From the birth of the nation in 1776 to present-day civil rights, the South has always symbolized the history, culture and diversity of the United States. He shares with visitors his heritage, his struggles and his incomparable joie de vivre.
ALABAMA
Few roads in America have the historic significance of US Highway 80’s 86 miles between Selma And Montgomery. In March 1965, along this highway, the Civil Rights movement galvanized the country as activists marched for African Americans’ right to vote. After two unsuccessful attempts, including the tragic “Bloody Sunday” on Edmund Pettus BridgeDr. Martin Luther King, Jr. successfully launched what became known as the March from Selma to Montgomery on March 21, 1965, prompting President Johnson to sign the Voting Rights Act.
Through churches, bridges and farmlands, Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail invites the traveler to discover ordinary places with extraordinary stories. As the protesters did, the route begins at the Brown Chapel from Selma to meet the heroes who risked everything in their fight for equality.
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The course Alabama Civil Rights Museum Trail lists the essential sites and museums of the struggle for Civil Rights throughout the State. Of Rosa Parks Museum in Montgomery at Civil Rights Institute from Birmingham where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote his famous “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, until at least known Human and Civil Rights Multicultural Center in Tuskegee, Alabama is the scene of so many stories and events that have shaped and transformed America.
LOUISIANA
There Great Mississippi River Road offers over approximately 110 km a collection of imposing colonial residences dating from before the Civil War. Located on either side of the Mississippi River between Red Stick and the New Orleansthey are mostly nestled in an exceptional natural setting.
With well-known names like Oak Alley, Laura Plantation Or Houmas House are added more confidential places such as Rosedown Plantation State Historic Site situated at St Francisvillewhose interior decorations have remained intact and where the view of the oak tree canopy from the veranda on the second floor is splendid. Destrehan Plantationnamed after the illustrious French family who saw it born, offers a dive into its more than 200-year-old history and a stay in its Creole-style cottages.
Located in Wallace, Whitney Plantationone of the last to have been restored and opened to the public, retraces the history of slavery since its founding in 1752 and educates new generations through exhibitions, visits and conferences.
In Jackson, north of Baton Rouge, the site of Port Hudson State Historic Site commemorates the end of the Civil War in Louisiana where, after 48 days of siege and fierce struggle, the Confederate forces finally gave in to the Union army on July 9, 1863.
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Every year for 35 years, the Louisiana International Festival celebrates the French-speaking heritage of southern Louisiana in Lafayette. Local musicians but also European, African, Canadian and Caribbean perform concerts there. For five days, 300,000 music enthusiasts gather in a festive spirit for this unmissable high point of the year. See you from April 26 to 30 in the heart of Cajun country.
MISSOURI
Direction the city ofindependence for a dive at the time of the conquest of the west. Pioneer Trails Adventures invites the visitor in the footsteps of the pioneers along a route grouping together several sites including National Frontier Trails Museum, Harry S. Truman Historic SitePresident Truman’s house or even 1827 Log Courthouse which was for more than 40 years the last court between Missouri and the West Coast.
Who says conquest of the west says inevitably Route 66 with the step of Springfield and his Route 66 Car Museum, a unique collection of 75 vintage cars. The murals of Boswell Route 66 ParkJoplin or even Cuba nicknamed “Mural City” will delight fans of “Street Art” as much as Gary’s Gay Parita Gas Station will enchant those nostalgic for a bygone era.
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Missouri is full of sometimes unsuspected historical sites linked to famous people. They are available all along the route Historic Places and Famous Faces with in particular the Walt Disney Hometown Museum in Marceline, the city where Walt Disney stayed and which profoundly marked his work, the National Churchill Museum in Fulton, where the politician gave one of the most illustrious speeches of his career in 1946 or the childhood home of Harry S. Truman in Harry S. Truman Birthplace State Historic Site located in Lamar.
TENNESSEE
Music is inseparable from the history of Tennessee. THE National Museum of African American Music of Nashville is the only museum dedicated to preserving and celebrating musical genres created or inspired by African Americans.
Interactive exhibits, including a sound booth to test your own musical talents, bring music legends past and present to life. Nashville Jazz Workshop offers an immersion in jazz culture with discovery workshops, sharing of experience between experienced and beginner musicians, for a deep appreciation of the history of jazz in the interests of education and inclusion.
Another must-see place: the National Civil Rights Museum of Memphis, built around the former Lorraine Motel where Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in April 1968, is a true historical immersion. 260 objects, 40 films and interactive experiences guide visitors through five centuries of history, from the beginning of the resistance to slavery, through the Civil War and reconstruction, to the defining events of the 20th century for the defense of equal rights.
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gracelandthe mythical home of Elvis Presley located in Memphis, has recently hosted the new exhibition ” The making of ELVIS which retraces all the stages of the creation of the film released in 2022. Behind-the-scenes videos of the shoot, handwritten notes, drafts of the script, accessories, sets and costumes, no secret will escape the fans of the “King”. Exhibition to discover until September 4th.
