Southern States: a Civil Rights, Music and Food Tour
BIRMINGHAM, SELMA & MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA
NEW ORLEANS & WALLACE, LOUISIANA
JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI
LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS
MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE
Summary
Explore the legacy of slavery, surveying the South through the lens of the historic civil rights movement... tour a plantation, visit museums and memorials, savor regional specialties that blend the cuisines of settlers and enslaved, and revel in rhythms rooted in African and Caribbean cultures.
Trip Tic
For: Families, Couples Travel Days:7-8 Mileage: 1,050 Car Hours: 17 (two 4.5 hour driving days) Temps: 55-75° F (spring)
Route Map
Itinerary Outline
Day 1
Arrive at Birmingham-Shuttlesworth Airport in the evening
Lodging: Hampton Inn & Suites Tutweiler
Day 2
Arrive as the Civil Rights Institute opens and plan to spend 1.5 hours touring the exhibits and then an additional 15 minutes afterwards walking through the Kelly Ingram Park across the street, and viewing the 16th Street Baptist Church on the adjacent corner
Lunch at Bettola at the Pepper Place, former Dr. Pepper syrup factory
Drive 1.5 hours from Birmingham to Selma, Alabama to visit the National Parks Service's Selma Interpretive Center at the foot of the Edmond Pettus Bridge
Lodging: Hampton Inn - Selma
Day 3
From Selma, drive 1 hour on Route 80, the National Voting Rights Trail, to Montgomery... if time permits, stop at the Lowndes County Interpretive Center at the mid-point of the drive
In Montgomery, tour the Rosa Parks Museum and then visit the Civil Rights Memorial adjacent to the Southern Poverty Law Center
Lunch at Southern Comfort Restaurant
Drive 4.5 hours from Montgomery to New Orleans, Louisiana
Lodging: Hotel Le Marais, courtyard-facing room (this hotel is in the French Quarter -- something in the Garden District would be quieter)
Day 4
Breakfast on beignets at Cafe du Monde in the French Quarter
Attend a morning NOLA School of Cooking demo/class
Walk around the French Market
Dine early at Jacques Imo's Cafe to avoid lines
Attend a Preservation Jazz Hall show early in the evening (spring for reserved seats so you can sit and see the band)
Lodging: Hotel Le Marais
Day 5
Drive 1.25 hours from New Orleans to the Whitney Plantation in Wallace, Louisiana for a 1.5 hour guided tour of the only southern plantation that focuses on the experience of the enslaved
Afterwards, continue driving for 2 hours to Jackson, Mississippi and to the small Smith Robertson Museum whose slave ship and Medgar Evers exhibits are worthy (know that you'll need to ring the doorbell of the museum for a docent to let you in)
Dine at Babalu's Tacos and Tapas
Lodging: Hilton Garden Inn - Downtown Jackson
Day 6
Depart early for the 4.5 hour drive from Jackson to Little Rock, Arkansas
Lunch at The Root Cafe
Tour Little Rock Central High with a National Park guide (street tours and tours inside the school need to be reserved in advance)
Visit the Clinton Presidential Center and Park
Dine at ZaZa Salad and Pizza and enjoy the area shops if still open
Day 7
Drive 2.25 hours from Little Rock to Memphis, Tennesee
Tour Graceland as a VIP (Elvis' home and car collection are most interesting and take a little over 1 hour)
Lunch at Dyer's Burgers on Beale Street (be prepared for grease!)
Tour the National Civil Rights Museum at the Loraine Motel
Lodging: Heartbreak Hotel (quite cheesy, but if you're an Elvis fan, probably worth it to do just once; a new hotel is opening on site in 2016 which will be a significant improvement no doubt)
Day 8
Depart from Memphis International Airport