[west seattle gal]

We will definitely have a rental car but try to walk to anything near by when possible.

Also, I ended up booking two airbnbs for the week, one in Huntsville and the other in Birmingham, so that we can explore both towns. It helps with dropping off and picking up the kids from space camp, too. Thanks for all of the recommendations! I'm excited to see Alabama, which includes Montgomery, Selma, and Gulf Shores after Birmingham.

[Listener2307]

Originally Posted by Listener2307
How does one "do the Civil Rights trail"...?
There are numerous sites scattered across several states, sometimes far apart. I have never heard of anyone "doing the civil rights trail". Or even The Trail of Tears.

Originally Posted by MinivanDriver

It's an actual thing, helping us understand an important part of the region's history.



https://civilrightstrail.com/

Yeah, I found the website. It shows three locations in Alabama - one close to the area being discussed and 2 down near Montgomery. And some locations may be important to some people, but how far would you drive to see the site of Rosa Park's arrest? Or Judge Frank Johnson, Jr's courthouse?
It's always nice to have curious visitors here in the South, but I would not think they will learn much about civil rights by visiting sites and memorials. I feel the same way about Civil War memorials. Visiting them is not how you learn about the war.


More could be learned about civil rights by studying the life of Condoleeza Rice or John Lewis than by driving to various sites. Rice lost a childhood friend in the infamous Birmingham church bombing, but went on to become successful. Everyone is more familiar with John Lewis, of course.

[OldBankhead]

Okay, so you've switched from asking "How" someone would do it and that was plainly answered and now you've moved on to asking "Why" someone would do it and expect people to convince you how to spend your time or justify how they choose to spend theirs to you?

Come on, man.

[TimCity2000]

when will you be in Birmingham? the coffee shop i mentioned will be opening in April and will be an easy walk from the airbnb on Morris Ave:

Frothy Monkey gets liquor license for old Urban Standard space

[BamaDave]

Originally Posted by Listener2307

Yeah, I found the website. It shows three locations in Alabama - one close to the area being discussed and 2 down near Montgomery. And some locations may be important to some people, but how far would you drive to see the site of Rosa Park's arrest? Or Judge Frank Johnson, Jr's courthouse?
It's always nice to have curious visitors here in the South, but I would not think they will learn much about civil rights by visiting sites and memorials. I feel the same way about Civil War memorials. Visiting them is not how you learn about the war.


More could be learned about civil rights by studying the life of Condoleeza Rice or John Lewis than by driving to various sites. Rice lost a childhood friend in the infamous Birmingham church bombing, but went on to become successful. Everyone is more familiar with John Lewis, of course.

You may want to visit some of these places yourself to see how much you can learn. The new Legacy Museum in Montgomery (opened by the Equal Justice Initiative) is a must-see in conjunction with the Memorial for Peace and Justice (lynching memorial). The Civil Rights Museum in Birmingham is also very educational and a great place to spend some hours learning about past history. Selma has educational sites as well, although maybe not as time-consuming.

[west seattle gal]

Lynching is a form of terror and its victims included children. None of it was justified in any way. Please don't even start this type of discussion, it turns my stomach. This is the wrong forum.

[Jensen440]

I would not spend 5 days in Birmingham only - too much time. My opinion is that Huntsville is a bit more sophisticated and bit better educated.
Birmingham's history is well documented and deserves a look, but it some ways it seems a bit too "mired in The Civil Rights Era" in my sole opinion.
If you're going to come that far from PNW I would visit Nashville, Huntsville and Birmingham as well. In my view and opinion, Huntsville is a breath of fresh air, so is Nashville. The food choices in southern Bham/5 points/highland can be impressive, but I could care less about most parts of the city centre, never cared for it....the southern suburbs out to Oak Mountain, yes.

[Mississippi Alabama Line]

Originally Posted by Listener2307

Yeah, I found the website. It shows three locations in Alabama - one close to the area being discussed and 2 down near Montgomery. And some locations may be important to some people, but how far would you drive to see the site of Rosa Park's arrest? Or Judge Frank Johnson, Jr's courthouse?
It's always nice to have curious visitors here in the South, but I would not think they will learn much about civil rights by visiting sites and memorials. I feel the same way about Civil War memorials. Visiting them is not how you learn about the war.


More could be learned about civil rights by studying the life of Condoleeza Rice or John Lewis than by driving to various sites. Rice lost a childhood friend in the infamous Birmingham church bombing, but went on to become successful. Everyone is more familiar with John Lewis, of course.

Why would you discourage anyone from visiting when they want to do so? This is a form of tourism that needed to be done for decades in the South. The reason you've never heard of anyone doing the Civil Rights Trails is because no one has done it yet, because it's a developing avenue. It's new, in other words.

I see no downside to it. People from elsewhere have been talking about the South forever for civil rights issues, I say, let them come here to ground zero and see it all for themselves. I wish we'd build more museums.

[MinivanDriver]

Originally Posted by Mississippi Alabama Line

Why would you discourage anyone from visiting when they want to do so? This is a form of tourism that needed to be done for decades in the South. The reason you've never heard of anyone doing the Civil Rights Trails is because no one has done it yet, because it's a developing avenue. It's new, in other words.

I see no downside to it. People from elsewhere have been talking about the South forever for civil rights issues, I say, let them come here to ground zero and see it all for themselves. I wish we'd build more museums.

Yeah, I don't get this either.

[BamaDave]

Originally Posted by Mississippi Alabama Line

Why would you discourage anyone from visiting when they want to do so? This is a form of tourism that needed to be done for decades in the South. The reason you've never heard of anyone doing the Civil Rights Trails is because no one has done it yet, because it's a developing avenue. It's new, in other words.

I see no downside to it. People from elsewhere have been talking about the South forever for civil rights issues, I say, let them come here to ground zero and see it all for themselves. I wish we'd build more museums.

Local residents should visit these sites too (in fact, more so since we still live in these places shaped by the events of the past). They are very well-done and educational. It's disappointing to see people in this thread dismissing the civil rights sites as places to visit.