Take Insightful Tours of the Civil Rights Movement in Montgomery, AL

travelgirlinc — Mon, 27 Sep 2021 14:54:57 +0000

Montgomery, AL. is known as the “birthplace of the Civil Rights Movement,” for its pivotal role in exposing the racial inequalities and helping rally the country to change. Rosa Park refused to go to the back of the bus in Montgomery, sparking a 13-month mass protest that ended with the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that segregation on public buses was unconstitutional. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., then living in Montgomery, led the boycott.
   Today, four incredible tour guides are diving into this history and telling the full story of this capital city by acknowledging America’s tainted past and inspiring visitors and locals alike to fight for justice and equality.
They are:
Michelle Browder’s More Than Tours are specifically curated to showcase different parts of the city’s history such as its comprehensive Civil Rights Tour. Her popular Montgomery Mystery Tour takes guests through the secret tunnels beneath the city, formerly used by slave traders for discretion while transporting slaves.
Anne Clemmons has spent more than 12 as a tour guide with Triple E Group Services and specializes in Civil War history, the Civil Rights movement and historical sites across Alabama. Her tours include the city’s most important locations and explanations of the history behind them. She also offers multi-day tours spanning notable sites across the state including Selma, Tuskegee and Birmingham.
   Born in Montgomery during the 1956 Montgomery Bus Boycott and raised during the 1960’s Civil Rights Movement, Wanda Battle founded Legendary Tours, which focus on powerful storytelling and the integration of music to convey the strength of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s non-violent movement and many other pieces of African-American history.
   A child of the civil rights movement, Jake Williams was a participant in the Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights March when he was only 12 years old. His Montgomery Tours highlight the extraordinary journey of Montgomery from its role in the Confederacy to the stirring events of the 1960’s that literally moved the nation and all the places and people integral to this change.
www.visitmontgomery.com

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Montgomery, AL: More than just history

Mary Welch — Tue, 13 Oct 2020 18:43:25 +0000

Sure, Montgomery, AL. has a lot going on — Civil Rights history, culture and great restaurants — but it also a wealth of beautiful scenery and outdoor activities. From trails to golf courses to parks and lakes, Alabama’s second largest city has something for everyone who needs fresh air and exercise. Here are some favorites:

• Lagoon Park offers ballfields, a golf course and the Lagoon Park Trail. Located northeast of downtown, the trail features five miles of biking, hiking and running terrain and is open from sunrise to sunset. There is also the Lagoon Park Golf Course, an 18-hole public golf course with fairways lined with 100-year-old oaks and towering pines. The 72-park course offers a supreme challenge on the 550-yard, Park 3 15th hole with a double dogleg arching the left and bending back to the right of the reaching green.

• Lanark is the site of the Alabama Nature Center and the home of the Alabama Wildlife Federation. Located about 10 miles north of Montgomery, the property includes a world-class conservation education center. The gardens at Lanark cover more than 30 acres and include wooded paths, streams, lakes, lawns and bridges that are traversed by five miles of boardwalks and trails in three regions: Still Creek Run, Hilltop Pass and Turkey Ridge. Pre-Covid-19, the nature center had hunting, fishing, educational seminars and classrooms and a bevy of other outdoor activities. Currently the nature center is partially open for walking on the trail systems. The NaturePlex facility is closed except for restroom usage.

• The 293-acre Blount Cultural Park is home to the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts and as well as the private grounds of the renowned Alabama Shakespeare Festival. It also features ponds and miles of walking trails. If you have a a dog, Bark Park is perfect. It has a main entrance that leads to two separate areas — one for small dogs and the other for larger ones. There is a wash station and well as benches and fountain.

Coosa River Adventures

• Coosa River is a tributary of the Alabama River and offers a lot of outdoor activities. While it’s still warm, go to Coosa River Adventures, a whitewater canoe and kayak outfitter and rent kayaks, sit inside kayaks or stand up paddle boards and enjoy a day on the river. The company will transport guests to a launch site (life jackets included) for a white water rafting trip that lasts about three to four hours. The Class II rapids are perfect for novice rafters.

Want something a little less active? Perfect. Then take a Sip-n-Cycle Pedal Cruise down the Alabama River. Bring friends and drinks and the Master Captain will navigate down the river.

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Take Insightful Tours of the Civil Rights Movement in Montgomery, AL

Montgomery, AL: More than just history