Coastal Journey 2030

Our journey is not defined solely by our destinations, but by the sacred ground we cross along the way. As we traverse the backroads of the Carolinas south to Savannah, we pause to acknowledge landmarks of the movement for equality and justice.

⚖️ The Weight of the Law

The Focus: Confronting the myth of equal justice—tracing the legal battles that shaped a nation.

• Alcolu | The Stinney Landmark: We stop to reflect on the 1944 tragedy of 14-year-old George Stinney, the youngest person executed in 20th-century America. We consider the 70-year journey to his posthumous exoneration as a testament to the enduring search for Truth.
• Summerton | The Seeds of Brown: We honor the Briggs v. Elliott community—courageous families who risked everything to sue for integrated schools, a case that would eventually become the cornerstone of the landmark 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision.
• Orangeburg | The Forgotten Massacre: We learn the harrowing story of the 1968 South Carolina State University protests, where the fight against segregation met a violent state response that left three students dead and dozens wounded.

🎺 The Architecture of Genius

The Focus: Celebrating the Black brilliance that transformed American culture.

• Cheraw | Dizzy Gillespie: We celebrate the "Architect of Bebop" at his homesite, exploring how the syncopated rhythms of the South became a global language of freedom through his legendary trumpet. And, then at a hometown statue in his honor, we learn about an almost-astronaut who became a visionary sculpture artist.
• Walterboro | The Tuskegee Airmen Memorial: We honor the "Red Tails" at a lesser-known site where these pioneering pilots trained, proving that excellence knows no racial boundary even in the face of a segregated military.

Please note itinerary details are subject to change.

Savannah and The Sea Islands: Spirits of the Lowcountry

Step into the "Hostess City of the South," where America’s first planned streets open into lush, moss-draped squares. Beyond the historic architecture lies a profound narrative of resilience—the story of the Gullah Geechee people, whose vibrant culture was forged in the coastal communities of Georgia and South Carolina and remains a living heartbeat of the region today.

🏛️ A Lineage of Fortitude and Faith

Discover the hidden layers of Savannah’s past. At the Haitian Monument we commemorate the soldiers recruited from present-day Haiti to fight in the Revolutionary War, and we reflect at River Street's African American Family Monument (with its searing inscription by Maya Angelou).

We stand at the First African Baptist Church, home to North America’s oldest Black congregation, and visit the humble home of Mother Mathilda Beasley, Georgia’s first Black nun. We dye indigo at the King-Tisdell Cottage.

🦀 Roots Along the Water

Experience the Gullah Geechee connection to the land and sea:

• Located in a former oyster and crab factory on the Moon River, the Pin Point Heritage Museum protects the language, religion, and stories of a Gullah Geechee community that holds the largest African American-owned waterfront property on the East Coast.
• We cross by ferry from the mainland to Sapelo Island, a world preserved in time. We explore the Hog Hammock community, enjoy lunch, and meet a master sweetgrass basket maker, all while learning from the direct descendants of the island's enslaved laborers.

🍲 A Taste of the Coast

The journey is as flavorful as it is educational, with distinctive culinary experiences that showcase the soul of Lowcountry and Southern cooking, from Kim's Cafe to Geneva's Famous Chicken and Cornbread.

🌿 Hallowed Ground Between Savannah and Charleston

The Focus: The "Reconstruction of Hope"—where the formerly enslaved built the foundations of the future.

• Port Royal | The Fight for Freedom: At the Reconstruction Era National Historical Park, we learn about emancipation, the Colored Troops, and the "experiment" where African Americans forged free lives in Union-occupied territory.
• St. Helena Island | Radical Education: We visit the Penn Center, one of the nation’s first schools for formerly enslaved people. This National Historic Landmark served as a sanctuary for the Gullah Geechee community and later as a retreat for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. We have lunch at a Gullah homestead farm and sing hymns at a "praise house" as we honor the persistence of family and faith.
• Beaufort | The Liberators: We stand at the grave of the indomitable Robert Smalls and visit the memorial to Harriet Tubman, commemorating the Combahee River Raid—the daring military operation that liberated over 700 people just miles from where we stand.

Charleston: The Gate of No Return and The Port of Resilience

Enter the "Holy City," a place of breathtaking beauty and staggering history. As the port of entry for so many enslaved Africans brought to North America, Charleston is a foundational site for understanding the American racial narrative.

🌊 The Point of Arrival

The Focus: Sacred Ground—honoring the journey here and the global African Diaspora.

We center our stay at the International African American Museum, built at Gadsden's Wharf where tens of thousands of enslaved people first set foot in North America.

• The Ancestors’ Garden: We reflect at the edge of the Cooper River, acknowledging the "Gate of No Return" and the beginning of the Gullah Geechee journey in the New World.
• The First Shots: Across the harbor, we view Fort Sumter, the flashpoint of the Civil War, and recount the daring and defiance of Robert Smalls, who commandeered a Confederate ship to pilot his family to freedom—eventually going to Washington as a U.S. Congressman.

🏛️ The Architecture of Power and Prayer

The Focus: The Slave Hub vs. The "Holy City"—examining the coexistence of deep faith and systemic oppression.

• Old Slave Mart Museum: We visit the first museum in the U.S. dedicated to the history of the domestic slave trade. Located at a former auction site, it serves as a visceral reminder of the "myth of benevolence" that political figures once used to justify the commerce of human lives.
• Mother Emanuel AME: We worship at the oldest AME church in the South, founded in 1816 as a site of liberation. Here, we honor the "Emanuel Nine" and the congregation's 200-year history of spiritual resistance, situated on a street that—to this day—bears the name of the chief architect of the "Positive Good" myth of slavery, John C. Calhoun.

🌾 The Living Landscape

The Focus: The Gullah Heartbeat—tracing the transition from forced labor to cultural mastery.

• McLeod Plantation Historic Site: Unlike traditional "Big House" tours, McLeod centers the lives of the enslaved Gullah Geechee people. We explore the transition from Sea Island cotton production to the post-emancipation lives of descendants who called this land home until the 1980s.
• Forged in Leaf and Iron: In the historic Eastside neighborhood, we have lunch in a one-time cigar factory that's a landmark in labor, race, and music history and we pay tribute at the home and workshop of Philip Simmons, the celebrated Black blacksmith whose ornate "heart gates" define Charleston’s visual identity.

🍲 The Soul of the Lowcountry

The Focus: Taste as Testimony—the culinary heritage of the Sea Islands and Charleston’s world-renowned food scene.

• The Table of Truth: We dine at Hannibal’s Kitchen, a family-owned institution where the menu is a history lesson in itself, and at Rodney Scott's Whole-Hog BBQ, where you can watch the cooking over live coal direct heat.
• The Flavor Profile: Experience the essential tastes of Hoppin’ John, collards, stone-ground grits, benne wafers, she-crab soup, and more.

We host a pre-trip community-building and informational meeting to which all participants are 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.

Travelers will 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.

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

• Expert Facilitation: Led by a seasoned historian guide with the voices of local experts 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, and community.
• 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.

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.

• Educators looking to deepen their curriculum and bring "hard history" to life for their students.
• 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.

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.

The tuition will include:

• transportation via air-conditioned charter
• double-occupancy hotel lodging*
• all meals except a brown bag lunch for the first day and perhaps one dinner
• 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 our experienced historian tour leaders

* single rooms available for a supplement (lodging is expensive in downtown Charleston and Savannah!)

The tuition will not include:

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

We're glad to work with you on alternative financial arrangements, including payment timetable..

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 will open via a Google form as soon as possible in Fall 2029.

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 2025 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 transformational travel-learning experiences, 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.