Beloved Community Journey 2026

We leave Wednesday morning from New Garden Friends Meeting, making the long drive to Birmingham but with participant introductions and periods of programming on board our coach.

After our opening dinner, we settle in for one night at the Hampton Inn and Suites Birmingham Downtown–Tutwiler in a 13-story 1914 building overlooking a seven-acre park with its own complicated racial history.

Houston Brown, a pioneering lawyer and now-retired judge, joins us on our bus to explore Birmingham and its history through powerful personal and community stories. You will fall in love with him!

We enjoy lunch at the Pizitz Food Hall, in the landmark building that for decades housed the flagship department store of Jewish immigrant Louis Pizitz's regional retail empire.

Having watched 4 Little Girls, Spike Lee's Academy Award-nominated 1997 documentary, on our bus ride from North Carolina, we see the 16th Street Baptist Church, where Addie May Collins, Carol Denise McNair, Carole Rosamond Robertson, and Cynthia Wesley--ages 11 to 14--died in a September 1963 white supremacist bombing. 

At Kelly Ingram Park, we commemorate the children and other peaceful civil rights protestors attacked by Public Safety Commissioner Bull Connor's fire hoses and police attack dogs.

We walk across the street to explore the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. 

We drive to Selma, where we see important sites, including Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church, a center of community organizing, and cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge, retracing the Bloody Sunday march of 1965 as we head to Alabama's capital.

For the next two nights, we'll be at the elegant Hampton Inn & Suites Montgomery-Downtown, opened in 1928 as the Greystone Hotel and near the Alabama River and Riverwalk Stadium (home of the Montgomery Biscuits).

Today, we ponder the weight of history at the powerful Legacy Museum, National Memorial for Peace and Justice, and Freedom Monument Sculpture Park (accessing the Park via a 15-minute boat ride on the Alabama River).

In between, Miss Deborah & Miss Erica take good care of us at Mama’s Sack Lunches (as they say, "be the reason someone believes in the goodness of people"). 

We learn about the work of Bryan Stevenson's Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) on contemporary racial justice issues from child incarceration to the death penalty.

We dine steps from our hotel at the iconic Dreamland BBQ.

We visit the Civil Rights Memorial Center and Maya Lin-designed memorial at the Southern Poverty Law Center; walk to Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church, which Dr. King pastored during the 1955 Montgomery bus boycott; see the spot at the Alabama State Capitol where Governor George C. Wallace delivered his infamous 1963 inauguration address vowing "segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever;" and contrast a statue there with the Mothers of Gynecology sculpture a mile away.

We drive to Atlanta and explore the Historic Ebenezer sanctuary (site of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s funeral), the tomb of Dr. and Mrs. King, and the museum at the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site.

Hosted by the amazing Ricci de Forest, we visit the Madam C.J. Walker's Beauty Shoppe and WERD, lifting up the stories of America's first female self-made millionaire and of the country's first Black-owned and operated radio station (1949).

In addition to our major stops outlined above, we'll also be pointing out (if not always visiting) other sites.

And, we'll have evening gatherings for reflection and sharing as well as other more impromptu opportunities.

Please note itinerary details are subject to change.

We host a pre-trip potluck for community-building and information sharing in person (and via video for anyone remote).

We also anticipate a post-trip gathering, happy to include anyone from a distance via video.

Participants will be invited to join an informal network of all our racial justice travel groups to share articles and other resources, attend lectures and exhibits (for those local), and otherwise connect around racial justice topics.

Have questions? You're welcome to join Anthony and Brenda for an optional, online open house in mid-February (date to be determined) from 7:00 to 7:30 pm (we'll stay on longer if need be).

Please use this Google Meet link: https://meet.google.com/xor-axhz-vrv.

Anthony is excited to be a co-organizer and the resident historian and guide for the Beloved Community Journey.

Since 2009, he's served Carolina Friends School as its first Director of Advancement and as its first Director of Extended Learning (Summer Programs, Extended Day, after-school classes and music lessons, and travel and other enrichment opportunities). He's now founding head of the School's Institute for Teaching and Learning.

Anthony earned baccalaureate degrees magna cum laude in History and in International Relations and an Asian Studies Certificate at American University and then completed an M.A. in History and received Phi Beta Kappa honors at Emory University. 

Anthony has worked as a teacher (in subjects including U.S. history, government and politics, debate, and economics), college counselor, and advisor at Holland Hall School (Tulsa, Oklahoma), Raleigh Charter High School, Durham Academy, and CFS (2002-2005).

Much of his research and teaching has focused on the intersection of politics and culture--especially race--since World War II. An Arkansas native, he helped create and lead civil rights bus tours of the South for adults and high school students and in 2016, 2019, and 2023 Durham civil rights programs for CFS staff. Each May he spends a week helping guide CFS Middle Schoolers on a civil rights experience in Alabama and Georgia and facilitated 2023, 2024, and 2025 Beloved Community Journeys for educators and other adults.

Anthony has served in leadership and advisory roles for various professional organizations and non-profits, including Student U, Junior Leadership Durham, Youth Leadership Tulsa, Youth Services of Tulsa, GLSEN, Habitat for Humanity, and the Southern and National Associations for College Admission Counseling.

A CFS alum parent of two, he helps facilitate the Quaker Journey to northern England, offered in 2018, 2024, and 2026. 

Brenda Esch is the pastoral minister at New Garden Friends Meeting. She's passionate about supporting individuals on their spiritual journeys and deepening connections within the Meeting and among its neighbors, near and far.

Prior to returning to Greensboro, Brenda was Head of School at Friends School of Wilmington (NC) from 2012 to 2023. She is currently a trustee at Pendle Hill, a Quaker study, retreat, and conference center in Wallingford, Pennsylvania.

Brenda earned a B.A. in Religious Studies with a related field of English at Guilford College and an M.Ed. in School Leadership from the University of Pennsylvania. In addition, she completed coursework in pastoral care at the Earlham School of Religion.

A longtime Friend and daughter of Quaker leaders Keith and Virginia Esch, Brenda grew up at West Richmond (Indiana) Friends Meeting and attended New Garden while a Guilford student. Her adult children, Annie and Ryland, both live in Pennsylvania. Brenda loves live music and is an avid walker, often accompanied by her pup Bixby.

Here's what past participants have had to say....

I feel transformed. Not sure where I'm going to land after this experience, but know I won't be the same person as I was before the trip.

What was most meaningful for me were the visceral experiences of being in these places, standing on the ground where they happened, understanding on a more encompassing level the magnitude and depth of our racial history and the unhealed individual and national wounds we can't continue to ignore.

I did some grieving and alot of gratitude practices as I moved through each site. I found hope in meeting and hearing from people who lived through these times and also ones who are currently and continually working on the goal of racial equity.

Participants shared personal stories of overcoming hardships and discrimination, of meeting hatred with love, and provided real time models that are so inspiring! I felt trusted with their tender experiences. I felt challenged to explore myself and new ideas and I felt safe to say my truths. Thank you one and all.

I’ve always been interested in the Civil Rights Movement, but there is no substitute for actually walking the Bloody Sunday bridge, standing on the corner where Rosa got on that bus, and visiting the church where Martin Luther King, Jr. grew up. It’s an experience that will change anybody’s life, no matter how much or how little you already know about the Movement. 

The past came alive for us, tears fell, and lives changed. I gained incredible knowledge…and made a commitment to work for justice, equality, and human rights in whatever ways I can. Everyone should take advantage of this transforming journey. 

This is a powerful trip that should be experienced by as many people as possible. 

I now feel more authentic in my effort to join with others to do what my heart always wished to do. What a gift.

The $1,600 tuition includes:

• transportation via air-conditioned charter coach
• four nights of double-occupancy hotel lodging*
• all meals except a Birmingham lunch
• all admission fees and guest speaker honoraria
• chauffeur gratuity
• on-board live and multi-media programming
• resource materials about tour destinations, civil rights history, contemporary social justice issues, and other relevant topics
• the services of an experienced historian and tour leader

* individual rooms are available for a supplement (to be finalized as soon as possible in February--it has been approximately $500 in past years]

The tuition does not include:

• optional evening or other activities
• room service and other hotel incidentals
• alcohol with a meal
• trip/travel insurance

The $600 trip deposit, due upon application, is non-refundable unless we reach capacity and can fill your space. The balance (and any single room supplement) is due Wednesday 20 May 2026.

However, we're glad to work with you on alternative financial arrangements.

We'd love to have you and a diverse group of participants "get on board" for this powerful personal and community journey. We may have some tuition assistance funds available to support individuals who couldn't afford to go otherwise.

If you're in a position to do so, a tax-deductible gift added to the overall tuition amount can increase our program funds and expand access. Thanks for your consideration!

Registration is open via this Google form. 

We hope you'll also consider other transformational travel-learning opportunities--for example, the 10-15 March 2026 Coastal Journey to Charleston and Savannah in early March and the two-day Fall 2026 Racial Myth & Memory experience in Wilmington.

If you have questions about mobility demands or other tour particulars, please contact one of the following:

• Brenda Esch, New Garden Friends Meeting, brenda @ ngfm.org
• Anthony L. Clay, Carolina Friends School, ExtendedLearning@cfsnc.org

If you'd like us to keep you updated on this or other travel-learning opportunities, please complete this brief notification form. 

Join us for a six-day trip to Charleston and Savannah.

Charleston

More enslaved Africans first set foot on land in Charleston than anywhere else in North America, and the interstate slave trade was just as significant there. It's no wonder John C. Calhoun and other South Carolina political figures resisted abolition at all costs and that the first shots of the Civil War came at Fort Sumter, in Charleston Harbor.

In June 2015 at Mother Emanuel AME, one of the South's oldest Black churches, the pastor and eight parishioners were gunned down during Scripture study by a young white supremacist. The church is on a street still named for Calhoun.

We'll build our visit around the International African American Museum (opening in 2023) and other important sites, from the McLeod Plantation Historic Site to the Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture, housed in the Avery Normal School.

Savannah

Savannah is America's first planned city, and 22 of its 24 squares remain. The trans-Atlantic slave trade brought many African-Americans through its port, and many of them formed the unique Gullah Geechee culture of the coastal communities in Georgia and South Carolina.

The Pin Point Heritage Museum, located in an oyster and crab factory on the banks of the Moon River, shares the language, religion, foodways, and stories of this Gullah Geechee community, which occupies the largest African-American owned waterfront property on the East Coast.

Sapelo Island, a 20-minute ferry ride from the mainland, features a National Estuarine Research Reserve, the mansion once owned by North Carolina tobacco magnate R.J. Reynolds, Jr., and the Hog Hammock community, permanent home to about 70 full-time residents, many of whom are descended from the enslaved laborers of Sapelo's plantations. 

The First African Baptist Church (home of North America's oldest black congregation), the Owens-Thomas House & Slave Quarters Museum, the King-Tisdell Cottage, the African American Family Monument, and other sites give us insight into the rich African American history of Savannah. 

We'll also look forward to distinctive local culinary experiences, including at the Back in the Day Bakery. Co-owner Cheryl Day's great-great-grandmother, Hannah Queen Grubbs, was an enslaved pastry chef and the James Beard Award nominee learned to bake from her grandmother during summers spent with her in Alabama. She is a co-founder of Southern Restaurants for Racial Justice, which advocates for workers of color in the food industry.

If you'd like us to keep you updated on other transformational travel-learning offerings, please complete this brief notification form. 

Explore the history of Quakerism by retracing the 17th-century footsteps of George Fox, founder of the Religious Society of Friends--and of Margaret Fell, an early supporter and later his wife--through the beautiful Lake District of northern England.

And, find adventure, learning, and reflection in community. In addition to being a nourishing experience for us individually, the Journey is a wonderful way to deepen relationships and build a stronger sense of community among F/friends and Friends institutions.

Learn more about the Quaker Journey.

If you'd like us to keep you updated on other transformational travel-learning offerings, please complete this brief notification form. 

Beloved Community Journey participants and other curious adults can join a mid-April weekend immersion experience in Wilmington, exploring historical and contemporary aspects of race through three themes...

• Gullah Geechee and other African-Americans in coastal Carolina 
• the 1898 Wilmington race massacre
• Black Lives Matter and other racial justice efforts

...at multiple historic sites...

• Poplar Grove Plantation
• Bellamy Mansion Museum of History and Design
• 1898 Monument and Memorial Park
• University of North Carolina at Wilmington

Learn more about Racial Myth and Memory: A Wilmington Case Study.

If you'd like us to keep you updated on this or other travel-learning opportunities, please complete this brief notification form. 

Explore the connections between race and the rich musical history and traditions--blues, gospel, country, rock, and more--in Memphis and Mississippi.

We'll fly in and out of Memphis and use a comfortable charter bus during our stay. We'll also enjoy distinctive cuisine from local places like The Rendezvous, serving barbecue since 1948.

We'll search out live music (on Beale Street and beyond) and meet music historians and performers.

And, if we're lucky, we might be able to catch a special musical event (for example, Clarksdale's Birthplace of American Music Festival or Sunflower River Blues and Gospel Festival).

Memphis

We'll visit the legendary Sun Studio, Elvis' Graceland home, the Stax Museum of American Soul Music, the Memphis Rock and Soul Museum, the Blues Hall of Fame Museum, and the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel (where Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated).

Mississippi 

We'll:

• experience diverse musical genres at the GRAMMY Museum in Cleveland
• follow the Blues Trail, including stops at the
  • B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center in Indianola
  • Delta Blues Museum and Cat Head Delta Blues & Folk Art in Clarksdale
  • Gateway to the Blues Museum in Tunica
• cross the Mighty Mississippi into Arkansas for the Delta Cultural Center in Helena (home to radio's fabled King Biscuit Blues Time).

We'll also:

• learn about 14-year-old Emmett Till around Greenwood
• visit the Mound Bayou Museum in the country's oldest all-Black municipality, founded in 1887
• be inspired by the activism of the late Fannie Lou Hamer in Mound Bayou and her hometown of Ruleville.