Experience and Learn Along the Civil Rights Trail
Alabama, May 3 - 8, 2024
Invitation from Lem White, Head of Impact
I am pleased to personally invite you to join me and our Brighton Jones team for our 2024 Civil Rights trip to Alabama.
As the Head of Impact, I help our clients and colleagues live a richer life by making the world a better place through impactful giving and transformational travel. I had the privilege of traveling to Alabama with a small group of teammates and clients last year. As a wealth alignment firm committed to social and racial justice, we believe it is imperative to educate ourselves about the causes of racial inequality and current challenges within the Civil Rights Movement. Following five incredible days in the South on the Civil Rights Trail, we were transformed.
Join us, as together we will walk the historic Edmund Pettus Bridge following in the footsteps of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Marchers for Voting Rights in 1965, share meals and conversations with civil rights leaders, spend a day at the Legacy Museum with the Equal Justice Initiative, one of the most significant museums in the World, eat incredible Southern food, and explore Montgomery’s “hidden gems.”
We will also learn and grow with Michelle Browder, a Black artist and activist who has worked to transform realities for Black people in Alabama and the South. Michelle will guide and challenge us through questions such as, “what is your place in this movement today?” along with sharing stories and augmenting activists’ voices.
We would love for you to join us this May as we bring a group of Brighton Jones clients and staff to experience the birthplace of the Civil Rights Movement and meet the inspiring local leaders of Montgomery and Selma, Alabama.
Lem White
Head of Impact
Day 1
May 3
Arrive at Montgomery Regional Airport | After settling into the hotel, we will join our trip guides, Jake Williams and Michelle Browder at the More Up Campus for dinner and an introduction to the Civil Rights Movement.
Day 2
May 4
Introduction to Montgomery and Grounding Tour | We begin our tour with a history of the slave trade with our guide, Michelle Browder. Michelle will lead us through the historic waterfront and downtown Montgomery, sites that made Montgomery one of the most important and conspicuous slave trading communities in the United States. In the afternoon, we will visit The Freedom Rides Museum, located at the old Montgomery Greyhound Station, where in 1961 peaceful Civil Rights activists made history by challenging segregated travel in the South. Following a walk-through of downtown Montgomery, we will end our day at the historic Riverwalk Stadium to watch the Montgomery Biscuits of the Southern League, Alabama’s minor league baseball team.
Day 3
May 5
Legacy Museum & The National Memorial for Peace and Justice | Our third day will begin at the Legacy Museum where we will be immersed in the sights and sounds of the slave trade, racial terrorism, the Jim Crow South, and the world’s largest prison system. Following lunch at the Equal Justice Initiative Pavilion, we will visit the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, informally known as the National Lynching Memorial, which commemorates the black victims of lynching in the United States.
Day 4
May 6
Day Trip to Selma, Alabama | With Jake Williams as our guide, we will travel to one of the Civil Rights Movement’s most pivotal sites, Selma, Alabama. Along the way, we will stop at key historical markers like the Viola Liuzzo Monument, a memorial commemorating civil rights activist, Viola Liuzzo who was fatally shot by Klan members during the Selma to Montgomery marches. Following lunch, Jake Williams will walk us across the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Together, we will retrace his and other Civil Rights leaders’ steps during the Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights March and the site of “Bloody Sunday,” where six hundred marchers were brutally attacked during the first Civil Rights March for Voting Rights in 1965.
Edmund Pettus Bridge, Selma, Alabama
Courtesy of www.civilrightstrail.com
Day 5
may 7
The Harris Home & Freedom Monument Sculpture Park | On the final day of our trip, we will meet Dr. Valda Harris Montgomery, neighbor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who will recount fond, moving, and harrowing memories involving her family’s friendship with the Kings. In the afternoon we will visit the Mothers of Gynecology, a 15-foot monument which pays homage to three enslaved experimental subjects of the so-called “father of gynecology,” J. Marion Sims, and shines a light on the ongoing racial disparities in the healthcare industry.
Day 6
May 8
Flights Home | Departure from Montgomery Regional Airport to return home with new understandings, reflections, and actionable steps you can take to boldly pursue Civil Rights in your community.
Package & Pricing
The pricing for your trip includes all major expenses, and is designed to make your trip smooth and worry-free, allowing you to be fully immersed in your learning and experience. You will be guided by local leaders in Alabama for the duration of your trip, who will be invaluable sources of local, historical knowledge and context. A Brighton Jones team on the ground will ensure your comfort and safety at all times.
Total Cost: $3,000 USD per person, based on double occupancy or $3,850 USD per person, based on single occupancy.
Your package includes:
Accommodation in Montgomery (5 nights)
Breakfast (5 days), Lunch (4 days), Dinner (5 days)
All activities as outlined in the itinerary above
Ground transportation throughout the duration of the trip, including airport pickup and drop off
Professional facilitators and experienced guides
Your package does not include:
Airfare
Travel insurance: domestic medical, trip cancellation, and interruption insurance
Any extras not mentioned in inclusions
Alcoholic beverages