• Unique journey through history of U.S. civil rights movement
• Memphis touring: Burkle Estate, National Civil Rights
  Museum, Beale Street, Sun Studio
• Visit to Graceland
• Birmingham Civil Rights District
• Travel on Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail
• Edmund Pettus Bridge
• Montgomery touring, including Rosa Parks and Freedom
  Rides museums
• National Memorial for Peace and Justice
• Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site
• MLK Jr. National Historical Park
• Atlanta Botanical Garden
• Jimmy Carter Presidential Library & Museum

Day 1: Depart for Memphis, TN We depart today for Memphis, on the mighty Mississippi. As guests’ arrival times will vary, we have the day at leisure to enjoy the “birthplace of the blues” as we wish. Late this afternoon, we meet our fellow travelers and Odysseys Unlimited Tour Director at a welcome briefing, followed by dinner at a local restaurant. D

Day 2: Memphis On today’s tour, we see Mud Island then visit the Burkle Estate/Slave Haven Underground Railroad Museum, whose secret cellar with trap doors served as a waystation for runaway slaves on their journeys north. Next: the National Civil Rights Museum, established in 1991 at the Lorraine Motel, where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated in 1968. The museum’s historical exhibits and multimedia presentations tell the story – and share the lessons – of the struggle for social justice that took place in this country from 1954 to 1968. After this sobering experience, we visit Beale Street, the National Historic Landmark district where Delta blues, jazz, rock ‘n’ roll, R&B, and gospel have spilled out of the restaurants and nightclubs here since the 1920s. We have lunch at a local restaurant then visit Sun Studio, the “birthplace of rock ‘n’ roll” where the likes of B.B. King, Elvis Presley, and Johnny Cash made their first records. After returning to our hotel late afternoon, this evening is free for dinner on our own. B,L

Day 3: Memphis As Paul Simon sang,“We’re going to Graceland, Graceland, in Memphis, Tennessee …” today. We tour the mansion of the late Elvis Presley, see a collection of his costumes and memorabilia, and engage with interactive exhibits. We also see the singer’s custom private jets and explore the Presley Motors Automobile Museum set on the 120-acre grounds. After lunch on our own at our choice of Graceland restaurants, we return to our hotel, with the afternoon at leisure. Tonight, we enjoy classic Memphis barbecue at a local restaurant. B,D

Day 4: Memphis/Oxford, MS/Birmingham, AL En route to Birmingham today, we stop in Oxford to see “Ole Miss,” the University of Mississippi campus where, in 1962, pro-segregation mobs rioted to protest the enrollment of James Meredith, an African American veteran. We also visit nearby Rowan Oak, the Greek revival home of writer and Nobel laureate William Faulkner. After lunch on our own, we continue on to Birmingham, arriving late afternoon. We dine together tonight. B,D

Day 5: Birmingham This city of the deep south figured prominently in the civil rights movement, as we learn on this morning’s tour of the Birmingham Civil Rights District led by a local guide. We stop at the historic Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, where four young girls were killed in 1963 when the church was bombed by Ku Klux Klan members. More than merely a house of worship, Sixteenth Street was a gathering spot for civil rights meetings and rallies, and today is a National Historic Landmark, as well as an active church. We also visit Kelly Ingram Park to see the dramatic sculptures depicting the Black struggle for equality in America. Our last stop: the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. B,L

Day 6: Birmingham/Selma/Montgomery Today’s journey focuses on a most consequential event of the civil rights era: the three 54-mile marches from Selma to Montgomery in 1965 to highlight the denial of voting rights for Black Americans. Upon arrival in Selma, we tour the Selma Interpretive Center, which commemorates the historic marches and marks the beginning of the Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail. We walk along the adjacent Edmund Pettus Bridge, site of the confrontation between the marchers and law enforcement that became known as Bloody Sunday, then visit the National Voting Rights Museum and Institute located at the foot of the bridge. This afternoon, we set out by motorcoach along the Selma to Montgomery trail, stopping along the way at Lowndes Interpretive Center, whose exhibits depict events that occurred during the marches. We reach Montgomery late afternoon and dine together tonight. B,L,D

Day 7: Montgomery A full day of touring includes the Alabama State Capitol building, where the Confederacy began and the civil rights marches ended. We continue on to the Frank M. Johnson, Jr., Federal Building, named for the local jurist who issued landmark desegregation rulings; and the Dexter Parsonage Museum, the home where Martin Luther King, Jr., lived with his family from 1954 to 1960. At the Rosa Parks Museum, we see exhibits and artifacts from the 1956 Montgomery Bus Boycott that stemmed from Rosa Parks’ defiance of segregation practices. We tour the Freedom Rides Museum, which honors the young people whose actions ended segregated travel throughout the South. Then as a capstone to this enlightening day, we visit the moving National Memorial for Peace and Justice (c. 2018), the country’s first site dedicated to the “legacy of enslaved, lynched, and terrorized Black people.” B,L

Day 8: Montgomery This morning we see another powerful commemorative spot: the Civil Rights Memorial Center, the circular black granite monument designed by Maya Lin (designer of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.), that traces the history of the civil rights movement and details the lives of its martyrs. Then we visit the Scott & Zelda Fitzgerald Museum, the home where the writers lived from 1931-1932. Our afternoon is free for independent exploration. We dine together tonight. B,D

Day 9: Montgomery/Tuskegee/Atlanta, GA En route to Atlanta this morning, we stop to visit the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site, which commemorates the first African American soldiers to successfully complete their training as pilots and enter the Army Air Corps during World War II. Then we travel on to Atlanta. After lunch together, we take an orientation tour of the city, stopping to visit Centennial Olympic Park, site of the 1996 Olympic Games. We dine tonight at a local restaurant. B,L,D,

Day 10: Atlanta This morning we tour the 35-acre Martin Luther King, Jr., National Historical Park, which features the home where the civils rights leader was born, Ebenezer Baptist Church where he preached, and the memorial site where he is buried. The park also houses a museum that chronicles the civil rights movement, and the International World Peace Rose Garden, among other buildings and institutes. After lunch at a local restaurant, we visit the Atlanta Botanical Garden, a 30-acre urban oasis. B,L

Day 11: Atlanta We get an in-depth view of the Carter presidency on this morning’s tour of the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library & Museum, site of the 39^th president’s papers and material related to his family life. Then the afternoon is free for independent exploration in this vibrant southern capital. Tonight, we celebrate our journey with a farewell dinner.
B,D

Day 12: Depart Atlanta This morning we transfer to the Atlanta airport for our flights home. B

B = Breakfast included L = Lunch included D = Dinner included

• Round-trip air transportation from listed cities (or may be
  purchased as land only)
• 11 nights’ accommodations in Deluxe, Superior First Class,
  and First Class hotels
• 24 meals: 11 breakfasts, 6 lunches, 7 dinners
• Extensive sightseeing as described, including all entrance fees
• Services of an Odysseys Unlimited Tour Director
• Private motorcoach transportation throughout your trip
• Luggage handling for one bag per person
• Gratuities for local guides, dining room servers,  hotel porters, and all drivers
• $100 frequent traveler credit towards your next Odysseys Unlimited tour ($200 after 3 tours; $300 after 10 tours)

2022 Tour Dates & Prices
including airfare and all taxes, surcharges, and fees

Please call if your city is not listed or for land only prices. Prices are per person based on double occupancy and include airline taxes, surcharges, and fees for departures from above listed cities.

Single travelers please add $995. Your $475 deposit is fully refundable up to 95 days before departure. All 2022 tour prices above (excluding airline taxes, surcharges, and fees) are guaranteed.