ACRP Pilgrimage Itinerary
About the Pilgrimage
The Alexandria Community Remembrance Project (ACRP) led Alexandria residents and Alexandria City High School students on a pilgrimage to the Equal Justice Initiative’s National Memorial for Peace and Justice and Legacy Museum, October 6-10, 2022. As a community, ACRP delivered soil reflecting the lives of Alexandria’s two known lynching victims – Joseph McCoy and Benjamin Thomas -- to EJI on October 7, 2022. The trip included tours with social justice activists and visits to Montgomery and Selma civil rights sites. It was an educational and meaningful experience for the 165 Alexandrians who made the journey.
The Itinerary
Travel to Montgomery, October 6
Thursday, October 6, 2022
Buses
ACRP bus departs from Nannie J Lee Center, 1108 Jefferson Street.
ACPS bus departs from Alexandria High School, 3300 King Street
- Parking available
- Small travel bag for inside bus, suitcase (2 max) under bus
- Arrival starting at 6:30 am
- Bus departs promptly at 7 a.m. (Do not be late, please!)
- Stops along way: Bus driver changes, rest stops, food purchases on own.
- Projected Arrival Time: Approximately 11 p.m. (Montgomery, AL hotels, central time)
Self-Travel
- Hotel check in begins at 4 p.m., check out 11 a.m.
- Use taxis to travel from MGM airport to hotel.
- On-site parking, additional fee.
On-Site Registration
- Embassy Suites, table outside the ballroom
- Springhill Suites, table in foyer
EJI Experience Day, October 7
Friday, October 7, 2022
(Remember, you are now on CENTRAL TIME!)
6-9 a.m. Hotel Breakfast open, both hotels
9:30 a.m. Buses leave from hotels to Legacy Annex, 121 Coosa Street
- Bus 1 and 3 at Embassy Suites
- Bus 2 at Springhill Suites
10 a.m. Program, Legacy Annex
10:45 Board buses for Memorial for Peace and Justice, 417 Caroline Street
11-12:30 Tour Memorial for Peace and Justice
12:30 p.m. Buses leave Memorial for the Legacy Annex for lunch, 121 Coosa Street
12:30 – 2 p.m. Lunch at Legacy Annex
1:45 – 2:15 Board buses to Legacy Museum, 400 N Court Street
2-5 p.m. Tour of Legacy Museum
4-5 p.m. Buses return to hotel, or participants walk on own
5:10 p.m. Last bus leaves Legacy Museum for hotel
5-6 p.m. Free time between events
6 p.m. Evening Program: Board buses from Embassy Suites hotel, choose a bus!
You will visit one venue. Evening includes private tour, buffet dinner, and conversation with local DEI practitioners and members of the Montgomery Community Remembrance Project.
Bus 1: The Mothers of Gynecology Park, 17 Mildred Street.
This site honors the enslaved women who were experimented on with neither consent nor anesthesia by Dr. J. Marion Sims in the 1840s. Learn their story and shine a light on ongoing racial disparities in the healthcare industry today. (Reception takes place on gravel area.)
Bus 2: Civil Rights Memorial, 400 Washington Ave. | Dexter Church Legacy Center 455 Washington Ave.
The Civil Rights Memorial Center (CRMC), a project of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), is one of Alabama’s premiere civil rights sites and serves as the interpretive center for the Civil Rights Memorial, which honors the martyrs of the movement and inspires visitors to continue the march for racial equity and social justice. Followed by dinner at Legacy Center at Dexter Church. (Tour across the street from reception venue, requires walking.)
Bus 3: National Historic Trail (ASU Campus), 1521 Harris Way
Private tour of Montgomery Interpretive Center at Alabama State University Campus highlighting the last leg of the Selma to Montgomery March. (Most accessible venue for the evening.)
9:30 p.m. Return to hotel
Conversations continue in the hotel lobby!
Montgomery Experience Day, October 8
Saturday, October 8, 2022
Bus Tours of Montgomery (Assigned to Group 1 or Group 2, 2 buses each time slot)
- Guided by civil rights activists and interpreters, Wanda Battle and Ann Clemmons.
Self-guided Museum Tours (See map and information, name tag is admission ticket)
- Bus 3: Double decker bus will circulate between hotel, self-tour sites, and lunch venue
- Sites are walkable! Last bus loop at 4 pm.
7:30-9 am Hotel Breakfast
Group 1:
8:45 Board buses at Embassy Suites hotel
9-12 Bus Tour of Montgomery Sites with Wanda Battle or Ann Clemmons (concludes at Biscuits Stadium)
Group 2:
9-12 Tour on own, nametag is admission to all sites and circulating bus
Everyone:
12-1 Lunch at Montgomery Riverwalk “Biscuits” Stadium, 200 Coosa St
Group 1:
1-4:30 Tour on own, name tag is admission to all sites and circulating bus
Group 2:
1:15-4:15 Bus Tour of Montgomery Sites with Wanda Battle or Ann Clemmons (leaves from Biscuits Stadium, concludes at Embassy Suites hotel)
Everyone:
4:30-6 Free time at the hotel, 5:30 “Hotel Manager’s happy hour”
6 p.m. The Telling Dinner in the Embassy Suites Ballroom
Program led by April Hampton, an artistic and spiritual hands-on story telling experience meant to not only pay homage but encourage conversation and healing. Cash bar.
9:00 p.m. + After Hours in Montgomery (on own)
Conversations continue in the hotel lobby!
Selma Experience Day, October 9
Sunday, October 9, 2022
7:30-8:30 Hotel Breakfast
8:30 a.m. Board buses for Selma – 45 minutes trip
Remember to Wear your ACRP shirt!
9:30 a.m. Bus Tour with Joanne Bland
12:30 Walk over bridge (buses wait in park on other side of river), group photo
1 p.m. Box lunches on return trip to Montgomery
2 to 4:30 Free Time
5 p.m. Buses board for Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, 1 Museum Drive
5:30 p.m. Reception, Tour of Museum Exhibits
6:30 p.m. African American Diaspora Dinner
Nick and Davena Jernigan, of Verde, will provide a culinary tour of the African Diaspora through locally sourced foods.
- Keynote Speaker, Sheyann Webb-Christburg
At the age of 8, Ms. Christburg was the youngest participant to take part in the historic first-attempted march from Selma to Montgomery known as “Bloody Sunday.” - Poem by Marcia Cole, native Washingtonian poet and author
- Slideshow overview of the ACRP Pilgrimage
9:30 p.m. Return to hotels
Conversations continue in the hotel lobby!
Return to Alexandria, October 10
Monday, October 10, 2022
Bus Schedule:
6:30 a.m. Check out
Load buses for trip back to Alexandria, VA.
7 a.m. Buses depart for Alexandria
10 a.m. Bus driver break
12:30 p.m. Lunch Break (30 minutes)
1 p.m. Break over, depart
4 p.m. Driver break
6:15 p.m. Dinner break (45 minutes)
7 p.m. Break over, depart
11 p.m. Arrive in Alexandria at the Nannie J. Lee Center (1108 Jefferson Street) and Alexandria City High School (3330 King Street).
Self-Travel:
11 a.m. Check Out
Hotels
Embassy Suites, 300 Tallapoosa St., Montgomery, AL
Springhill Suites, 152 Coosa Street, Montgomery, AL (ACPS)
Taking Care Of Your Mental Health during the ACRP Pilgrimage
The ACRP and this trip provides an opportunity to confront and work through some of the devastating effects of our violent history. We provide some resources to help the participants to cope.
Many thanks to the ACRP Pilgrimage Committee Members for planning an extraordinary experience!
Chair: Linda Howard
Members: Karen Coda, Rev. Quardricos Driskell, Emily Flores, Darrlynn Franklin, Ashley Millhouse, Tiffany Pache, and Beth Tuttle