Plus, support Black-owned businesses along the way.
BY VANESSA WILKINS
AUGUST 30, 2021
ROAD TRIPS HAVE BECOME INCREASINGLY POPULAR IN THE PAST YEAR AND A HALF, AND AS TRAVELERS LOOK TO PLAN THEIR NEXT CROSS-COUNTRY ADVENTURE, TRAVEL + LEISURE HAS BEEN CURATING NEW ROUTES THAT CELEBRATE BLACK HISTORY AND CULTURE THROUGHOUT THE U.S.
HERE, WE MAPPED OUT TWO ROAD TRIP ROUTES THAT SHOWCASE THE ABUNDANCE OF BLACK HISTORY AND INFLUENCE IN SOME OF AMERICA'S CULTURAL HOTSPOTS. CIVIL RIGHTS TOUR THROUGH THE SOUTHEAST START IN ATLANTA, GA, AND END IN LITTLE ROCK, AR.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA: THE BIRTHPLACE OF MARTIN LUTHER KING JR., YOU CAN TAKE A SELF-GUIDED TOUR OF THE MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE IN ATLANTA, WHICH INCLUDES HIGHLIGHTS SUCH AS EBENEZER BAPTIST CHURCH, THE KING CENTER, AND THE INTERNATIONAL CIVIL RIGHTS WALK OF FAME.
BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA: VISITORS SHOULD HEAD TO THE BIRMINGHAM CIVIL RIGHTS DISTRICT, HOME TO HISTORIC LANDMARKS SUCH AS KELLY INGRAM PARK, WHICH SERVED AS A GATHERING POINT FOR DEMONSTRATORS IN THE EARLY 1960S, AND THE BIRMINGHAM CIVIL RIGHTS INSTITUTE, WHICH HOLDS THE DOOR AND THE BARS OF THE CELL WHERE DR. KING COMPOSED THE FAMOUS "LETTER FROM BIRMINGHAM JAIL."
MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE: IN MEMPHIS, TOURISTS CAN VISIT THE HISTORIC NATIONAL CIVIL RIGHTS MUSEUM, LOCATED AT THE LORRAINE MOTEL WHERE DR. KING WAS ASSASSINATED IN 1968. THE MUSEUM NOW SERVES TO HONOR AND PRESERVE THE LEGACY OF DR. KING THROUGH ITS EXHIBITS, ART COLLECTIONS, AND SPECIAL EVENTS.
LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS: IN LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS, VISITORS CAN MAKE USE OF THE ARKANSAS CIVIL RIGHTS HISTORY TOUR APP TO FIND INFORMATION ON MORE THAN 35 AFRICAN AMERICAN-RELATED SITES IN THE LITTLE ROCK AREA, INCLUDING THE LITTLE ROCK NINE MONUMENT AND THE MOSAIC TEMPLARS CULTURAL CENTER.