A man once had a dream… that would eventually become a reality. Tragically, realizing that dream came at the cost of his life. But the incredible impact Martin Luther King Jr. left behind has remained, and is even celebrated as a national holiday. Despite our Declaration of Independence stating, “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal,” our history hasn’t exactly held to the “all” part of the statement. The most notable exception is the Civil Rights Movement—something that is often emphasized during February as part of Black History Month. But it’s just one of several social injustices that the United States has experienced over the last few centuries.
In honor of those who endured them, we’ve featured nine destinations where prominent incidents of racial inequality or persecutions took place, as well as efforts that have been made to recognize these struggles. By visiting these places and increasing the awareness of these atrocities, it’s one step closer to reaching what MLK described as when “every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low.”
1) MLK Center – Atlanta, Ga.
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The dream began in Atlanta, which is home to the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site in the Sweet Auburn district. This area includes the MLK Center for Nonviolent Social Change, his birth home, and the place where his eloquent, inspiring speeches were first heard: Ebenezer Baptist Church. It’s also home to the memorial tomb of MLK and his wife, the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame spotlighting the many individuals who battled for equality, and a visitor center that contains a museum chronicling the American Civil Rights Movement. It’s a fitting tribute to the man who’s dream of being “free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty, we are free at last” ultimately became a reality.
2) Rosa Parks Museum – Montgomery, Ala.
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Her justified act of defiance in 1955 was a landmark moment of the Civil Rights Movement, inspiring thousands to take part in the Montgomery Bus Boycott (and to a much lesser degree, her refusal to move to the back of the bus also impacted culture by inspiring Outkast’s first hit song—even though she sued them for misappropriation). The Rosa Parks Museum has been constructed on the site of the old Empire Theater, the bus stop where she refused to move, and is part of the Troy State University-Montgomery Campus Library. The museum includes a permanent exhibit regarding her brave stand that includes artifacts, a replica of that infamous bus, a children’s wing, and a time machine that lets visitors journey through the history of Jim Crow laws up to where Ms. Parks would not, as Andre 3000 might say, “hush that fuss,” when she refused to give up her seat.
3) Lorraine Motel / National Civil Rights Museum – Memphis, Tenn.
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“Early morning, April 4, shot rings out in the Memphis sky…” is a line from U2’s song “Pride (In the Name of Love)” describing the day when MLK was assassinated. The place beneath that Memphis sky where the tragedy took place was the Lorraine Motel, which today, is home to the National Civil Rights Museum. It was purchased by the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Foundation 14 years after his 1968 death, and opened to the public as a museum in 1991. Here you’ll witness the story of the struggle of African Americans from their first arrival as slaves during colonial times up to the fateful day MLK stepped up to the railing on the Lorraine Motel’s balcony.
4) Central High School – Little Rock, Ark.
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The names of the Little Rock Nine may not be as well known as MLK or Rosa Parks, but their involvement in the federally forced desegregation of Central High School in 1957 garnered international attention. The courage they showed amid angry mobs, ridicule, and violence has been preserved with a museum of multimedia exhibits at the school, which is a National Historic Landmark, and often ranks among the nation’s best public schools today. The Central High Commemorative Garden features nine trees and nine benches for each of the integrating students. Image: Will Counts, Courtesy Arkansas History Commission
5) Susan B. Anthony Museum – Rochester, N.Y.
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To have your face on money in America, you pretty much have to be a dead male politician. Unless you’re the woman who blazed the trail for women to have the right to vote for those male politicians, and eventually become politicians themselves (apologies to Sacagawea, as no one really warmed up to your gold-based dollar coin, though your contributions to Lewis & Clark are greatly admired). The struggles of women’s suffrage had gone on for some time, but started seeing significant progress when Susan B. Anthony’s lifelong crusade began in 1852, inspiring numerous peaceful protests like the one pictured above. Her achievements are on display at her Rochester home, a National Historic Landmark and the place she lived during the height of her work that ultimately established the creation of the 19th Amendment.
6) Japanese Internment Camps – Minidoka, Idaho / Bainbridge Island, Wash.
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Chances are you’re unfamiliar with Executive Order 9066. But for those imprisoned in desolate places by that law because of their ancestry, it will always be remembered. Shortly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the order rounded up 120,000 Japanese Americans—most of whom were U.S. citizens—forcing them to leave behind their homes, businesses… everything…because of fears they might aid the enemy. There were 10 internment camps total, most of which hardly qualified as livable shelters for men, women, and children of all ages. The Minidoka War Relocation Camp in Idaho is part of the National Park Service, and is the most visited of the prisons. Ground has also broken for a memorial on Bainbridge Island in Seattle, another “camp” that imprisoned more than 200 people.
7) Plymouth Rock – Plymouth, Mass.
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It was the persecution of religious beliefs that fueled the sailing of the Mayflower, an injustice where the English homes of Puritans were seized and many followers were thrown in jail. We all know the story well, though maybe not the part that the rock is more of a traditional symbol than the actual first piece of American soil on which William Bradford and his band of pilgrims first set foot in 1620 (that would be Provincetown, at the end of Cape Cod). Still, it is a greatly cherished piece of real estate, a place just a few hundred feet from where the first settlement was built, and as legend has it, that first Thanksgiving took place. Sadly, this quest for religious freedom evolved into what would eventually become one of America’s greatest injustices, impacting its original inhabitants in what’s known as …
8 ) The Trail of Tears – Chattanooga, Tenn. to Tahlequah, Okla.
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It’s ironic that in the name of manifest destiny, people were forcibly expelled from their homes. In case you’re wondering, I’m not talking about the latest James Cameron blockbuster known as Dances with Wolves + Aliens + Braveheart + Pocahontas + An Inconvenient Truthminus the kilts, Kevin Costner (thankfully), and singing raccoons. This version has no happy ending. It involves tears. A whole trail of them. In 1838, 16,000 Cherokee Indians were corralled, marched across the Southeast amid deplorable conditions, and relocated to Indian Territory (Oklahoma), killing hundreds in the process. Today, the Trail is part of the National Trail System, beginning in Chattanooga and covering nine states before ending at the Cherokee Heritage Center in Tahlequah, Okla.
9) Holocaust Museum – Washington, D.C.
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Sure, the Holocaust did not occur on American soil. But in the spirit of the mantra “Never forget” repeated often by many Jewish people, reminding ourselves of what happened during one of the most horrific tragedies of the 20th century (and human history for that matter) is one way to hopefully ensure this type of mass extermination never happens again. The question of how it ever occurred in the first place is still mind-boggling, though mass genocide has since happened in other places of the world—all the more reason to visit the museum dedicated to the victims and survivors of German concentration camps, and never forget. Image credit: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
