Atlanta to Charlotte Civil Rights Tour

A Journey through the Civil Rights Movement. Begin at the International Institute of Civil Rights Center and Museum, make your way to Atlanta and visit the Atlanta History Center & Atlanta History Museum. Enjoy a Martin Luther King Jr. Day exploring his birth home, the church where he was baptized & preached, the tombs of Dr. King & Coretta Scott King, and much more. See the Apex Museum, Herndon Home Museum, and finish your trip in Charlotte at the Harry B. Gantt Center for African American Arts and Culture.

Duration
4 Days /3 Nights

Group size
Customizable

Customization
Available!
Tour Inclusions: 3 nights’ accommodation; 3 breakfasts; 1 lunch; 2 dinners; admissions, entrance, and guide fees as stated in the itinerary, including taxes, and gratuity, except gratuity for guide fees is not included on adult tours unless otherwise requested.
Highlights:
  • International Institute of Civil Rights Center and Museum
  • Levine Museum of the New South
  • Carolina Civil Rights Journey Tour
  • Atlanta History Museum
  • Center for Civil and Human Rights
  • Hammonds House Museum
  • Martin Luther King National Historical Park
  • Atlanta Student Movement Rush Memorial Church
  • Dr. King's Birth Home
  • Paschal’s Restaurant
  • Apex Museum
  • Herndon Home Museum
  • Harry B. Gantt Center for African American Arts and Culture

Sample Itinerary:
Day 1 - International Institute of Civil Rights Center & Museum
  • Arrive in Greensboro, NC, and visit the International Institute of Civil Rights Center and Museum. Its building formerly housed the Woolworth's, the site of a non-violent protest in the civil rights movement.
  • Enjoy lunch included today at a local restaurant owned by a husband & wife serving Southern soul food, including Lowcountry dishes, in a colorful setting.
  • After lunch, visit the Levine Museum of the New South for a Carolina Civil Rights Journey Tour whose exhibits focus on life in the North Carolina Piedmont after the American Civil War.
  • Depart and enjoy dinner on your own while enroute to Atlanta. Check-in to your local area hotel.  (Meals: L)
Day 2 - Atlanta History Center, Center for Civil and Human Rights, & Hammonds House Museum
  • Enjoy breakfast included at your hotel. Depart, meet your GUIDE, and visit the Atlanta History Center. In 1990, after decades of collecting, researching, and publishing information about Atlanta and the surrounding area, the organization officially became Atlanta History Center. What began as a small, archival-focused historical society grew over the decades to encompass 33 acres of curated Goizueta Gardens, four historic houses, varied programming, and a range of signature and temporary exhibitions housed in the Atlanta History Museum. Enjoy lunch on your own this afternoon.
  • Depart for the Center for Civil and Human Rights, a museum dedicated to the achievements of both the civil rights movement in the United States and the broader worldwide human rights movement.
  • Arrive at Hammonds House Museum, a museum for African American fine art located in an 1857 Victorian house, the former residence of Dr. Otis Thrash Hammonds, a prominent Atlanta physician and patron of the arts.
  • Enjoy dinner included at your hotel’s Kick Back Reception. (Meals: B, D)
Day 3 - Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
  • Enjoy breakfast included at your hotel prior to departing with your GUIDE.
  • Arrive at the Martin Luther King National Historical Park, it covers about 35 acres and includes several buildings related to the life and work of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. Depart for additional touring and lunch on own.
  • Visit the Tombs of Dr. King and his wife, Coretta Scott King, the famous Atlanta Student Movement Rush Memorial Church, & the graves at South-View Cemetery of Daddy King & John Wesley Dobbs.
  • See up close the house Dr. King lived in at the time of his assassination and where Coretta raised their four children.
  • Visit Dr. King's birth home and the Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church where MLK Jr. was baptized and both he and Daddy King preached. There will be a chance to stand in front of the crypt of MLK & Coretta Scott King.
  • See Paschal’s Restaurant, where, in the front dining room, morning politicos helped elect Atlanta’s first black mayor, Maynard Jackson. Other sites include: Ralph Abernathy’s West Hunter Street Church, the mural of John Lewis on Auburn Avenue, the office on Auburn Avenue, the Edgewood Avenue-Sweet Auburn Market, State Capitol & City Hall, the King Memorial (US Parks Service), SCLC & SNCC Freedom House, Morehouse College, historic Hunter Street (MLK now), and Magnolia Ballroom. 
  • Explore the Apex Museum, founded in 1978 by Mr. Dan Moore, the mission is to interpret and present history from an African American perspective to help all Americans and international visitors better understand and appreciate the contributions of African Americans to America and the world.
  • Visit the Herndon Home Museum. The Alonzo F and Norris B Herndon Foundation is a private foundation based in Atlanta, GA, founded in 1952 with its mission to advance the Herndon legacy through education, mentoring, and preparing the next generation of entrepreneurs. The Alonzo F. and Norris B. Herndon Foundation supports the Herndon Home Museum and carries forward the longstanding and quite distinctive philanthropic tradition of Herndon family support for economic development, entrepreneurship, community leadership and development, and educational excellence. The Foundation also supports the Game Changer Entrepreneur Program with its mission to strengthen the entrepreneurial spirit in the community by providing programs that encourage youth to stay in school, recognize business opportunities, and plan for successful futures.
  • Return and enjoy dinner included at your hotel’s Kick Back Reception. (Meals: B, D)
Day 4 - Harry B. Gantt Center for African American Arts and Culture
  • Enjoy breakfast included prior to checking out. Arrive in Charlotte, NC, and enjoy lunch on your own at a local diner serving scratch comfort food 24/7 in a classic railroad car-style space.
  • Continue to the Harry B. Gantt Center for African American Arts and Culture. Since its establishment in 1974, the dream of the first visionaries has elevated to unforeseen levels. Located in the heart of Uptown Charlotte, October 2009 marked the opening of the Afro-American Cultural Center as the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture. The naming of the new facility is in honor of Harvey Bernard Gantt, a well-respected community leader and businessman. He is a trailblazer as the first African-American student admitted to Clemson University and later served as Charlotte's first African-American mayor. This humble leader continues to impact the lives of the local citizenry and individuals well beyond the borders of Mecklenburg County. Depart for home. (Meals: B)

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