Creative Justice Journey 2026

Setting the Vessel

Our pilgrimage begins aboard our "rolling classroom" to Montgomery, the "Cradle of the Confederacy" turned "Cradle of Civil Rights."

As the landscape shifts, we use participant introductions and curated programming to center our hearts and minds for the witness work ahead and to nurture our Beloved Community.

After our opening dinner, we settle into our home for the next three nights: the Hampton Inn & Suites. This elegant 1928 landmark, nestled in the historic heart of the city, sits next door to the Hank Williams Museum and just steps from the Alabama River, a silent witness to both the arrival of enslaved people and the birth of a movement.

The Weight of Memory and the Current of Hope

Today, we bear witness to the legacy of enslavement and to the hard work of repair and reconciliation.

The Legacy Museum is situated where enslaved people were once warehoused; it's not a place for casual observation, but rather a space for deep listening. We explore the sophisticated visual storytelling that links the domestic slave trade to modern mass incarceration.

We have lunch in the museum's family-owned Pannie-George's Kitchen or take our meal--a traditional "meat and three" (or one or two or a veggie meal) outside to the expansive covered patio.

We then board a small boat for a 15-minute journey along the Alabama River--the same dark waters that carried steamboats filled with human "cargo."

At the Freedom Monument Sculpture Park, we stand among towering artworks (including one by our trip artist-in-residence Stephen Hayes) and ponder the 150-foot long National Monument to Freedom etched with the names of thousands who claimed their liberty.

Ms. Teresa at J.W. Beverette's Soul Food nourishes our stomachs and our hearts over dinner.

Sacred Silence and Public Art

We begin our day at the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, beneath the 800 hanging steel columns--each representing a county scarred by lynching--the loss becomes visceral. We stand in the sacred silence, honoring those whose lives were taken and acknowledging our collective responsibility to remember.

We trace the decade bookended by the 1955 bus boycott and the 1965 Selma to Montgomery march and follow in the footsteps of those heroes at the newly-opened Montgomery Square.

We consider the raw, reclaimed beauty of the Mothers of Gynecology sculpture a world apart from the state's official monuments and celebrate Black female resilience and hidden history with artist Michelle Browder. Then, the simple act of sharing a meal becomes a restorative ritual--a reminder that even in the shadow of injustice, community and kindness are powerful acts of resistance.

At the Civil Rights Memorial Center, we see through-lines from 20th-century civil rights movements to 21st-century racial justice struggles and touch the black granite of the Maya Lin-designed memorial where water flows over the names of martyrs.

At Dexter  Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church, in the shadow of the Alabama State Capitol, we hear how Dr. King came to Montgomery and answered the call to help lead the bus boycott.

We enjoy a driving/walking tour of public art in Montgomery, from murals of a defiant Claudette Colvin and the jazz legacy of Nat King Cole to the rotating arts billboard in the Peacock Tract neighborhood.

We end our day steps from our hotel at the iconic Dreamland BBQ. Amidst the scent of hickory smoke and the clatter of plates, we gather to nourish our bodies and find sustenance in community.

Mapping the Moral Arc

Our journey then turns towards Atlanta.

We explore vibrant local arts scenes at the African Diaspora Art Museum of Atlanta or APEX (African-American Panoramic Experience).

We draw inspiration from the artifacts and displays of the visitor center at the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site. We pay our respects at the Historic Ebenezer sanctuary, site of Dr. King's funeral, and at the King tomb, reflected in the stillness of the blue pool.

Hosted by the amazing Ricci de Forest, we leap into Black entrepreneurship at a hidden gem, Madam C.J. Walker's Beauty Shoppe and WERD. We hear the vinyl spinning at the nation's first Black-owned radio station and celebrate the boundary-breaking legacy of America's first female self-made millionaire.

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 as well as other more impromptu opportunities for reflection and sharing.

We also hold some evening time where participants can enjoy the riverfront, music venues, and other downtown spots a short stroll from our hotel.

Please note itinerary details are subject to change.

The journey doesn’t start at the bus steps.

• We convene at 6:30 pm Tuesday 13 October at the Eno Mill Arts Gallery for a pre-trip informational and community-building session (with a virtual option for those at a distance). 
• After our return, we host a post-trip potluck to reconnect and to process the experience (again, with a virtual option).

The learning continues as participants 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.

For Anthony L. Clay, the American South is both home and a living classroom. A particular calling is found on the bus, supporting immersive racial justice experiences that have transformed the perspectives of hundreds of student and adult participants.

His Background: Education and Service

Since 2002, he has served the Carolina Friends School community in various teaching and leadership roles—including Director of Advancement, Director of Extended Learning, and now founding head of the 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.

He's 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.

Anthony has served in leadership, advisory, and advocacy roles for non-profits and professional organizations, 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.

On the Road: Building the Beloved Community

This Arkansas native's passion for “transformational travel learning” is rooted in his own upbringing and professional journey. Some three decades of research and teaching has focused on the post-World War II intersection of race, culture, and politics. He’s helped create and lead racial justice-focused bus tours of the South for high schoolers and for adults and Durham civil rights programs for students and for adults. Each May he spends a week helping guide CFS Middle Schoolers on a civil rights experience in Alabama and Georgia.

Anthony’s goal is to move beyond names and dates to reveal the human stories that define our collective memory and foster Dr. King’s vision of the Beloved Community.

Katie Murray is the director of the Orange County Arts Commission (OCAC), whose mission is to promote and strengthen the artistic and cultural development of Orange County, North Carolina.

Growing up, Katie was involved in the visual arts and was a member of a pre-professional ballet company. After graduating from Elon University, she began her arts career working in large-scale arts and music festival planning, shifting to arts administration in 2013 when she became director of Arts of the Albemarle in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. She became director of the OCAC in 2016 and has since opened the Eno Arts Mill in Hillsborough, created Uproar Festival of Public Art, and helped make the OCAC a significant support agency for the community. She also serves as Executive Director of the OCAC’s nonprofit partner, the Orange County Arts Alliance.

Katie is thankful to have a career where she can apply her skills in planning, advocacy, and administration to her life’s passion for the arts, and loves working with Orange County’s vibrant arts communities of Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and Hillsborough.

Stephen L. Hayes, Jr. is the Esbenshade Assistant Professor of the Practice of Art, Art History and Visual Studies at Duke University. 

He makes art—woodcuts, sculptures, installations small and large—from found materials that draw on social and economic themes ingrained in the history of America and African-Americans. His approach is simple: “If I can’t find it, I’ll make it. If I can’t make it, I’ll find it.”

His Story
Stephen grew up in Durham with his older brother, Spence, and his mother, Lender, who were pivotal in shaping and sparking his creative approach. When Stephen was in the first grade, he broke a remote-control car. His brother took it apart and attached the motor to a battery, bringing it back to life. Amazed, Stephen began breaking all kinds of things to see how they worked and what he could create with the pieces. By second grade, his mother had given him a real workbench; she and Spence would also bring home abandoned equipment for tinkering. By high school, Stephen learned to crochet.

He went to North Carolina Central University, aiming to transfer to North Carolina State University to study mechanical engineering. Instead, through a friend, he discovered graphic design. His new major led to a ceramics course, where his enthusiasm and skill led to being allowed as much time as he wanted on the wheel. He threw enough pots to develop a strong portfolio, leading to a residency at the acclaimed New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. Stephen earned an M.F.A. in sculpture at Savannah College of Art and Design in Atlanta.

His Work
A recipient of the 1858 Prize for Contemporary Southern Art, Stephen frequently uses three symbols--a pawn, a corn, and a horse--to explore America’s use (or misuse) of Black bodies, Black minds, and Black labor. Artists, he believes, are as much translators as they are creators.

His thesis exhibition, Cash Crop, has been traveling and exhibiting for nearly a decade, and we'll see a version at the Freedom Monument Sculpture Park in Montgomery.

Stephen's Anson African Burial Memorial in Charleston is a fountain with a basin formed in part from earth taken from local African descendant burial sites and 36 pairs of bronze hands cast from the hands of volunteers who share the same age, gender, and ancestry of the Ancestors (infants, children, teenagers, and adult women and men).

The October 2026 Racial Myth & Memory experience in Wilmington, North Carolina will include a visit to Boundless, Stephen's 2021 bronze of 11 United States Colored Troops to honor the brave men who charged into fire at the February 1865 Battle of Forks Road, now the site of the Cameron Art Museum.

His art has also been featured at the National Cathedral, Winston Salem State University, Duke University, CAM Raleigh, Rosa Parks Museum, African American Museum of Philadelphia, and Harvey B. Gantt Center, among others. 

This is not a traditional sightseeing tour nor an extended lecture, but rather an intentional community of inquiry.

• Expert Facilitation: Led by a seasoned guide with the voices of local historians, artists, and activists, we engage in deep-dive discussions that connect historical sites to contemporary issues.
• Reflection: We integrate periods of silence and group reflection, allowing the weight of our surroundings to inform our personal and professional growth.
• Connection and Joy: We find rejuvenation through shared meals, conversation, community, and art.
• Co-Creation: We each share our questions, knowledge, and inspiration--with vulnerability, with courage, with open-heartedness--and thereby shape the experience for everyone.
• Impact: Together, we allow the weight of the sites we visit and the people we meet to transform our collective understanding and empower us to be more aware and engaged back at home.

History is not the past. It is the present. We carry our history with us. We are our history. James Baldwin

Here's what past racial justice trip 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.

• Artists who can draw knowledge and inspiration from the places and people we encounter for their own creative endeavors..
• Arts and Other Educators looking to deepen their curriculum and bring "hard history" to life for their students.
• Arts Patrons who can support artists, arts educators, and arts institutions in addressing racial and other justice issues through arts and craft.
• Community Leaders interested in how public policies and spaces reflect—and affect—our collective values.
• Curious Adults seeking a more complete and nuanced understanding of Southern and American history as a means to move from awareness to action.

Art is used as a powerful tool for education, reflection, and healing throughout the sites along the Creative Justice Journey. Through sculpture, music, storytelling, photography, and immersive installations at places such as EJI's The Legacy Museum and National Memorial for Peace and Justice, visitors gain a clearer understanding of our nation's history of racial injustice and its continuing impact. 

Our goal is to send up to 10 area artists on this pilgrimage free of charge. Creative Justice Cohort artists will apply and be selected by a panel of ArtsOrange board members and artists. Upon return, the cohort will bring the experience home to Orange County and channel their inspiration into a collaborative exhibit to take place at the Eno Arts Mill Gallery in June 2027.

The grant will be all-inclusive, fully covering the tuition (lodging, transportation, admission to all sites, and meals) plus single occupancy supplement, a value in excess of $2,000.

Apply for this transformative artist opportunity.

Our goal is to send 10 area artists on the Journey free of charge. Creative Justice Cohort artists will apply and be selected by a panel of ArtsOrange board members and artists. Upon return, the cohort will bring the experience home to Orange County and channel their inspiration into a collaborative exhibit to take place at the Eno Arts Mill Gallery in June 2027.

The tuition per person plus single occupancy is $2,045, which includes lodging, transportation, admission to all sites, and meals.

Contribute any amount meaningful to you - all donations will help get us to our goal and provide a transformative experience for an artist!

The $1,650 tuition includes:

• transportation via air-conditioned charter coach
• four nights of double-occupancy hotel lodging*
• all meals except a brown bag lunch on Day 1
• all admission fees
• 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 $395 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 $650 trip deposit, due upon application, is non-refundable unless we reach capacity and can fill your space. The $1,000 balance (and the $395 single room supplement as relevant) will be due the week of 7 September.

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 have some tuition assistance funds, including thanks to the Orange County Community Remembrance Coalition, 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 for working artists and arts educators. Thanks for your consideration!

Please submit your application via this Google form.

Artists applying for the Creative Justice Cohort need to submit only the cohort application for now.

We hope you'll also consider other transformational travel-learning opportunities--for example, the two-day October 2026 Racial Myth & Memory experience in Wilmington and the six-day March 2027 American Musical Journey to Memphis and Mississippi.

Locations are navigable for those with mobility challenges. We welcome participants of differing abilities and will make whatever accommodations we can for a positive experience for everyone. 

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

• Katie Murray, ArtsOrange, kmurray @ orangecountync.gov 
• Anthony L. Clay, Carolina Friends School, Institute@cfsnc.org

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 an 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.