By Nanci Dixon
Expand a National Parks bucket list by traveling the United States Civil Rights Trail. The past year or so has been unprecedented with regards to social and political unrest. It was a year where the lessons learned should not be forgotten, and one of the best ways to not forget is to learn more. There are more than 100 sites to visit on the Civil Rights Trail in 15 states, mainly across the South.
My husband is Black and grew up in Mississippi under Jim Crow segregation. Sometimes visiting the museums was just too much for him, and sometimes he would pause and reflect on the past versus the present. As we traveled and visited some of the sites, we did so with a heavy heart.
The Civil Rights Trail follows the course of the Civil Rights Movement, where segregation was challenged across America from Kansas to the Deep South, all the way to Washington, D.C.
If you’ve never followed the Civil Rights Trail, think about doing so for an upcoming trip. There are so many beautiful, historic places to see along the way.
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Here are the top 10 Civil Rights Trail destinations
MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE
National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel
Visit the site where Dr. King was assassinated while in town to support black sanitation workers’ demands for fair wages. Exhibits range from the arrest of Rosa Parks and other major events during the civil rights period to contemporary topics. It is the most-visited civil rights museum in America.
Among the many things that stood out for me, was the unaltered hotel room where Dr. King stayed, and the balcony where he stood. There is also a true-to-size-replica of a slave ship holding area with men, women and children crammed together.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA
Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site
This site includes Ebenezer Baptist Church and the birth home of Dr. King.
National Center for Civil and Human Rights
This multicultural center contains exhibits on both the Civil Rights Movement and modern human rights movements.
BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA
Birmingham Civil Rights Institute
Take a self-guided tour of this multimedia museum that features 58,000 square feet of exhibits, archives, galleries and community rooms.
16th Street Baptist Church
16th Street Baptist Church is still an active church in the Birmingham community despite its tragic past. In 1963, the church was bombed, resulting in the death of four young Black girls. This event galvanized the federal government to take action on civil rights legislation.
SELMA, ALABAMA
Edmund Pettus Bridge/Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail
This National Historic Landmark was the site of the brutal Bloody Sunday beatings of civil rights marchers during the first march for voting rights.
MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA
Civil Rights Memorial
Visit a moving tribute to those who died in the civil rights struggle between 1954 and 1968.
Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church
The first church where Dr. King was a pastor, Dexter Avenue Church, hosted meetings to organize the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which the U.S. Supreme Court eventually supported.
WASHINGTON, D.C.
National Museum of African American History and Culture
The latest museum of the Smithsonian Institution. It houses more than 36,000 artifacts and features exhibits dedicated entirely to the African-American experience.
Supreme Court of the United States
Visit the site of the landmark ruling in Brown v. Board of Education, which made it illegal to segregate public educational facilities.
GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA
International Civil Rights Center & Museum (Woolworth’s)
This museum commemorates the Greensboro Four and their role in launching the sit-in movement that inspired peaceful demonstrations across the country.
JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI
Mississippi Civil Rights Museum
The Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, the only state-sponsored civil rights museum in the nation, and the adjoining Museum of Mississippi History, opened to celebrate the state’s bicentennial.
Medgar Evers Home Museum
Visit the home and assassination site of the first NAACP field secretary and prominent civil rights activist and organizer.
LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS
Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site
This National Historic Site and still-functioning school houses a civil rights museum and offers ranger-led tours that commemorate the Little Rock Nine, who were symbols of courage in the fight against segregation.
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE
Griggs Hall at American Baptist College
Erected in 1923, Griggs Hall preserves the legacy of Sutton E. Griggs, the first president of the college and a minister, novelist and civil rights activist.
Davidson County Courthouse
This was the site of the civil rights march that motivated Mayor Ben West to concede that segregation was immoral and that lunch counters in the city should be integrated.
RV sites are relatively easy to find near most of these major cities along the Civil Rights Trail, allowing you time to explore, go through the museums and walk around. I suggest taking your tow car or tow vehicle to visit the sites, as parking can be difficult if you do not have a very small RV.
Visit the Civil Rights Trail website to plan your trip or learn more.
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Thank you for compiling this list. A couple of years ago we visited Natchez, TN which was “famous” for being the site of the slave trade. Our excellent guide to Natchez, The Rev, showed us the place, which we would never have noticed on our own because there was nothing there but some andirons sticking out of the road. This year, when we returned to the site, at least there was a commemorative area.
As already mentioned the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery is a must see and very sobering. Also the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
This past spring we visited Montgomery Alabama and drove out to Selma.. I was shocked to see that the bridge still bears the name of Edmund Pettus. I asked the National Park Ranger why the name is still on the bridge and he told me that John Lewis was adamant on the name staying on it so to remind everyone of the terrible person Pettus was and also the horrible time in our countries history. The problem we have in our school system is that most history is glossed over, skewed to fit an agenda and if taught at all. In a way it really irritates me!
Thanks for a great article!
Voting Rights Museum in Selma AL a block from the Edmund Pettus Bridge
I’d like to add another Museum in Montgomery. It is the National Memorial to Law and Justice. The museum memorializes and names the victims of lynching in the US. It was one of the most impactful museums I have visited.
VERY informative article. Thank you!
We have been to many of these scenes of struggle, loss and triumph. They are not easy visits. You will be deeply moved. We still have a long way to go.
Great list. If we get jabbed, we hope to visit the site devoted to the unnamed thousands who were lynched, among others. As a travel writer I’ve been fortunate to visit many of the locations you list, including the church where the four little girls died, and the cell where Dr. King wrote his letter in Birmingham.
Thank you. We’ve been to a number of these. Sobering look at our history, but important. Also visit the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, MI and see the “Rosa Parks bus.”
The two most heartbreaking museums we’ve visited were Gettysburg and the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum in Jackson.
Thank you Nanci,