Beloved Community Journey

We leave Saturday morning by charter bus from Carolina Friends, making the long drive to Birmingham but with periods of on-board programming.

We settle in for two nights at the iconic Tutwiler Hotel, with over 100 years of history.

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. 

At the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame in the newly-renovated Carver Theatre (opened in 1935), we feel the beat of the music that played a role in civil rights struggles.

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 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. 

And, we watch 4 Little Girls, Spike Lee's Academy Award-nominated 1997 documentary about that tragic Sunday morning, with the sister of one of those little girls.

We drive to Selma, where veteran civil rights foot soldier Joanne Bland shares her remarkable personal story and introduces us to important sites in the civil rights story of her hometown, 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 and then cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge, retracing the Bloody Sunday march of 1965 as we head to Alabama's capital.

We'll be in a Montgomery hotel near the riverfront, historic sites, and downtown nightlife for the next two  nights.

If our schedule allows, anyone interested can enjoy a home game of the minor league Montgomery Biscuits(!) versus the Pensacola Blue Wahoo in Riverwalk Stadium, a converted century-old train shed in walking distance from our hotel.

Today we start at the Civil Rights Memorial Center, where we can add our names to the Wall of Tolerance and run our fingers across the memorial, brought to life by Vietnam Veterans Memorial designer Maya Lin and proclaiming Dr. King's well-known paraphrase of Amos 5:24--We will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.

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

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

Today we visit 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.

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 National Center for Civil and Human Rights.

In the evening, we tour Friends School of Atlanta and enjoy dinner there with staff from the South Regional office of the American Friends Service Committee, the social justice arm of American Quakerism and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, and learn about the Atlanta Economic Justice Program and other efforts to address contemporary societal issues.

We overnight at the iconic Hyatt Regency Atlanta, with its famed Polaris rotating lounge.

We worship at Ebenezer Baptist Church, founded in 1886, pastored for 44 years by the Reverend Martin Luther King, Sr., and now led by the Reverend Dr. Raphael G. Warnock, a gifted preacher. We look at the Historic Ebenezer sanctuary, site of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s funeral, and the tomb of Dr. and Mrs. King at the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site.

From the "Sweet Auburn" community, we see historically Black institutions--Clark Atlanta, Morehouse, and Spelman--that comprise the Atlanta University Center, stopping at the statue of Martin Luther King, Jr, at his alma mater and meeting with one of Paul's undergraduate history professors.

We enjoy lunch and a visit to Madam C.J. Walker's Beauty Shoppe and WERD, lifting up the stories of America's first female self-made millionaire and of WERD. the country's first Black-owned and operated radio station (1949).

We leave Atlanta and journey back to Durham, continuing our on-board programming and sharing reflections on the journey and our individual commitments moving forward.

We anticipate at least one pre-trip potluck and informational meeting to which all participants will be invited.

We also hope interest warrants at least one post-trip potluck open to all travelers.

We're glad to include anyone at a distance via video-conferencing.

Please note itinerary details are subject to change.

We'll be adding specifics about some of the special guests who'll join us along the way--from heroic foot soldiers in the civil rights movement to today's bold young activists.

Look too for added information along the way about Alabama's Dreamland BBQ, the black-owned Atlanta restaurant opened in 1947, and some of the other distinctive local food experiences we'll enjoy.

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

And, we'll have some 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 now helping launch and lead the School's new institute for teaching and learning.

He earned baccalaureate degrees magna cum laude in International Relations and 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 high school students and in 2016 and 2019 Durham civil rights experiences for CFS staff.

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--a trip to be offered again in Summer 2024. 

Paul is the Assistant Director for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Raleigh's Ravenscroft School. He was most recently at Durham Academy (DA) as an Upper School history teacher, Upper School diversity coordinator, and JV boys basketball coach; he also served as the Interim Diversity, Equity, and Engagement Team Leader.

Previously, Paul taught history at Minneapolis College Prep and then the Breck School, where he co-developed a new ninth-grade world history curriculum, won a 2019 faculty grant for a study trip to Ghana, and delivered the 2020 faculty address for senior commencement.

Some of his most consistent work in the classroom has been developing an intentional discussion-based model for teaching history that centers the student experience and thought over memorization of facts. However, his work has always found him deeply involved in DEI efforts, including passionately building and shepherding Affinity Groups, in all of the schools he has served. Paul has also  supported teachers in diversifying their curriculum and students in developing inclusive programming.

He's led civil rights bus trips and HBCU tours of the South for students at both Breck and DA.

Paul has a B.A. in history with honors from Clark Atlanta University and earned an M.A.T. at the College of St. Scholastica (MN). This Minneapolis native now lives in Durham with his fabulous wife Nia and enjoys photography, basketball, and winding down with some good music or a great book. 

Here's what participants had to say the last time we had such a tour....

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. First-Grade Teacher

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. Learning Specialist

This is a powerful trip that should be experienced by as many people as possible. High School Math Teacher

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

The tour tuition will be finalized as soon as possible in January 2023 and include:

• transportation via air-conditioned charter coach
• five nights of double-occupancy hotel lodging*
• all breakfasts and most other meals
• 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 two experienced tour co-leaders

* individual rooms will be available for a supplement

The tuition won't include:

• optional evening or other activities (e.g. a Montgomery Biscuits baseball game)
• room service and other hotel incidentals
• alcohol with a meal
• trip/travel insurance

A $500 deposit will be due at the time of application and refundable if we can fill your space.

We'd love to have you and a diverse group of participants "get on board" for this powerful personal and community journey. We have some funds available to help Carolina Friends staff members participate and, thanks to a generous CFS donor, also for educators in charter and traditional public schools as well as Quaker schools who couldn't afford to go without partial support.

As soon as possible in January 2023, we'll confirm itinerary details and costs and then begin accepting registrations.

If you'd like us to keep you updated on this or other trips (including when we're opening registration), please complete this brief notification form. 

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

Depending on the response to the Beloved Community Journey and the Charlottesville case study, we'd love to offer a trip to Charleston and/or 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.