Civil Rights Movement Destinations

In 1963, nearly 300,000 protestors headed to the nation's capital for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, which was a step in the right direction or passing the Civil Rights Act of1964.

Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his memorable 'I Have a Dream' speech at this spot on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington in 1963.

On March 30, 1965, civil-rights leaders Martin Luther King Jr. and his wife Coretta Scott King led protestors in a march from Selma, AL, to the capital in Montgomery to fight for black voting rights.

Martin Luther King Jr. slept in Room 306 at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, TN, on the night before he was assassinated while standing on the hotel's balcony in 1968.

The Lorraine Motel is now home to the National Civil Rights Museum, which chronicles the civil rights movement and provides opportunities to learn more about peace and justice in our world.

Visitors pay their respects to Martin Luther King Jr. and his wife Coretta Scott King at the crypt at the King Center in Atlanta, GA.

Martin Luther King Jr. was the pastor at the Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church & Parsonage in Montgomery, AL, between 1954 and 1960. Today, you can take a tour of the church and parsonage, both National Historic Landmarks.

Two great civil-rights leaders are celebrated at the intersection of Rosa Parks Boulevard and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Detroit, MI.

The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati, OH, celebrates our country's civil-rights heroes from the days of slavery and the Underground Railroad to modern times.

In 1955, Rosa Parks, an African-American woman, refused to give up her seat on the bus for a white man. This action rocked the country and sparked another battle in the war for civil rights. Today, the public can step on the bus where it all began at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, MI.

The Rosa Parks Museum tells the tale of the 'victory ride' and the 381-day boycott of the Montgomery bus system that happened after Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on the bus.

Rosa Parks passed away in 2005 and is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in Detroit, MI.

Martin Luther King Jr. preached about nonviolence and peace from the pulpit of the original Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, GA, which was across the street from the new sanctuary on the grounds of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Historic Site.

In October 2011, after more than 2 decades of planning, the MLK Memorial opened in Washington, DC. Critics were unhappy with “drum major” quote abbreviation (pictured); the Department of Interior has since announced the quote will be removed.