Civil Rights Pilgrimage, September 30-October 8, 2024

In late September 2024, a group of travelers set out from Seattle on a powerful pilgrimage through the landmarks of the Civil Rights Movement in the American South. Upon arriving in Atlanta, they visit the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park and heard stories of courage at Ebenezer Baptist Church.

A lunch stop at Paschal’s connected them to the history of activism, followed by a discussion with Dr. Catherine Meeks at the Church of the Incarnation. After visiting the Carter Center, the group moved on to Selma, where they walked the historic Edmund Pettus Bridge and reflected at the National Voting Rights Museum.

A stop at Montgomery’s Legacy Sites, and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice deepened their understanding of racial injustice. In Birmingham, they explored the 16th Street Baptist Church and the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, commemorating pivotal events in the fight for equality.

Their journey continued to Memphis, where the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel provided a somber reminder of Dr. King’s assassination. As they returned home on October 9, the travelers carried with them the stories, lessons, and legacies of the Civil Rights Movement, forever shaped by the powerful history they’ve experienced firsthand.