Best Road Trips to Explore African American History

Tubman African American Museum

Though metro Atlanta has a wealth of places to explore African American history, sometimes kids get more engaged on a road trip. Visit one of these sites.

Central Georgia

Outside of the metro area, explore historical spots and sites in our state.

Augusta: Visit Augusta Museum of History for 12,000 years of local history and “The Godfather of Soul, Mr. James Brown” exhibit. The Lucy Craft Laney Museum engages visitors in history and art and features “Augusta’s Black Caddies – The Men on the Bag” for the role Black caddies played in golf. In Downtown Augusta, see Springfield Baptist Church, one of the oldest continuously active African American congregations, and walk through Springfield Village Park featuring public art and interpretive storytelling.

Macon: Celebrate African American art, history and culture at Tubman African American Museum. Walk the Black Heritage Trail, which explores 37 African American historic and cultural sites.

Georgia/South Carolina Coasts

The tight-knit Gullah Geechee communities along the coasts have preserved African cultural heritage with distinctive arts, crafts, foodways, music and language.

Savannah: Visit Pin Point Heritage Museum just south of Savannah to develop an understanding of growing up in Pin Point, a community founded by formerly enslaved African Americans. The Ralph Mark Gilbert Civil Rights Museum chronicles the struggles of Georgia’s oldest African American community from slavery to present day and is named for the father of the 20th century Civil Rights Movement in the city. Savannah’s Black Heritage Festival is Feb. 1-28. Book a cultural tour to Sapelo Island for an educational and cultural presentation, visiting ancestral Gullah Geechee settlements and more.

Charleston: Take a guided tour to Sea Island for immersion in Gullah Geechee culture. Tour sites around Charleston, including the Old Slave Mart Museum and preserved plantations, such as Drayton Hall, Magnolia Plantation and Gardens and Hampton Plantation for history and guided experiences.

Legacy Museum / Equal Justice Initiative

Alabama

Birmingham, Montgomery and Selma were epicenters for civil rights struggles of the 20th century.

Birmingham: Important sites include the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, the 16th Street Baptist Church, where four young Black girls died in a bombing in 1963, and Kelly Ingram Park, which features powerful sculptures depicting the civil rights struggle.

Selma/Montgomery: Walk across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, where police attacked marchers in 1965. Visit the Rosa Parks Museum, named for the civil rights icon (troy.edu). Experience history at The Legacy Sites, an immersive journey across three sites in Montgomery: The Legacy Museum, The National Memorial for Peace and Justice and Freedom Monument Sculpture Park, featuring first-person historical accounts, interactive content, world-class art and more.

National Civil Rights Museum at The Lorraine Motel

Tennessee

Memphis was a center for black culture and music long before it made worldwide headlines as the city where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated.

Memphis: Visit the National Civil Rights Museum at The Lorraine Motel where Dr. King was staying when he was shot, for a history of civil rights from slavery through the Civil War and to present day. Also in Memphis, stop at the Stax Museum of American Soul Music and The Withers Collection Museum & Gallery, which showcases Black and white photos of the segregated South taken by photographer Ernest Withers. Explore the rest of Beale Street, a historic district known for Black business and culture.