A movement that changed a nation

During the mid-20th Century, the Civil Rights movement led to significant shifts in law making to end post-civil war racial segregation and discrimination in the southern states.

An exploration of the Deep South can help us learn from the lessons of the past at a time when it’s more important than ever. Join us on a journey through Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana and Tennessee to discover the pivotal places, people and moments and how to pepper their legacy into your holiday.

Rosa Parks Museum, Montgomery, AL

Rosa Parks refusal to give up her seat to a white bus passenger on 1st December 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama stood out as a symbol of resistance early in the movement. A couple of unmissable stops in the city include the museum in the city dedicated to Rosa Park’s life and the Civil Rights Memorial Center. 

Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church, Montgomery, AL

Just one block away from the centre is the Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church. Within the walls of this unassuming place of worship, the then pastor – Martin Luthur King Jr – organised the Montgomery Bus Boycott just days after Rosa Parks’ arrest. Volunteers often run tours here so it’s worth popping by to check the schedule.

Edmund Pettus Bridge, Selma, AL

Almost a decade later, a trio of Selma to Montgomery marches were motivated by the obstruction of voting registrations of African Americans and the murder of activist Jimmie Lee Jackson. The first of these marches became known as Bloody Sunday as police attacked non-violent marchers as they crossed Edmund Pettus Bridge. Today, this otherwise non-descript bridge spanning the Alabama River has become an icon of the movement. Don’t miss the Selma Interpretive Centre at the northern side of the river, just steps from the bridge.

Mississippi Freedom Trail

Mississippi is where activists faced some of the most intense violence and inequality. The 1955 murder of the 14-year-old Emmett Till marked one of the darkest moments and opened the world’s eyes to the terrible treatment of Africa Americans in the state. As you drive through the Delta region, Mississippi Freedom Trail markers highlight the crumbling Bryant’s Grocery and Sumner’s Tallahatchie County Courthouse which detail key moments relating to the young boy. Sumner’s Emmett Till Interpretive Center tells his story and the effects it had on the country and movement.

Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, Jackson, MS

For a state-focused history lesson, Jackson is the place to base yourself. The Civil Rights Museum is a modern and engaging space that highlights the people who sacrificed everything for the rights of African Americans in Mississippi. The Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument is the natural next step for your time in the city. This museum was the home of, and assignation site of Medgar Evans, the first significant leader of the movement to be murdered.

Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument, Jackson. MS

African American’s accessing previously all-white education institutions is a subject that permeates the Civil Rights Movement and this is no different in Mississippi. A visit to Oxford, and the University of Mississippi will unveil the tale of James Meredith whose 1962 application led to the riot that became known as the Battle of Oxford. His enrolment eventually led to the integration of the university and today, there’s a statue dedicated to this fearless activist on campus.

Ruby Bridges entering  William Frantz Elementary School, New Orleans, LA

Across the state line in Louisiana, education was at the forefront of the Civil Rights Movement. New Orleans was at the heart of school desegregations in the early 1960s. Points on the U.S. Civil Rights Trail include William Frantz Elementary School where 6-year-old Ruby Bridges became the first African American student to study at an all-white school. Three other children, Leona Tate, Tessie Prevost and Gail Etienne, started school on the same day at McDonogh 19 Elementary School.

You can learn more about the incredible moments of activism in the city and beyond, such as restaurant sit ins, bus boycotts and miles-long marches, at the Louisiana Civil Rights Museum. It’s only been open for a few years but it does a fantastic job of highlighting the state’s freedom fighters. Other must-see sites include the New Zion Baptist Church and Dooky Chase’s Restaurant, both important meeting places for Civil Rights groups.

Whitney Plantation, Edgar, LA

To understand the Civil Rights Movement, it’s important to recognise the suffering of African slaves and their descendants prior to the Civil War. Between New Orleans and Baton Rouge is ‘Plantation Country’ where you’ll find historic Antebellum homes with a dark past. We highly recommend visiting plantations where they don’t shy away from showcasing the terrible conditions slaves had to endure. The Whitney Plantation in Edgard is solely dedicated to the cause and the nearby Laura Plantation has dedicated an exhibit ‘From the Big House to the Quarters: Slavery on Laura Plantation”.

Lorraine Motel at the National Civil Rights Museum, Memphis, TN

It was on 4^th April 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee that the ‘father’ of the Civil Rights Movement, Martin Luthur King Jr was assassinated. He was staying at the Lorraine Motel and was in town to support striking African American sanitation workers. Today, a visit to the historic motel is a must-do on any trip; it makes up part of the city’s incredibly insightful National Civil Rights Museum which covers slavery in America sit-ins, bus boycotts, and the Black Power movements.

National Civil Rights Museum, Memphis, TN

Within a couple of miles from the Lorraine Motel are two of other sites of note. The now largely ruined Historic Clayborn Temple was a meeting place and staging ground for moments within the movement, including daily marches by strikers from the temple to the City Hall in 1968. The second is Mason Temple where Martin Luthur King gave a speech the day before he died.

While you are blues-bar-hopping on Beale Street, take a few moments to consider its place in the movement. There were many black-owned businesses here in the mid-20^th Century, and it was from the Beale Street Baptist Church that the early civil rights leader Ida B. Wells edited the anti-segregationist paper, The Free Speech and Headlight. Over in Nashville, don’t miss the incredible Witness Walls, an art installation depicting scenes from the moments in the Civil Rights Movement.

This article was created on 24th February 2026. The information is correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of publication. Feature by Emma Tibbetts.