Beloved Community Journey 2024

We leave Saturday morning by charter from Carolina Friends, making the long drive to Birmingham but with participant introductions and periods of programming on board our executive mini-coach (with its leather interior and LED lighting).

Our opening dinner is at Birmingham's own Jim 'N Nick's Bar-B-Q.

We settle in for two nights at the Hampton Inn and Suites Birmingham Downtown–Tutwiler in a 13-story 1914 building overlooking a seven-acre park.

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.

Having watched 4 Little Girls, Spike Lee's Academy Award-nominated 1997 documentary, on our bus ride from Durham, 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. 

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

At the Negro Southern League Museum, with the country's largest collection of original Negro League baseball artifacts, we learn the story of African-American baseball. 

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.

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 drive to Selma, where we see important sites, including Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church, a center of community organizing.

We explore the Middle Passage (the transatlantic trade in enslaved peoples) in a visceral experience led by Sister Afriye We-kandodis, enjoy a delicious catered lunch with her, and then cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge, retracing the Bloody Sunday march of 1965 as we head to Alabama's capital.

In Montgomery we visit the the museum and Maya Lin-designed memorial at the Civil Rights Memorial Center of 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 new Mothers of Gynecology sculpture a mile away.

For the next two nights, we'll be at the Springhill Suites Montgomery Downtown, in a building constructed between 1905 and 1907 and featuring 16 and 17-foot ceilings, exposed beams and red brick walls, and views of downtown, the Alabama River, and the Riverwalk Stadium (home of the Montgomery Biscuits).

We ponder the weight of history at the powerful Legacy Museum and National Memorial for Peace and Justice.

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'll add EJI's Freedom Monument Sculpture Park if it opens before our trip.

And, we may have some flexible time for participants to rest, wander the Riverfront, visit another museum (about the Freedom Riders, Rosa Parks, or Hank Williams), or otherwise choose their activity.

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

On the road again, we explore the heroic service of pioneering World War II pilots at Moton Field and the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site. 

We make a brief stop at Tuskegee University, founded by Booker T. Washington and now a National Historic Site, before continuing on to Atlanta.

We arrive in the afternoon for a visit to 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).

We'll tour Friends School of Atlanta and enjoy dinner there with the Head of School.

We hosted a pre-trip community-building and informational meeting, 2:00 pm Sunday 18 February. We're glad to share a recording with any later registrants.

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

Travelers will be invited to join an informal network including participants in the 2023 Beloved Community Journey and Racial Myth & Memory | Charlottesville to share articles and other resources, attend lectures and exhibits, and otherwise connect around racial justice topics.

Please note itinerary details are subject to change.

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

And, we'll have two evening opportunities for reflection and sharing.

Anthony returned to Carolina Friends in August 2009 as the first Director of Advancement, and in 2016 became the School's first Director of Extended Learning, which includes Summer Programs, Extended Day, after-school classes and music lessons, travel opportunities, and other enrichment options for students, adults, and families. He's also helped launch and leads the School's Institute for Teaching and Learning.

He earned baccalaureate degrees magna cum laude in International Relations and in History 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 experiences for CFS staff. He spent a May 2023 week helping guide 25 Middle Schoolers on a civil rights experience in Alabama and Georgia and then co-directed the June/July 2023 Beloved Community Journey.

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 helped facilitate the Quaker Journey to northern England in 2018 and 2024 and offered again in Summer 2026. 

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

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 $1,950 tuition includes:

• transportation via air-conditioned charter coach
• five nights of double-occupancy hotel lodging*
• all meals except a Birmingham lunch
• all admission fees and guest speaker honoraria
• 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 $590 supplement

The tuition does not include:

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

The trip cost is non-refundable unless we reach capacity and can fill your space.

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 Carolina Friends staff members and possibly also educators in charter and traditional public schools as well as Quaker schools 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 for teachers. Thanks for your consideration!

Registration is open using this Google form.

We seek a balance of travelers, ages 18 and older, including:

• educators (from CFS, other Quaker and independent, traditional public, and charter schools and colleges and universities)
• alumni; former staff; current and former parents, grandparents, and trustees; and friends in the CFS community
• members of the Chapel Hill, Durham, Hillsborough, and other Friends meetings
• other curious adults

If you have questions about mobility demands or other tour particulars, please email Anthony at ExtendedLearning@cfsnc.org.

Beloved Community Journey participants and other curious adults joined a 29-30 October 2023 weekend immersion experience in Charlottesville, exploring historical and contemporary aspects of race through three themes...

• enslaved communities and three early presidents
• African-Americans and the University of Virginia 
• the Robert E. Lee statue and violent 2017 Unite the Right Rally of white supremacists

...at five historic sites...

• Monticello
• Montpelier
• Highland
• University of Virginia
• Market Street Park

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

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.

Beloved Community Journey participants and other curious adults can join a Fall 2024 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. 

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 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.