The Maryland Lynching Memorial Project is pleased to offer a fall 2023 Civil Rights Bus Trip through the auspices of the Institute for Common Power. This page will serve as the FAQ space for all information related to the trip—check back for updates and to register on June 1.
UPDATE – August 9, 2023 @4:00p
Space still available!
Late cancelations have opened up FOUR SPOTS for the fall trip. Please see below for information and registration details.
UPDATE – June 1, 2023 @5:45p
All the places on this trip have now been reserved.
HOWEVER we encourage people who are still interested in attending to register. You will be placed on a waiting list. In the event of any cancelations, we will contact people on the waiting list in the order they registered.
If you have any additional questions, please submit them HERE.
FAQ
What are the dates of the trip?
The trip will begin in Atlanta on Thursday, October 26, 2023 and will return to Atlanta on Monday, October 30, 2023. Travelers will make their own travel arrangements for getting to and from Atlanta.
How much does the trip cost?
The cost of the trip is $2,500 per person. The cost includes all meals, museum entry fees, honorariums, and hotel. The cost does not include travel to and from the Atlanta airport.
When can I register?
Registration opens Thursday, June 1 at 9:00 am and is first come, first served. Click to register:
How many spaces are available?
Up to 29 participants may attend and a wait list will be created if there is additional interest.
What are the important dates?
There are several important dates:
● June 1, 2023: Registration Opens at 9:00 am (return to this page to register)
● June 15, 2023: $500 Deposit due by check
● August 1, 2023: $2,000 Balance due by check
Where do I mail my checks?
The mailing address will be shared on June 1 when registration opens.
What is the itinerary?
Please scroll to the bottom of this page for the most current itinerary. Each day is busy. Plan to walk several miles a day, eat on the bus, meet new people, and lean into conversations.
I missed the Information Session. Did you record it?
The Information Session was recorded, and you may watch it here: https://youtu.be/nnPFZv2o6ns
What about COVID?
The Institute of Common Power has an expectation that trip participants will be vaccinated against COVID. In addition, participants will be asked to take two home COVID tests within 72 hours of departure. If anyone tests positive, Common Power requires that you not join the trip. Home COVID tests will be available throughout the trip for anyone who requests a test or displays symptoms. Anyone who tests positive must step away from the trip.
Can you share more about the Institute for Common Power and what I should expect on the trip?
The Institute for Common Power is a key education arm of Common Power. In the Institute we engage in Movement Learning, in which we are inspired by, learn from, and build upon the strategies enacted by movements for Emancipation, Citizenship, Suffrage, Civil Rights, and Justice to inform how we take action to foster a just and inclusive democracy today. We learn both from historical events and contemporary first-hand experiences with the people and institutions that did and are doing transformative work. We are moved, we are part of movements, and we must move. This is Movement Learning.
Join Institute Director Dr. Terry Scott, CP Executive Director Charles Douglas, and senior leader David Domke in an intentional investment in CP's foundational principles of mindset, mojo, mobilization with a trip to Atlanta, Montgomery, Selma, and Birmingham AL. These trips bring together a small number of vital members within and connected to the CP community in a multi-day trip to places and to conversations with people that inspire and challenge, spur reflection, and catalyze strategic visioning in our work for a more just and inclusive American democracy. These are not vacations; they are challenging, growing, intentional deep dives into histories and today realities focused on race and voting justice, realities that are foundational to the work and vision of Common Power.
Many of the places we visit will allow us to examine the long history of people of African descent in this country, with specific emphasis on the modern American Civil Rights Movement. Few places are more important than the locations we will visit. Atlanta, Georgia, is the home of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, legendary organizer Ms. Ella Baker, former civil rights hero and U.S. Representative John Lewis, and now U.S. Senator Rev. Raphael Warnock and national voting rights leader Stacey Abrams.
We will begin our learning tour there and then will spend most of our time in Alabama in Montgomery, Birmingham, and Selma – a geographical triangle in an east-to-west strip of the South known as the “Black Belt,” named originally for the rich soil coloring but that over time has taken on reference to the African American population there that has been a catalyst for social change in America. We will meet with the organization of the Equal Justice Initiative as well as key individuals including:
● Dr. Bernard Lafayette Jr., a member of the inner circle for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., international nonviolence leader, and Chair today of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference Board
● Joanne Bland, a Bloody Sunday marcher at age 11, founder today of Journeys for the Soul and leader of the campaign to create “Footsoldiers Park” in Selma
● Bob Zellner, first Southern white field secretary for the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee and key member of national organization Faith and Politics
I still have questions! Please be sure to watch the Information Webinar (https://youtu.be/nnPFZv2o6ns) and read this FAQ page carefully. If you still have questions, please ask here: https://forms.gle/DHPtDKcCArdL95Vm9
Itinerary for Truth + Purpose Learning Tour
Maryland Lynching Memorial Project (subject to change)
Updated July 31, 2023
Thursday, October 26
● Arrive at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Airport
● 8:00 am: Load participants and bags at airport hotel (Hyatt Place Atlanta Airport South, 1899 Sullivan Road, College Park, GA 30337)
● 8:30-9:00 am: Load bus at airport. Please come to Baggage Claim Terminal’s Center Atrium, meet at Popeyes food court (6000 N. Terminal Parkway, Atlanta, GA)
● 10:30 am: Walk Auburn Avenue, plus box lunches
● 1:00 pm: Explore King International Park Center, joined by Georgia Poet Mr. Hank Stewart
● 2:30 pm: Visit Civil and Human Rights Museum
● 4:00 pm: Depart via bus to Anniston, AL
● 6:00 pm (gain hour with time zone shift): Arrive Freedom Riders National Monument, in Anniston AL
● 7:30 pm: Depart to Montgomery AL, with dinner on bus
● 10:00 pm: Arrive Montgomery AL, Doubletree Hotel (120 Madison Ave, Montgomery, AL)
Friday, October 27
● 7:00-8:00 am: Breakfast open
● 8:30 am: Montgomery walking tour, from the river to the Capitol
● 12:15 pm: Box lunches
● 1:00 pm: State Capitol tour
● 2:00 pm: Debrief as group
● 2:45 pm: BREAK
● 4:00 pm: Visit Mothers of Gynecology art park, with Ms. Michelle Browder
● 5:30 pm: Dinner and reflections @ JW Beverette’s Soul Food
● 7:30 pm: Depart to return to hotel
Saturday, October 28
● 7:00-8:00 am: Breakfast open
● 8:00 am: Lynching conversation with Dr. Terry Scott, with Co-Lab room
● 9:30 am: Visit Legacy Museum: From Enslavement to Mass Incarceration
● 12:00 pm: Lunch + group conversation, with overflow lunch room
● 1:15 pm: Visit National Memorial for Peace and Justice, or BREAK
● 3:30 pm: Depart to Tuskegee, AL
● 4:30 pm: Visit Tuskegee University
● 5:30 pm: Dinner with Dr. Bernard Lafayette and Kate Lafayette
● 8:00 pm: Depart to return to hotel
Sunday, October 29
● 7:00-8:00 am: Breakfast open
● 8:00 am: Depart hotel via bus to Birmingham, AL, with Co-Lab room
● 10:30 am: Arrive Kelly Ingram Park
● 11:00 am: Meet with community organizer Ms. T. Marie King
● 12:30 pm: Depart to Selma, lunch on bus with voting rights exercise
● 2:00 pm: Arrive Selma National Park Interpretive Center
● 2:30 pm: Meet with Ms Joanne Bland, community organizer and activist
● 5:00 pm: Dinner at The Coffee Shoppe
● 6:00 pm: Common Power commitment in Selma
● 8.00 pm: Depart to return to hotel
Monday, October 30
● 7:00-8:00 am: Breakfast open
● 8:15 am: Load up bus
● 8:45 am: Depart to Atlanta
● 12.00pm **Visit National Center for Civil and Human Rights, Atlanta (**awaiting confirmation)
● 2:45 pm: (lose hour with time zone shift): Arrive Atlanta Airport. Schedule flight departure for after 5:00 pm EDT.