Highlights

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Itinerary

Day 1 – Birmingham, AL

This evening, you arrive in Birmingham, AL for two nights at the Drury Inn.  Dinner is on own, but the Drury offers the 5:30 Kickback featuring a rotating menu of hot foods and cold beverages. (D)

Day 2 – Birmingham Civil Rights Institute – Sixteenth Street Baptist Church – Kelly Ingram Park – Freedom Riders Museum – Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame 

This morning begins at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, the focal point of the Civil Rights District. Here richly detailed exhibits reveal slices of black and white life from the late 1800’s to the present. A series of galleries tells the stories of daily life for African Americans in Alabama and the nation, and how it differed dramatically from the lives that white people took for granted.

Just across the street from the Civil Rights Institute is the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church. A National Historic Landmark, the church was the site of a dynamite bombing in 1963 that killed four young African American Girls: Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, Cynthia Wesley and Addie Mae. (Tour as available)

A life-size sculpture in adjacent Kelly Ingram Park faces the church and captures the spirited nature of the young girls killed in the bombing. This historic park served as a congregating area for demonstrations in the early 1960’s, including the ones in which police dogs and fire hoses were turned on marchers by Birmingham police. The park has a free cell phone tour that guides visitors through the tumultuous events of 1963.

Lunch will be included today at a local restaurant.

Today also includes The A.G. Gaston Motel, now part of The National Park Service is a significant site of civil rights activities. In the face of violent state repression, the modern civil rights movement sought equal rights and constitutional equality at the national level. Churches, courthouses, schools, parks, and a myriad of other landmarks make up the constellation of sites, both large and small, where moments of change occurred.

One of these sites was the A.G. Gaston Motel. In 1963, the motel served as the headquarters of the campaign to desegregate public accommodations in Birmingham, Alabama. From the motel, leaders made critical decisions that advanced the cause of civil rights locally and shaped events and legislation nationally.

Then enjoy a tour of the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame. The museum offers you a chance to immerse yourself in the state’s rich jazz heritage. The museum contains more than 2,200 square feet of exhibits. After your tour, see a showing of “Jazz in the Magic City,” a very interesting jazz documentary outlining the progression of Jazz in Birmingham, AL.  Return to hotel.  Dinner this evening is an Eat and Play Combo at Dave & Busters.  It’s non-stop arcade fun and a healthy diner.  (B,L,D)

Day 3 – Southern Museum of Flight – Depart for Home

Before leaving Birmingham this morning you have a field trip to the Southern Museum of Flight.  It begins with a guided tour, an immersive lessons in flight history. You can schedule hands-on activities like scavenger hunts and 3-D airplane design.  Or tailor a tour to your special interests, including Alabama Aviation History. Black History. The Tuskegee Airmen. Aviation Carriers. World War I to the Cold War.

Following the Museum you depart for home (B)

Tour Map