Racial Myth & Memory 2027

October/November tour dates will be finalized as soon as possible in 2027.

We depart Durham in a comfortable charter bus for the two and a half-hour drive to Richmond and return the next evening. We use our rolling classroom for participant introductions, curated programming, and shared reflection.

We'll be adding specifics about special guests, meals, and other logistics. Please note itinerary details are subject to change.

Jackson Ward: The "Harlem of the South"

The Focus: Celebrating Black Agency—how "Black Wall Street" thrived as a radical act of self-determination.

We begin in Jackson Ward, a neighborhood that serves as a masterclass in economic defiance.

• The Stage of Legends: We stand before the Hippodrome Theater, imagining the echoes of the "Chitlin' Circuit" where Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, and James Brown once performed, turning 2nd Street into a global epicenter of Black culture.
• The Visionary: We visit the home of Maggie L. Walker, a woman who redefined the possible. As the first African American woman to charter a bank in the U.S., her legacy invites us to explore how community-building and economic independence are essential tools for justice.

The Cost of "Progress" and the Power of Memory

The Focus: The "Myth of Improvement"—examining how urban policy and spiritual resilience collided.

• Faith & Fortitude: We learn the story of Sixth Mount Zion Baptist Church and its founder, the renowned evangelist John Jasper, whose ministry provided a spiritual anchor for a community in transition.
• The Scar of the Highway: We confront the physical turning point of the neighborhood—the construction of the Richmond-Petersburg Turnpike (I-95). We discuss how "urban renewal" often meant the displacement of Black prosperity, leaving a literal scar across Jackson Ward.
• The Magic of Movement: We celebrate the joy and genius of Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, whose statue stands as a reminder of the art and humanity that flourished even under the weight of Jim Crow.

Benediction | Synthesis and The Journey Home

The Focus: Responsibility—turning "Travel Learning" into "Lived Action."

Our final stop is the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia, where we pull the threads of the last 48 hours together. This modern archive provides the context needed to bridge the gap between Richmond’s history and our current reality.

As our bus departs for North Carolina, we transition into a final period of reflection. We move beyond the "what" and "where" to the "now what," centering on one final query: How do we carry the weight of Richmond’s truths back to our own lives?

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, community, and the beauty of the James River.
• 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.

• 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 coach
• one night of double-occupancy hotel lodging*
• three meals (dinner, breakfast, and 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

The tuition will not include:

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

The trip deposit, due upon application, will be non-refundable unless we reach capacity and can fill your space. 

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 will open via Google form in 2027 as soon as we're able to confirm dates and other details.

If you'd like us to keep you updated on this or other study trips (including the opening of registration), 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 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.

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.