Venice, the pearl of Adriatic sea
With its romantic canals, amazing architecture, and great historical relevance, Venice, a charming city on the Adriatic Sea, fascinates visitors. The great center of this…
The U.S. Civil Rights Trail connects over 130 historic sites across 15 states. These landmarks – churches, schools, courthouses, museums and public spaces – played pivotal roles in the struggle for justice during the 1950s and 1960s. Starting as a local initiative in Alabama (inspired by the Dalai Lama’s 2014 visit) and formalized in 2018, the Trail now spans from Alabama and Georgia through the Carolinas and into Kentucky, Missouri and West Virginia. In 2019 its organizing body won a travel-industry award for Best Regional Destination Campaign, and UNESCO has been enlisted to consider 13 of its iconic sites for World Heritage designation. The Trail was established to preserve memory and inspire visitors. Today it invites travelers and students alike to stand where history unfolded, keeping alive the stories that “changed the world”.
The Trail is a curated network of more than 130 sites across 15 states. It highlights locations where activists, church leaders, students and ordinary citizens advanced the fight against segregation and discrimination. Sites include grand memorials (like Dr. King’s tomb at the King Center) and humble settings (such as a rural store where Emmett Till was murdered). Each site is chosen for its historical significance in events such as sit-ins, marches, speeches and court battles. Together the Trail weaves these places into a coherent narrative – a living museum spread across the landscape.
Work on the Trail began around 2017, led by a coalition of Southern tourism departments in collaboration with the National Park Service and civil rights historians. The official website CivilRightsTrail.com launched on Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2018, and marked the completion of what had been a state-by-state effort. In early 2021 the Smithsonian Institution and The New York Times became the first national organizations to sponsor guided Trail tours, further publicizing the route. Meanwhile, presidential administrations took note. President Obama used executive action in 2017–2018 to designate several key sites as National Park Service units – for example the Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument and the Freedom Riders National Monument in Alabama, and the Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home in Mississippi. These steps placed the Trail’s memory under federal protection, even as more states joined the effort.
Visiting the Trail offers a profound education in American history. At each landmark, visitors can sense the reality of the struggle: the noise of angry crowds, the quiet courage in a church pew, or the shock of violence caught on newsreel film. For instance, Birmingham’s Kelly Ingram Park is adorned with sculptures depicting the 1963 children’s march and police attack, making the site itself a powerful exhibit. These places are preserved as outdoors classrooms and museums that encourage reflection. Today’s travelers find that visiting them is a way to honor those who suffered and to understand how grassroots efforts led to national change.
On a practical level, the Trail has boosted cultural tourism: it was recognized with awards and spurred collaborations (for example, state tourism boards jointly produced itineraries and travel guides). UNESCO’s engagement – 13 trail sites are being considered for World Heritage recognition – underscores the international importance of these stories. Above all, the Trail reminds each generation that civil rights were won step by step, and that many of the United States’ constitutional ideals were realized here on local streets and fields, not just in the halls of power.
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The Civil Rights Trail grew out of overlapping initiatives at local, state, and federal levels. A key catalyst was the Dalai Lama’s 2014 visit to Birmingham, where he expressed surprise that no civil rights sites there were recognized by UNESCO. Soon after, President Obama instructed the National Park Service (NPS) to expand heritage projects beyond the usual subjects of history. In 2015–2017 the White House began designating civil rights districts as national monuments: Birmingham’s Civil Rights District, the Freedom Riders Museum in Anniston, Alabama, and Reconstruction Era sites in South Carolina. In 2017 the Medgar Evers Home in Jackson, Mississippi (where Evers was assassinated) was also declared a National Monument. These actions lent federal weight to preserving civil rights heritage.
By 2018, regional tourism planners had taken the baton. Led by Travel South USA (a partnership of Southern states), tourism offices compiled lists of sites in their own states, from Montgomery, AL, to Memphis, TN, and beyond. In January 2018 – on Martin Luther King Jr. Day – the official trail website was unveiled, aggregating information on more than 100 sites. That same year Georgia State University joined the effort, conducting research to help nominate Trail sites for UNESCO World Heritage listing. In late 2019 the coalition’s travel promotion was awarded “Best Region Destination Campaign” by the Southeast Tourism Society.
The federal government has played a major role in creating and recognizing Trail sites. President Obama’s 2017 proclamations established three new national sites tied to civil rights: the Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument, the Freedom Riders National Monument (in Anniston, AL), and the Reconstruction Era National Historical Park (in Beaufort County, SC). That same year the Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home in Mississippi was designated a National Monument. These NPS units ensure legal protection and funding for the properties. In 2017–2018, Obama also formally acknowledged the broader Civil Rights Trail concept in speeches and proclamations, encouraging states to collaborate.
After 2017, Congress and later presidents continued the trend. In 2021, Congress named a parkway in Alabama (between Selma and Montgomery) after the late Congressman John Lewis. In addition, state governors in the South have officially adopted the Trail. For example, in early 2020 Kentucky announced two new Trail sites – the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville and the SEEK Museum in Russellville – to mark Black History Month. By bringing these local sites into a national framework, federal and state actions have transformed “civil rights tourism” from a collection of scattered museums into an integrated heritage circuit.
Civil Rights Trail advocates have also sought global recognition. In 2018 UNESCO’s U.S. program nominated 13 of the Trail’s most iconic locations as a potential World Heritage “serial site”. This includes well-known places like Montgomery’s Civil Rights Memorial and the Rosa Parks Museum (part of Montgomery’s site), the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, and Little Rock Central High. The nomination argues that the Trail exemplifies a nonviolent challenge to white supremacy, of “global significance” to human rights. The UNESCO application is still pending, but a “preliminary review” began in 2023. In parallel, the Trail has won prizes: for example, a regional tourism award in late 2019 recognized its innovative marketing, and guided tours sponsored by Smithsonian (in 2021) further raised its profile. These honors and initiatives have helped the Trail gain momentum and public attention.
The Civil Rights Trail stretches through 15 states (all of the old Confederacy plus Kentucky, Missouri, Florida and Kansas). Each state highlights its own key episodes of the movement.
Alabama has dozens of Trail sites and is often called the movement’s heartland. In Birmingham, for example, Kelly Ingram Park served as the assembly point for mass protests in 1963. Today the park is filled with bronze sculptures depicting children confronting police dogs and fire hoses. Next to the park is the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, where a 1963 bombing killed four Black girls. This atrocity – memorialized by plaques and an adjacent museum – “galvanized” national support for civil rights laws. Nearby, the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute (a museum) offers letters and Freedom Rider buses that convey the mood of the era (though we have no direct quote here, it is widely recognized).
In Selma, the Selma Interpretive Center at the foot of the Edmund Pettus Bridge introduces visitors to the 1965 voting-rights marches. Crossing the Pettus Bridge itself is moving: on March 7, 1965, Alabama troopers brutally beat marchers in the event known as “Bloody Sunday”. A walk across the bridge brings that history to life. South of Selma is the Lowndes Interpretive Center (a national historic site) which tells the stories of tent cities and activists like Viola Liuzzo in the Black Belt country.
In Montgomery, the state capital, several stops tell Alabama’s part in the movement. The Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s congregation (1954–60) during the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The adjacent Alabama State Capitol is where the final march from Selma ended, and where King gave speeches. In Montgomery one can also visit the Rosa Parks Museum (at Troy University) commemorating the bus boycott, and the Legacy Museum / National Memorial for Peace and Justice (just outside town) which connects slavery’s history to civil rights abuses. Montgomery’s rich offerings – from a working church to interactive museums – make it a key Trail stop.
Georgia’s contributions center on Atlanta. Atlanta was Martin Luther King Jr.’s home city, and several related sites are on the Trail. The Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park includes King’s childhood home and the Ebenezer Baptist Church where he preached with his father. Visitors can tour the restored home on Auburn Avenue and stand at King’s tomb in the reflecting pool at the King Center. Also in Atlanta is the National Center for Civil and Human Rights (not an official Trail site but thematically linked) and other markers of the Atlanta Student Movement of the 1960s. Nearby civil rights figures include Ralph Abernathy and Ralph David Abernathy’s church, but Trail literature focuses mainly on King’s legacy.
Elsewhere in Georgia, the city of Albany is noted for the 1961 “Albany Movement,” a major campaign led by the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and SCLC. This campaign (though ending with mixed results) is seen as an important early effort in Georgia’s history. The Trail includes exhibits or markers about Albany’s protests. (Also, a historical marker exists on the campus of Savannah State for sit-ins, but the Trail emphasis is on King and his associates.) The key takeaway: Georgia is often framed as “Dr. King’s home turf,” with Atlanta sites being the main draw.
Mississippi’s sites highlight some of the most shocking events that spurred national outrage. In Money, Mississippi, the small building known as Bryant’s Grocery is famous as the place where 14-year-old Emmett Till was accused of offending a white woman. Till was abducted days later, and his brutal murder helped galvanize many young people to join the movement. The remains of the grocery and its marker stand as testimony to that crime.
In Jackson, visitors can see the Medgar Evers Home National Monument. Medgar Evers was the NAACP state field secretary who was assassinated in 1963 on the driveway of that modest house. The house is preserved, and an adjacent museum displays Evers’s rifle and exhibits on his life. The assassination “was the first murder of a nationally significant [civil rights] leader… and became a catalyst for passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964”. In this way Mississippi tells the story of a sacrifice that helped bring federal action.
Other Mississippi sites include the Fannie Lou Hamer Freedom Farm Cooperative in Sunflower County, and many markers along the Mississippi Freedom Trail, but Emmett Till and Medgar Evers are often singled out as “must-see” stops because of their outsized historical impact.
Tennessee’s Trail sites span from the Bluegrass State to the Delta, but two cities stand out. In Memphis, the National Civil Rights Museum resides in the former Lorraine Motel. It was here, on April 4, 1968, that Dr. King was fatally shot. Visitors can tour the motel and see the actual Room 306 where he lay. Across the street is Clayborn Temple, a church that became the organizing hub for the 1968 Memphis sanitation workers’ strike. Its steps look out onto the plaza where striking workers hung signs reading “I AM A MAN.” (A sculpture at that site displays the words today.) The 1968 strike and the I AM A MAN slogan are key chapters of the Trail, and Clayborn Temple is now an informal museum. Dr. King delivered his final speech at Memphis’s Mason Temple the night before his assassination, but that church is usually visited more for its own history than any museum displays. The bridge on which King spoke is lower in tourist interest, so the Trail focuses on Lorraine and Clayborn as must-visit sites.
In Nashville, African American college students held some of the earliest sit-ins (1960) and formed the Nashville Student Movement at schools like Fisk and Tennessee State University. The city’s Clark Memorial United Methodist Church is noted as a site where SNCC leaders first met. The “Clinton 12” story of 1956 (integration of Clinton High School, Tennessee) is commemorated in nearby Clinton’s Green McAdoo Center. While fewer visitors come to these smaller sites, Clark Church (Nashville) and Clinton (some 30 miles east) are on the Trail for their role in early resistance.
Overall in Tennessee, the cluster of Memphis sites (Lorraine Motel, Clayborn Temple, Mason Temple) draws the most visitors, with Nashville and Clinton included for completeness. As one guide notes, the Trail in Tennessee “bring[s] sites like Nashville’s Clark Memorial Church and the Green McAdoo Center in Clinton into the map, commemorating early school integration”.
Arkansas’s principal Trail destination is Little Rock. In 1957, nine Black teenagers (later known as the Little Rock Nine) attempted to integrate the all-white Central High School. Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus tried to stop them by deploying the National Guard, and angry white mobs gathered outside. President Eisenhower ultimately sent federal troops to escort the students, making global headlines about America’s commitment to Brown v. Board. Today Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site preserves this legacy. The visitors’ center tells how Daisy Bates and the NAACP organized the effort. The school itself still stands, complete with guard booth and riot marks (these are part of the tour). Little Rock is often called an “epicenter of confrontation” for school desegregation. Besides Central High, Arkansas sites include Historic Little Rock Central High School and possibly other local landmarks (such as buses or memorials), but Little Rock dominates the state’s Trail presence.
North Carolina’s defining Trail event took place in Greensboro. On February 1, 1960, four African American students from North Carolina A&T State University sat at a segregated Woolworth’s lunch counter and politely asked for service. Denied service, they simply stayed seated all day. Their protest spread: soon hundreds of students were marching downtown and hundreds more joined sit-ins throughout the state. The Greensboro sit-ins (four students to start, then throngs) sparked similar actions across the South. Today a museum in downtown Greensboro occupies the old Woolworth’s building to tell that story. A public monument of four columns marks the site of the first counter.
Elsewhere in North Carolina, the Trail includes sites in Durham, Farmville, and elsewhere. For example, the 1960 soul of SNCC’s first meeting (at Shaw University) is noted, and Farmville is remembered for student protests connected to Brown v. Board (Barbara Johns, age 16, led a strike at Farmville’s Moton High in 1951). (Note: Moton High is actually in Virginia, not North Carolina.) On the North Carolina list, though, Greensboro is the centerpiece, with other educational and community sites rounding out the state’s story.
South Carolina Trail sites are diverse, often covering the Reconstruction era through the 1960s. One highlight is Greenwood, the home of educator Benjamin Mays, whose house is now a museum. Another is Rock Hill, where the “Friendship Nine” conducted a 1961 lunch-counter sit-in at McCrory’s, now commemorated at the McCrory Museum (or Civil Rights Center). Charleston has its own chapter: the historic Mother Emanuel AME Church was a hub of mid-20th-century civil rights organizing. In 2015 it was the site of a racially motivated massacre, but for the Trail it is valued as an active worship community with deep roots in freedom struggles. South Carolina also includes Orangeburg (site of a 1968 shooting), Columbia (civil rights museum at a former train station), and Sumter (Harriet Tubman museum). But the Trail’s featured stops in SC tend to emphasize Greenwood and Rock Hill, and the elegant Emanuel Church in Charleston, as representative.
Louisiana is noted for early civil rights organizing. A key site is in Baton Rouge: the Old State Capitol building, where a massive oak stands (the “Oak Tree of Free Rides”). Under this oak in 1953, Dr. T. J. Jemison and local leaders organized Louisiana’s first bus boycott. They instituted a successful free-ride shuttle system during an eight-day boycott. As one interpretive text explains, with Black riders refusing buses, “Baton Rouge’s municipal buses were almost empty by day 3,” forcing negotiations. The boycott ended with modest integration of seating, and became a template for Montgomery two years later. The capitol building now has an exhibit on the boycott and hosts that famous oak.
Other Louisiana sites include Pillars of Progress (the Louie J. Roussel Jr. statue in Lafayette memorializing that city’s 1956 school desegregation), and Negro Settlement Road markers (Marksville, about a labor walkout). New Orleans landmarks (like Nathaniel “Nat” Williams bust for desegregating pools) may also appear on local itineraries. But Baton Rouge’s early bus boycott legacy makes it stand out. In short, Louisiana’s Trail narrative emphasizes being the first place a mass boycott succeeded, all illustrated at the Old State Capitol site.
Virginia’s Trail is anchored by the Robert Russa Moton High School in Farmville. There in 1951, 16-year-old Barbara Johns led students on strike to protest overcrowded segregated schools. Lawsuits from the Moton strike helped form a companion case to Brown v. Board of Education. The Farmville school now houses the Virginia State University Civil Rights Institute. The Trail also notes the Civil Rights Memorial in Richmond, which honors 18 local figures including Barbara Johns. Richmond is Virginia’s largest site on the Trail.
Another Virginia story involves Danville, where in 1960 a group of Black citizens tried to read at the segregated public library and were violently beaten, an event now remembered by local markers and museum exhibits. For educational pilgrimage, historians also point to Prince Edward County (massive school closing to resist integration) and Charlottesville (Barbara Johns later taught and civil rights leader in youth). But Moton High is the flagship. As one Trail source summarizes, “Robert Russa Moton [High] in Farmville… began the fight to desegregate Virginia’s public schools, which culminated in Brown v. Board”.
Beyond the core South, additional states now participate. Florida has joined the Trail with sites such as the Harry T. and Harriette V. Moore State Park (the Moores started Florida’s NAACP and were killed in 1951) and St. Augustine landmarks of Dr. King’s 1964 visit. Kansas was added to emphasize its role in Brown v. Board: Topeka’s Monroe Elementary (Brown v. Board NHS) anchors the Kansas section. Kentucky joined in 2020, adding the Muhammad Ali Center (Louisville) and the SEEK Museum (Russellville) as Trail stops. Missouri and West Virginia are also on the Trail map, noting smaller campaigns (for example, integration efforts in St. Louis, WV bus desegregation). In all, the Trail now spans 15 states, with the collective list ranging from Louisiana to Kentucky and beyond. (The District of Columbia and some border areas often appear on maps but are outside those 15 states.)
Planning a trip, visitors often ask, “Where should I start?” or “Which sites are most important?” The answer depends on interests, but certain destinations are repeatedly recommended. Here are ten especially impactful sites, roughly in geographic order:
Each of these sites is visited year-round, though crowds may peak in spring and fall. They typically offer on-site museums or exhibits, informative tours, and staff or volunteers happy to answer questions. Many visitors begin in larger cities (e.g. Atlanta or Birmingham) and plan a road trip linking the others. In practice, a truly “complete” visit to all 130+ sites would take months. Still, even a week-long trip to hit the highlights will profoundly illuminate the movement’s story.
The Trail is not a single linear route with a fixed start and end. Instead, it is a network across multiple states. One could drive from Selma, AL to Memphis, TN alone in a day (about 240 miles), but fully exploring even a single city’s sites can take two or three days. A comprehensive trip covering the iconic stops of Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee and Georgia might involve 7–10 days on the road. Ambitious travelers sometimes take several weeks, especially to include Florida, Louisiana or lesser-known states. Most visitors plan regional loops or “clusters” of sites rather than one gigantic road trip.
There is no single “best” itinerary, but some strategies help. Many travelers begin in Atlanta or Birmingham, looping through nearby hotspots. For example, an Atlanta start might include Birmingham (Kelly Ingram Park, 16th St. Church), Montgomery (Dexter Church, Rosa Parks Museum), then Selma (Pettus Bridge) and on to Jackson, MS. Others start in New Orleans or Baton Rouge, head to Memphis and Jackson, then swing east to Birmingham. It is also common to drive north from Alabama into Tennessee (Memphis, Nashville), or to begin in Little Rock and go south. Interactive maps online (including the official Trail map) allow trip planning by state or city. Many visitors also use dedicated travel guides to stitch together a multi-state loop with overnight stops. In short, one can tailor the route by air travel connections and interests; just be prepared for substantial driving.
Spring (April–May) and fall (September–October) generally offer mild weather and avoid summer heat. These seasons are popular, however, so lodging may need booking well in advance. Summer visits are possible but can be hot and humid, especially in the Deep South (August highs often in the 90s°F). Winter is off-peak; many sites remain open year-round, but note that some historic homes and museums may have reduced hours or closures around major holidays.
Most Trail sites are open at least part of every month. National Park Service locations (like Little Rock Central High NHS or Moton High NM) typically close only on Christmas and offer daily hours otherwise. Many stand-alone museums list hours; for example, the Montgomery Freedom Rides Museum (the old Greyhound bus station) operates Tuesday–Saturday, and the Memphis National Civil Rights Museum is open every day. Some churches and civil rights centers operate as museums on tours only – for instance, Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta has a small interpretive center that is open to visitors on a schedule. We recommend checking each site’s official website or national park page for current hours. In general, none of the sites are seasonal attractions; even outdoor monuments are accessible at any time of year.
Many museums and interpretive centers anchor the Trail, often built around significant sites. Key examples include:
– National Civil Rights Museum (Memphis, TN): This extensive museum occupies the Lorraine Motel and chronicles Black history from slavery onward, with a major focus on the 1950s–60s.
– Birmingham Civil Rights Institute (Birmingham, AL): This museum complex sits near Kelly Ingram Park and contains exhibits on the Freedom Riders, Birmingham campaign and other stories.
– Rosa Parks Museum (Montgomery, AL): Located at the Troy University campus, it includes Parks’s bus and a replica of the city bus on which she sat, plus archival videos of the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
– International Civil Rights Center & Museum (Greensboro, NC): Built into the historic Woolworth’s, it showcases the 1960 Greensboro sit-ins and related activism.
– Mississippi Civil Rights Museum (Jackson, MS): Though not formally on the Trail, it complements the Evers Home by telling the wider Mississippi story from slavery through 1970.
– Legacy Museum (Montgomery, AL): Also not an official Trail stop but part of the Montgomery cluster, this museum (linked to the National Memorial for Peace and Justice) traces the long arc from slavery to modern mass incarceration.
– Harry T. & Harriette V. Moore Museum (Mims, FL): Honors Florida’s early activists.
– Eisenhower Presidential Library (Abilene, KS): In Kansas, highlighting the link between Eisenhower’s era and Brown v. Board.
The most visited civil rights museum is likely Memphis’s Lorraine, given its prominence. Other high-traffic sites include the Birmingham Institute and the Montgomery memorials. Several Trail visitor centers are modest (some charge a small fee; most are free). For example, the Memphis museum charges about $18 per adult, while Montgomery’s Freedom Rides Museum charges around $5. Many smaller sites (church museums, local history centers) have either no charge or nominal fees. Overall, most educational sites are staffed during weekday hours, often requiring a ticket or self-guided brochure.
The National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis draws among the largest crowds. It offers multiple theaters, multimedia exhibits, and the preserved motel rooms, making it a centerpiece of the Trail. By contrast, some other museum sites are quite small (for example, Selma’s Lowndes Interpretive Center is a tiny NPS office). In terms of annual attendance, Memphis and Birmingham likely lead, followed by major city memorials. Guidebooks list the National Civil Rights Museum (Memphis), Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, and The Legacy Museum (Montgomery) as among the top must-see museums on any civil rights tour.
Religious institutions were often where activists organized and communities gathered, so many churches feature on the Trail.
The Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, was a focal point for civil rights meetings and marches. Its significance stems from the tragic event of September 15, 1963, when a bomb planted by white supremacists exploded on a Sunday morning. Four young girls – Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson and Cynthia Wesley – were killed in that blast. The bombing shocked the nation and world; newspapers and television captured the horror, and public anger helped galvanize support for the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Today the church remains active, with an interior museum space. Visitors learn that the four victims are remembered every year, and the sanctuary walls are still marked to show the bomb damage. Thus 16th Street Baptist stands as a symbol of both suffering and the resolve to overcome it.
Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. served as pastor (full-time) of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery from 1954 until 1960. He led his congregation there through the Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955–56) and in planning other local protests. After 1960, Dr. King moved to Atlanta and became co-pastor (with his father) of Ebenezer Baptist Church. He and his father led services there from 1960 until his assassination in 1968. Both churches welcome visitors to their shrines on Sunday or weekday tours. Dexter Avenue Church has King’s pulpit, handwritten notes and civil rights artifacts. In Atlanta, Ebenezer’s visitor center displays personal items such as King’s Bible and clothing. These congregations are living heritage sites: their pews and pulpits once shaped the strategy of the movement.
Other religious stops of note include Bethel Baptist Church in Birmingham (where SCLC held rallies), First Baptist Church on Ripley Street (Montgomery) – both centers of activism – and historically African American churches in places like Albany, GA or Columbia, SC. Each of these contributed to local campaigns, but on the Trail the emphasis is usually on places King himself served or those that hosted major events.
Many National Park Service units now preserve civil rights history. These federally managed parks and monuments allow visitors to explore chapters of the movement with the amenities of public parks.
Designated NPS sites include:
Each of these NPS sites offers free park admission (many accept the $80 annual park pass) and interpretive programs. For instance, the Freedom Riders Monument in Anniston (opened 2023) and the Evers Home (Jackson) have visitor centers with exhibits. In summary, roughly a dozen NPS units and monuments are directly linked to the movement. In many states on the Trail, several are federally protected: Alabama alone has several (Birmingham, Anniston, Selma Trail, etc.). Travel planners often highlight that, thanks to NPS, any U.S. citizen with a Parks pass can visit key landmarks at no extra charge.
(The Trail also includes non-civil rights NPS units that are relevant for context; e.g. the Tuskegee Airmen NHS (AL) or Hampton National Historic Site (VA).) The newest monuments are still unfolding. In November 2017 Obama’s actions (above) were the last major designations so far. In early 2023 a new parkway was named after John Lewis (MOFED). Future possibilities discussed include adding more sites where battles were won (for example, locations connected to the Freedom Summer of 1964, or additional teaching museums). At least two pending proposals (by Congress or states) could expand the network. For planning a visit, it suffices to note that all existing NPS civil rights sites are active and ready to receive visitors as primary attractions.
The Trail also tells the story of desegregation of buses and travel across the South.
It is in Montgomery, Alabama. The Freedom Riders Museum occupies the Greyhound Bus Station at 210 South Court Street. This station was famously where Freedom Riders were attacked in 1961. The building has been restored to its 1961 appearance and operates as a museum detailing the incident. It contains period buses and photographs and charges a modest admission. Visitors often combine this stop with a tour of other Montgomery sites (Dexter Avenue Church, state capitol, etc.), since the downtown is compact.
In Montgomery (Dec 1955–Dec 1956), a citywide boycott of the public buses occurred after Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white passenger. Over 13 months, African American citizens (who made up the majority of riders) avoided the segregated buses entirely. They organized carpools and alternative transport. Dr. King, then a young minister at Dexter Avenue Church, became president of the organizing body (the Montgomery Improvement Association). The boycott endured until the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Browder v. Gayle that bus segregation was unconstitutional. The boycott’s success demonstrated the power of sustained nonviolent protest. Today this event is remembered at sites like Dexter Church and the Rosa Parks Museum, and at a statue near the Capitol. (Visitors to Montgomery can still view Bus #2857, the exact vehicle Parks boarded; it is preserved at the museum.)
Many Trail locations are tied to major marches or rallies.
“Bloody Sunday” refers to March 7, 1965, on Selma’s Edmund Pettus Bridge. On that day, roughly 600 civil rights marchers (led by John Lewis and others) attempted to walk from Selma to Montgomery. Alabama state troopers and deputies stopped them on the bridge. Television cameras captured troopers unleashing billy clubs and tear gas on the unarmed group. Many were beaten; the images shocked the nation and mobilized public support. Afterward, federal permission was granted for the marches to continue under Army guard. In all, three Selma-to-Montgomery marches took place in 1965, culminating in arriving at the state capitol. The success of these marches led directly to the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The Pettus Bridge itself, and the Selma Interpretive Center, now serve as outdoor memorials: visitors can stand on the spot of Bloody Sunday and learn the story inside the NPS center.
Several landmark marches are commemorated along the Trail:
Other demonstrations (freedom rides at interstate bus terminals, desegregation stand-offs, etc.) also have memorials. For example, at Kelly Ingram Park (Birmingham), a sculpture shows children marching amid police dogs. In Memphis, a plaza outside Clayborn Temple is painted with the slogan “I AM A MAN” to mark the sanitation strike – and visitors today can reflect on those words at the spot.
In Memphis’s Clayborn Temple plaza, the words “I AM A MAN” are emblazoned on the pavement. This honors the 1968 strike by Black sanitation workers demanding dignity. (Dr. King joined their cause, giving his final “Mountaintop” speech at Mason Temple before he was killed the next day.) Such physical markers – images carved in stone or paint on streets – allow visitors to connect viscerally with the memory of each march.
Many key civil rights battles were fought over access to education.
The Trail includes a number of historic schools and colleges:
In summary, the Trail’s education theme is embodied by these places. Each site’s museum or interpretive center tells the personal stories of the students and families who broke barriers. For example, the Little Rock site includes displays of Daisy Bates’s correspondence with Eisenhower, and the Brown v. Board center has artifacts from the segregated era. These institutions underscore that access to schooling was a major frontline of the civil rights movement.
Central High (Little Rock) itself and its visitor center are the primary memorials to the Little Rock Nine’s bravery. Nearby is the current high school building (a modern campus) which also has a public exhibit. The story of the nine African American students who faced screaming mobs became a national symbol. In the visitors’ center, a museum film and photos chronicle how President Eisenhower sent troops when state authorities balked. Interpretive panels honor each of the nine students. Thus, although the Trail comprises many sites, the Little Rock monuments are literally part of a national historic site, ensuring a comprehensive experience of that episode.
Admission fees are generally modest. Many outdoor sites (parks, bridges, monuments) are free. All U.S. national parks and monuments are free to enter (no ticket needed). Some historic churches may accept donations. Museums and visitor centers usually charge small fees: for instance, the National Civil Rights Museum (Memphis) is about $18 per adult; the Freedom Rides Museum (Montgomery) is $5 per adult. The Little Rock Central High visitors center is free. Local museums like the Birmingham Institute (free Friday afternoons) or the Legacy Museum (if visited) also have fixed prices (often under $15). To illustrate, lists $18 for adults and $15 for children at the Lorraine (a typical range). Expect most sites that charge to remain in that range, with senior/youth discounts.
A surprising number. All federal NPS sites (e.g. Little Rock, Birmingham NM, Moton HS) are free entry. Many state-run museums (e.g. Alabama’s Interpretive Centers in Selma and Lowndes) are also free. Historic churches like 16th Street Baptist and Ebenezer allow free self-guided entry (though donations are welcome). City parks (Kelly Ingram, I Am a Man Plaza) have no charge. In practice, a visitor can see dozens of Trail sites at no cost; only museums and specialized centers typically charge.
The Trail covers many cities, most of which have hotels or bed-and-breakfasts. Large cities (Atlanta, Montgomery, Memphis, Birmingham) have all the usual national and boutique chains. Smaller towns (Selma, Clarksdale MS, or Greenwood SC) have inns or regional hotel options. A good strategy is to use these city bases for two or three nights, then day-trip to nearby sites. For example, many people stay in downtown Birmingham and visit 16th St Church, BCRI, and Vaughan Nike Park in one day. Trail towns have seen tourism growth, so expect to find adequate lodging near most clusters of sites. It is wise to book in advance for peak spring months or for big anniversaries (for example, 60th commemoration events).
The Civil Rights Trail continues to grow. In 2020 Kentucky added two landmarks: the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville and the SEEK Museum in Russellville, honoring journalist Alice Dunnigan. In 2021 Florida fully joined the Trail, highlighting places like the Harry and Harriette Moore Memorial Park and sites in St. Augustine tied to Dr. King. Also around this period, Kansas (Topeka’s Brown v. Board site) and Delaware (NAACP cases) were incorporated, among others. More modest additions happen each year: local historical markers in various states are recognized as official Trail sites. (For example, the Florida page notes the MOORE couple’s activism and St. Augustine protests in 1964; the Kansas page emphasizes the Brown School.) In short, states outside the original South have been added, expanding the Trail’s range to include any place of significance.
Beyond adding sites, Trail leaders are pushing for World Heritage recognition. As mentioned, an initial UNESCO nomination covers 13 places. Advocates aim to demonstrate how these American sites are as globally significant as other human rights landmarks (for example, South Africa’s Robben Island). Successful inscription could occur in the coming years, bringing the Trail even wider attention. Meanwhile, preservation efforts continue at many sites: renovation projects, new interpretive centers, and educational programs (like school curricula tied to the Trail) are underway. In essence, the Trail remains a living, evolving path. Visitors today help sustain that evolution by bringing support and awareness to each location they visit.
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