WELCOME TO MONTGOMERY and SELMA, ALABAMA
On 1 December 1955, a seamstress named Rosa Parks captivated the nation by refusing to give up her seat to a white man on a city bus. The world and particularly, Montgomery have changed ever since. Visiting the region today is like reaching in the soil to find the roots of modern race relations America. In many ways, Montgomery, Selma and Birmingham are our Race Relations Thermometer. One visit reassures that significant progress has been made in our national journey. A heritage visit to Montgomery and Selma is best thought of in four historic phases.
First, Montgomery and to a lesser extent Selma, became a center of agriculture, slavery, commerce and government. Fueled by the plow, their agricultural economy was born on the back of slavery. Consequently, there are historical slave plantations to visit.
Second, it became the “Cradle of the Confederacy“ and initiated orders to start the Civil War. Within the Alabama State Capitol, you can learn about the fall of the Confederacy, the heroics of the Black fire brigade that saved Montgomery from burning at the end of the Civil War, and the Reconstruction Era's (1865-1877) impact on Alabama.
Third, in the long period of legal segregation between the end of Reconstruction and the beginning of the modern Civil Rights Movement (Brown v. Topeka Board of Education Supreme Court Decision, 17 May 1954), Tuskegee University and other HBCUs were founded in Central Alabama. So there are many alumni and sports activities that draw visitors to the area.
Fourth, when Rosa Parks stood up for our rights by staying seated, she energized the Civil Rights Movement beyond the legal framework of the 1954 Supreme Court decision. On that day Montgomery became the primary battlefield for the Civil Rights Movement to reshape America’s social values. When the bus boycott succeeded, it was only a matter of time before lunch counter sit-ins and broader civil rights marches and gatherings would ensue. Learn more about the factors and circumstances surrounding her decision at the Rosa Parks Museum & Library.
So when you visit this profound collection of heritage sites today, you walk in the footsteps of our ancestors. Experience the bravery of the ordinary people who endured the bus boycott and “Bloody Sunday”, then made the harrowing march from Selma to Montgomery to help secure our voting rights. History books come alive when you hear the inspiring words and see the trappings of the Civil Rights Movement leaders: E.D. Nixon, and the 26-year old Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Admire the first church pastured by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The Southern Poverty Law Center provides a compelling service to help rid racism from America. Alabama State University is forging new minds and spirits.
Selma has its own set of heritage attractions. You no longer have to be a civil rights hero to walk across the famous Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma. The Civil Rights Memorial Park is both muscular and touching. Equally important, you’ll learn about the unsung heroes and heroines, including many European Americans, who risked or gave their lives for African Americans to register to vote and the National Voting Rights Museum.
On the campus of Tuskegee University, you’ll marvel at dozens of landmarks built by students and faculty associated with Booker T. Washington, and one of America’s greatest scientists and humanitarians, George Washington Carver. Your children’s self-confidence will soar as they learn of the heroics of the Tuskegee Airmen at the Daniel “Chappie” James Aerospace Center. Few destinations will touch your soul and strengthen your positive self-identity like Montgomery, Selma and Tuskegee. Get some Soul Food and visit the great Gospel tabernacles for “some church up in 'heer.”
There’s a final reason to visit that should not be underestimated in the Tiger Woods Era. You can now play on some nation’s finest golf courses designed by Robert Trent Jones!
First, Montgomery and to a lesser extent Selma, became a center of agriculture, slavery, commerce and government. Fueled by the plow, their agricultural economy was born on the back of slavery. Consequently, there are historical slave plantations to visit.
Second, it became the “Cradle of the Confederacy“ and initiated orders to start the Civil War. Within the Alabama State Capitol, you can learn about the fall of the Confederacy, the heroics of the Black fire brigade that saved Montgomery from burning at the end of the Civil War, and the Reconstruction Era's (1865-1877) impact on Alabama.
Third, in the long period of legal segregation between the end of Reconstruction and the beginning of the modern Civil Rights Movement (Brown v. Topeka Board of Education Supreme Court Decision, 17 May 1954), Tuskegee University and other HBCUs were founded in Central Alabama. So there are many alumni and sports activities that draw visitors to the area.
Fourth, when Rosa Parks stood up for our rights by staying seated, she energized the Civil Rights Movement beyond the legal framework of the 1954 Supreme Court decision. On that day Montgomery became the primary battlefield for the Civil Rights Movement to reshape America’s social values. When the bus boycott succeeded, it was only a matter of time before lunch counter sit-ins and broader civil rights marches and gatherings would ensue. Learn more about the factors and circumstances surrounding her decision at the Rosa Parks Museum & Library.
So when you visit this profound collection of heritage sites today, you walk in the footsteps of our ancestors. Experience the bravery of the ordinary people who endured the bus boycott and “Bloody Sunday”, then made the harrowing march from Selma to Montgomery to help secure our voting rights. History books come alive when you hear the inspiring words and see the trappings of the Civil Rights Movement leaders: E.D. Nixon, and the 26-year old Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Admire the first church pastured by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The Southern Poverty Law Center provides a compelling service to help rid racism from America. Alabama State University is forging new minds and spirits.
Selma has its own set of heritage attractions. You no longer have to be a civil rights hero to walk across the famous Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma. The Civil Rights Memorial Park is both muscular and touching. Equally important, you’ll learn about the unsung heroes and heroines, including many European Americans, who risked or gave their lives for African Americans to register to vote and the National Voting Rights Museum.
On the campus of Tuskegee University, you’ll marvel at dozens of landmarks built by students and faculty associated with Booker T. Washington, and one of America’s greatest scientists and humanitarians, George Washington Carver. Your children’s self-confidence will soar as they learn of the heroics of the Tuskegee Airmen at the Daniel “Chappie” James Aerospace Center. Few destinations will touch your soul and strengthen your positive self-identity like Montgomery, Selma and Tuskegee. Get some Soul Food and visit the great Gospel tabernacles for “some church up in 'heer.”
There’s a final reason to visit that should not be underestimated in the Tiger Woods Era. You can now play on some nation’s finest golf courses designed by Robert Trent Jones!
BLACK CULTURAL TRAVEL MADE EASY