History & Politics Trips to Georgia & Alabama

Kelly Ingram Park (historically West Park), served as a central staging ground for large-scale protests organised by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference to end segregation in Birmingham. In May 1963 the authorities turned on the protesters, most of them children and high school students with police dogs and firehoses. Images were broadcast internationally, spurring a public outcry turning the nation's attention to the struggle for racial equality.

On Sunday morning, September 15, 1963, the Ku Klux Klan bombed the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, killing four girls. This murderous act shocked the nation and galvanized the civil rights movement. The deaths of the children followed by the loss of President Kennedy two months later gave birth to a tide of grief and anger--a surge of emotional momentum that helped ensure the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

The Institute has one simple mission: “to promote civil and human rights world-wide, through education”. Journey through the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s/60s and on to the human rights struggles of today with a tour of the permanent exhibitions. Witness firsthand the powerful lessons of the Movement.

Built in memory of those who peacefully marched 54 miles from Selma to Montgomery for the right to vote. Exhibits in, Selma Alabama, portray the events of the march including the murder of Viola Liuzzo, a white woman who assisted the marchers; and the establishment of Tent City which benefited families dislodged by white landowners in Lowndes County.

Located in the Historic District of Selma, Alabama at the foot of the famous Edmund Pettus Bridge, the scene of “Bloody Sunday,” the National Voting Rights Museum & Institute is the cornerstone of the contemporary struggle for voting rights and human dignity.

This 91-year-old structure is the former home of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his family in Montgomery, Alabama. It has been fully restored with the original furniture and furnishings used by the King family. See the actual pulpit where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. first preached his message of hope and brotherhood at this national historic site.

This beautiful and fitting monument in Montgomery, Alabama, designed by Maya Lin, honors those who died during the civil rights movement and serves as a vehicle for education and reflection on the struggle for equality. In addition to state-of-the-art exhibits and in-depth information about Civil Rights Movement martyrs, the Civil Rights Memorial Center houses a 56-seat theater, a classroom for educational activities, a section dedicated to contemporary social justice issues and the Wall of Tolerance.

Experience the courageous spirit of Rosa Parks, a 42-year-old seamstress who sparked the modern civil rights movement by taking a stand while keeping her seat. Watch a re-enactment of the events and listen to actual participants of the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott.

Visit the home of Confederate President Jefferson Davis and his family. They lived in the home while Montgomery was the Capital of the Confederate States of America. Today, it contains period furnishings and many of Davis’ personal belongings.

The only state capitol designated a National Historic Landmark where Jefferson Davis took the oath of office as President of the Confederate States of America. The historic Senate and House of Representatives Chambers, the old Supreme Court Chambers and the original Governor’s office have been restored to the Civil War era.