14 Day The Civil Rights History Trail Self Drive

Start your trip at Woolworth on 5th, a restored restaurant honouring the 1960 sit-ins that challenged segregation. Then visit the Civil Rights Room at the Nashville Public Library to learn more about this pivotal era. Next, walk to the Davidson County Courthouse, where a historic march led to the city’s desegregation, and see the Witness Walls nearby, featuring powerful murals of Freedom Rides, marches, and sit-ins. Overnight in Nashville

Depart Nashville, and stop in Henning to visit the Alex Haley Museum and Interpretive Center. The museum is dedicated to African-American history and contains a life-size replica of a slave ship. Continue an hour more to reach downtown Memphis, set on the Mississippi River. Go to the Burkle Estate, known as the Slave Haven Underground Railroad Museum, once part of the Underground Railroad network, which helped people escape slavery. Spend two nights in Memphis

Start at the National Civil Rights Museum constructed around the Lorraine Motel, where exhibits trace key moments in the movement and end at Room 306, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. Stroll down Beale Street, once the heart of African-American culture and now a hub for live music and dining. Visit the Stax Museum of American Soul Music, celebrating gospel and soul that inspired civil rights marches. Don’t miss the Beale Street Baptist Church, a historic meeting place for activists. End the day with classic soul food at The Four Way, a former gathering spot for civil rights leaders and music legends such as Aretha Franklin.

Start today with a 90 minute drive south of Memphis to University of Mississippi in Oxford to see the civil rights monument honoring James Meredith, the first African-American student admitted in 1962. Follow the route of the 1966 March Against Fear, stopping at the marker near Hernando where Meredith was shot but survived. Next, visit Money, to view the ruins of Bryant’s Grocery, where Emmett Till’s tragic story began, then visit the Tallahatchie Courthouse in Sumner, site of the trial that sparked national outrage. Continue south to Jackson to end the day. Spend two nights in Jackson

Start your day at the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, which details the civil rights struggles in Mississippi and features powerful exhibits and artifacts like the rifle used to kill Medgar Evers. Visit the Medgar Evers Home Museum, then head north to Tougaloo College, The historically black college was a hub of support for civil rights activism. Stop at the restored Greyhound Bus Station, where Freedom Riders were arrested in 1961, sparking nationwide protests.

Today you’ll drive to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, stopping in Philadelphia, Mississippi, site of the 1964 Mississippi Burning murders that helped push the Civil Rights Act forward. Continue to Tuscaloosa. Where Governor George Wallace staged the infamous “Stand in the Schoolhouse Door” in 1963 to block Black students from enrolling at the University of Alabama. Visit Foster Auditorium, now a National Historic Landmark. Overnight in Tuscaloosa. 

Depart Tuscaloosa and head to Selma, starting point of the 1965 voting rights marches. Walk across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, where “Bloody Sunday” unfolded and helped lead to the Voting Rights Act. Follow the historic route to Montgomery, where you can visit the Rosa Parks Museum, and see the Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church, where Dr. King organized the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Overnight in Montgomery

Today, depart Montgomery and begin your journey to Albany, Georgia. Stop in Tuskegee, home of the Tuskegee Airmen, the first African-American military aviators. Visit Butler Chapel AME Zion Church and its museum, then explore the Tuskegee History Center. Continue to Albany, birthplace of the Albany Movement, the first mass campaign for desegregation. Learn more at the Albany Civil Rights Institute, and if possible, catch a Freedom Singers concert. Overnight in Albany

Begin the day driving east to Midway and visit the museum at Historic Dorchester Academy, where civil rights leaders trained for community activism. Continue to Savannah to explore the Ralph Mark Gilbert Civil Rights Museum, telling the story of local protests and desegregation. End the day strolling Savannah’s charming streets, parks, and squares. Overnight in Savannah

Depart Savannah and journey four hours to the birthplace of Martin Luther King Jr. in Atlanta and his final resting place at The King Center. Upon arrival, visit the new Center for Civil and Human Rights, which includes the Martin Luther King Jr. Collections as well as exhibits about today’s human rights issues. While you’re downtown, must-see attractions include the Georgia Aquarium, World of Coca-Cola and Centennial Olympic Park. This cosmopolitan city brims with great restaurants and lively nightlife hotspots. Spend the next two nights in Atlanta

Explore the wealth of civil rights history in Atlanta, starting at The King Center, which includes an exhibition hall, the home where Martin Luther King Jr. was born. Listen to some of King’s sermons and speeches at Ebenezer Baptist Church and then enjoy quiet contemplation at the nearby World Peace Rose Garden and reflecting pool. Spend the afternoon in the Sweet Auburn District at the APEX Museum, which traces the African- American experience through videos, photographs and artifacts. 

Depart Atlanta and follow the Freedom Riders’ 1961 route to Anniston, where their bus was attacked and burned—now marked by the Freedom Riders National Monument. Continue to Birmingham, a key battleground of the civil rights movement. Visit the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, then walk through Kelly Ingram Park, where protesters once faced fire hoses and dogs. Nearby, see the Civil Rights National Monument, commemorating this pivotal chapter in history. Overnight in Birmingham.

Begin your drive back to Nashville stopping in Scottsboro, where nine Black teenagers were falsely accused in 1931, sparking landmark legal reforms for fair trials. Visit the Scottsboro Boys Museum & Cultural Center to learn about this pivotal case. Overnight in Nashville. 

Today your journey concludes upon check-out of your hotel and returning your rental car.