Trey Kay, Todd Melby Published

Journey Along the Civil Rights Trail Gives White Travelers a Unique Perspective of America's Race History

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Travel is an activity some people use as a classroom. Leaving the familiar lets us learn about culture, history, the environment and many other topics.

Recently, a small group spent six days traveling America’s southern states to learn about the country’s racial past and the impact of the Civil Rights movement today. This immersive tour took them across several states to places that have come to define periods in America’s racial history—from Charleston, South Carolina’s slave trade market to Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta.

The group visited sites that put this country’s racist history on display, and Us & Them host Trey Kay was along to hear them reflect on our nation and themselves.

This episode of Us & Them is presented with support from the West Virginia Humanities Council and CRC Foundation.

Subscribe to Us & Them on Apple Podcasts, NPR One, RadioPublic, Spotify, Stitcher and beyond.

Trey & James Person

Trey Kay
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James Person, one of the original Freedom Riders, in Atlanta, GA, with Us & Them host Trey Kay
Todd Allen at King Center

Trey Kay
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Professor Todd Allen speaking to a tour group at King Center in Atlanta, GA.
Trey Kay at Ebeneezer Baptist Church

Trey Kay
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Us & Them host Trey Kay at Ebeneezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, GA
MLK Resting Place

Trey Kay
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Final resting place for Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King in Atlanta, GA.
Betsy Disharoon

Trey Kay
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Betsy Disharoon in her art studio in the suburbs of Boston, MA.
McLeod Plantion

Trey Kay
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McLeod Plantation is a former slave plantation located on James Island, near Charleston, SC.
McLeod Plantation Tour

Trey Kay
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John Gardiner stands in front of small cabins, which once house enslaved people, and speaks about the history of the McLeod Plantation and the slave trade in Charleston, SC.
Aziz Abu Sarah on the bus

Trey Kay
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Aziz Abu Sarah, founder of Mejdi Tours, rides on a bus heading to Charleston, SC and tells travelers about his experience as a Palestinian growing up in Jerusalem.
Tour_Group@African-American-Museum

Trey Kay
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Mejdi Tours’ Civil Rights Journey stops at the site of the future International African American Museum in Charleston, SC.

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