American South

Following a welcome orientation at our hotel, walk to the Hermann-Grima House, a restored 19th-century home in the French Quarter. From there, take a guided walking tour of the French Quarter, stopping in Congo Square and at the Bienville Monument. This evening, enjoy a welcome dinner at a local restaurant.

This morning, venture to Whitney Plantation, which operated from 1752–1975, producing indigo, sugar, and rice, and today serves as a museum. Continue to St. John’s Parish, one of the many majority-black river communities between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, where we meet with the founders of the Descendants Project. Learn about their work to preserve and protect the health, land and lives of the Black descendant community in Louisiana’s River Parishes. After lunch at a historic local restaurant, return to New Orleans to visit the TEP Center, the former home of McDonogh 19 Elementary School. Enjoy a special private dinner this evening at a family-owned Creole restaurant in the Tremé neighborhood, accompanied by a jazz performance.

Depart for Africatown, located outside of Mobile, and home to the Africatown Heritage House. View “Clotilda: The Exhibition,” the story of the United States’ last known slave ship. After lunch with residents in a local church, drive to Gee’s Bend and meet with quilters from the Gee’s Bend Quilter’s Collective. Our next stop is Selma, where we cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Continue to Montgomery. where we check in for the night.

Spend the morning at the newly opened Equal Justice Initiative’s Freedom Monument Sculpture Park. Explore 17 acres of land filled with sculptures, historic slave dwellings, and other artifacts. After lunch at a local restaurant, visit the National Memorial for Peace and Justice. At dinner this evening, renowned singer and Civil Rights activist Wanda Battle and local musician and historian Cedric perform freedom songs for us.

We depart early this morning for our trip to Savannah, stopping en route to visit the Tuskegee History Center. Enjoy a picnic lunch at the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site before continuing our drive. Upon arrival in Savannah, check in to our hotel and enjoy an evening at leisure.

Embark on a walk through Savannah, guided by a local educator and cultural historian. Stop at the First African Baptist Church, the oldest Black church in North America. Next, visit the Beach Institute African American Cultural Center, where we meet with its CEO and enjoy lunch. This afternoon, head to the SCAD Museum of Art to see an exhibit featuring the Gullah Geeche people’s vibrant culture. Dinner tonight is at a local restaurant.

En route to Charleston, drive along the coast to learn more about the Gullah Geechee people. Stop at St. Helena Island and visit the Penn Center, the first Southern school for formerly enslaved west Africans. Enjoy lunch at a restaurant that follows the Gullah tradition of serving seasonal and local foods. Later, we visit the McLeod Plantation Historic Site on James Island before continuing into Charleston to check in to our hotel and enjoy an evening at leisure.

This morning, visit Gadsden Green, a historic neighborhood in Charleston’s westside. Continue to the International African American Museum, dedicated to the unvarnished stories of the African American experience across generations. During lunch, we meet with the founder of the Slave Dwelling Project. This afternoon, take a walk through historical Charleston. Toast our journey this evening during a farewell dinner at a local restaurant.

After breakfast, bid farewell to fellow travelers before departing for trips home.