“I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr
Follow the history of the USA Civil Rights Movement of the 1950’s and 60’s. The story begins in Alabama with the struggle to stop segregation with visits to Birmingham, Selma and Montgomery. Continue to Atlanta, Washington and New York to follow the movement which ended in 1964 with the Civil Rights Act.
Depart Australia for Birmingham in Alabama. On arrival transfer to your accommodation.
Start your tour at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, an interpretive museum that depicts the struggles of the American Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 1960s. Be enchanted by old and new exhibits that tell the story of a people and a movement. Across the street, visit the historic Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, bombed by Klansmen in 1963, killing four little girls. Stroll through Kelly Ingram Park where sculptures depict the reality of the police dogs and fire hoses that were turned on demonstrators who gathered here to protest segregation laws. Tour historic 4th Avenue North, location of the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame. Dinner included.
Travel to Selma across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, where the civil rights march began in 1965 and where law enforcement personnel confronted voting rights marchers on Bloody Sunday. The marches and other protests around the state eventually led to the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Visit the Brown Chapel AME Church, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. launched the voting rights march. Tour the National Voting Rights Museum and Institute, which houses memorabilia honoring the attainment of the right to vote. Also downtown, see the Old Depot Museum with artifacts from Native American days up through the voting rights era. In the afternoon, visit antebellum mansion Sturdivant Hall, designed by a cousin of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. See the Old Live Oak Cemetery, where Alabama and America’s first black congressman, Benjamin Sterling Turner, is buried. Dinner included.
Depart for Montgomery and follow the Selma-to-Montgomery Trail. Stop at the Viola Liuzzo historic marker where Mrs. Liuzzo was shot and killed by four Klansmen while she was giving black marchers a ride back to Selma following the Selma-to-Montgomery march. Also visit the Selma-to-Montgomery Trail Interpretative Center at White Hall to learn more about the marchers and the trials they encountered. In Montgomery, visit the Rosa Parks Museum and feel what it was like to be arrested for not moving to the back of the bus. Stand in the pulpit at Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. preached. Visit the Alabama State Capitol, the birthplace of the Confederacy and the final stop along the Selma-to-Montgomery march. Nearby, see the Civil Rights Memorial and the Dexter Parsonage Museum to tour the residence once occupied by Dr. King and his family in 1861. A star on the Capitol steps marks the inauguration. Dinner included.
Travel to Tuskegee and Moton Field, home of the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site. Tuskegee Airmen were among the best fighter pilots of World War II. Continue to Atlanta for overnight. Dinner included.
Begin your day visiting either the World of Coca Cola Museum dedicated to the marketing of this iconic company or CNN Studios for a behind the scenes on making news. Afterwards visit the birth place of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. encompassing nearly 35 acres, the fun, family-friendly and free Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site is composed of landmarks, modern-day monuments and facilities. Take a journey through the underlying historical struggles of the South as well as the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In the afternoon transfer to the airport for a flight to Washington. On arrival transfer to your hotel. Dinner included.
After breakfast take the metro and stop for a photo in front of the Whitehouse, followed by a visit to the National Archives where the original constitution documents are housed. During your visit participate in the Constitution in Action workshop to learn more about the application of the Constitution’s Big Ideas in real life. In the afternoon, wander between the various Smithsonian Museums on the National Mall including the African American Museum. This evening, take a Bike tour to see the illuminated monuments and War Memorials. Dinner included.
Today visit the Newseum, the Congress Library and the U.S. Capitol Visitor Centre. This afternoon take the metro and enjoy a guided walking tour of Arlington National Cemetery. Witness the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Dinner included.
Depart Washington by train for New York. On arrival transfer to your accommodation. In the afternoon enjoy a walking tour of Downtown New York. After dinner visit the Top of the Rock for a panoramic view of the New York skyline. Dinner included.
After breakfast, take the subway to Battery Point. Board a ferry which takes you past the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. In the afternoon, visit the 9/11 Memorial and Museum. Time permitting explore Wall St. Dinner included.
After breakfast, undertake a guided tour of the Freedom Trail and visit Fraunces Tavern Museum. Learn the exciting history of how a band of brave men and women formed the networks that became the Underground Railroad. Visit an archaeological site and memorial dedicated to the memory of enslaved Africans. View a former station of the Underground Railroad. Learn about the riots, revolts and dramatic escapes that occurred during the era of American slavery. Listen to tales of courage and triumph and discover the stories of real New Yorkers who risked their lives and properties to help people escape slavery. Dinner included.
This morning is at teachers’ discretion. In the afternoon transfer to the airport for your flight home.
