Best Places To Visit Civil Rights History In The U.S.

It has been half a century since the historic March on Washington, when the nation’s citizens converged on the capital calling for civil and economic rights for African Americans. To mark the 50th anniversary, we rounded up several great destinations where you can retrace the steps of the Civil Rights Movement.

Montgomery, Alabama. This city is packed with significance and there are a number of civil rights sights for history buffs to absorb. You can see the bus stop where Rosa Parks famously refused to give up her seat, visit the Freedom Rides Museum housed on the site of an early confrontation and witness the site of the 1965 Voting Rights March, to name but a few options.National Civil Rights Museum, Memphis, Tennessee. This museum, which traces the history of the Civil Rights Movement, is housed in a complex of buildings including the Lorraine Hotel where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968. You can even visit King’s room — 306 — which has been recreated to look exactly like it did on that fateful day.

Selma, Alabama. Visitors to this town can see the site of the Selma to Montgomery marches, including the 1965 protest that ended in a bloody clash with police on the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Don’t miss the National Voting Rights Museum, which recounts the story of the marches and the campaign to end voting-related discrimination.

Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site, Atlanta, Georgia. This historic site recalls the life of the civil rights leader, including the home in which he grew up, a museum, the church where his father preached and his tomb.