial , designed as a lasting tribute to Dr. King’s legacy. Next, head to the Lincoln Memorial, where an engraving memorializes the exact place where Dr. King stood on the steps when delivering his 1963 “I Have a Dream” speech. Explore Georgetown for an evening at Blues Alley, the world’s longest-running jazz supper club. Or sample one of the Ethiopian eateries located in the Adams Morgan neighborhood
DAY THREE
Tour the Mary McLeod Bethune Council House in Logan Circle, then visit the African American Civil War Memorial and its nearby museum, which highlights the history of the United States Colored Troops and African American involvement in the Civil War. Continue to U Street, known as Washington’s “Black Broadway” from the 1920s to the 1950s. Stop for a bite at Ben’s Chili Bowl, a D.C. landmark since 1958, before touring the Howard University campus.
DAY TWO
On the National Mall , check out the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, a landmark museum dedicated to exploring the African American experience. In the evening, head to The Howard Theatre, a historic venue that helped launch the careers of Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Marvin Gaye, the Supremes and many others.
DAY FOUR
Start at the National Air and Space Museum , which pays tribute to African American achievements with its permanent exhibition, Black Wings: The American Black in Aviation . Continue your sightseeing in Anacostia, the city’s first planned suburb, and visit Cedar Hill, the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site . Next, explore the Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum for an in-depth look at African American history and culture.
