Alumni & Parent Relations Civil Rights Tour

Alumni & Parent Relations Civil Rights Tour

Walking the Road of Reconciliation

October 17-24, 2026 

Messiah alumni and current parents — and their middle school through college aged children— are invited to join Messiah administrators and faculty for a week-long Civil Rights Experiential Learning Tour: Walking the Road of Reconciliation.

Led by Vice President for Diversity Affairs Dr. Todd Allen and Associate Professor of Theology Dr. Drew Hart, this carefully curated journey will take us through Atlanta, Albany, Montgomery, Selma, Birmingham, the Mississippi Delta, and Memphis. Together, we’ll trace the triumphs and sorrows of the American Civil Rights Movement and explore the urgent, unfinished work of racial justice in our own time.

REGISTER for the civil rights bus tour 

The Journey at a Glance

• Meet in Atlanta on October 17, 2026
• Worship at Ebenezer Baptist Church — where Dr. King was baptized and ordained to preach
• The King Center for Nonviolent Social Change
• A conversation with Ms. Rutha Harris, SNCC Freedom Singer
• Crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma 
• The National Memorial for Peace and Justice and Legacy Museum, traveling through 400 years of history  on the journey towards racial justice
• A personal conversation with Mr. Anthony Ray Hinton, author of The Sun Does Shine, chronicling the 30 years he spent on death row for a crime he did not commit
• Powerful witness from Dr. Carolyn McKinstry and Ms. Lisa McNair — survivors and truth-tellers from the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing
• The National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis
• Depart from Memphis on October 24, 2026

ACCESS THE FULL ITINERARY HERE

A Deeper Look at What You’ll Experience

We’ll begin with worship at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, where a young Martin Luther King Jr. was ordained as a minister of the gospel. We’ll stand at the tomb of Dr. King at the King Center for Nonviolent Social Change and listen to the story of the movement through the voice of Ms. Rutha Harris, one of the legendary SNCC Freedom Singers, at the Albany Civil Rights Institute.

We’ll travel the highway from Montgomery to Selma, stopping at the Lowndes County Interpretive Center to learn about the brave men and women who marched peacefully from Selma to Montgomery to gain the right to vote. Then, we’ll cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge together, guided by Journeys for the Soul.

We’ll spend a morning at the National Memorial for Peace and Justice and the Legacy Museum in Montgomery — powerful, sobering spaces created by Bryan Stevenson and the Equal Justice Initiative that bear witness to the history of lynching and racial terror in America and connect it to the crisis of mass incarceration today. And immediately after, we’ll hear directly from Mr. Anthony Ray Hinton, a man who spent thirty years on death row for a crime he did not commit and whose story of faith and forgiveness has moved audiences around the world.

In Birmingham, we’ll sit with Dr. Carolyn McKinstry, who was inside the 16th Street Baptist Church the morning a bomb killed four of her friends, and with Ms. Lisa McNair, whose sister Denise was among those four little girls.

We’ll also drive through the Mississippi Delta — stopping at the site of Bryant's Grocery, where a teenager named Emmett Till was brutally murdered for allegedly whistling at a white woman — before arriving in Memphis, where we will walk through the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel, on the very balcony where Dr. King was assassinated in 1968.

Why Go? And Why Bring Your Children on This Tour?

At the heart of Messiah's mission is a word that is both ancient and urgent: reconciliation. Rooted in the redemptive work of God — who, in Christ, crossed every barrier to restore relationship with humanity — reconciliation calls us outward. It calls us to honestly encounter with history, with one another, and with the ongoing brokenness of our world.

We believe this experience has the power to change how you and your family members see your neighbor, your community, God’s kingdom — and yourself.

Details and Cost

• Arrival in Atlanta on October 17; departure from Memphis on October 24.
• $2,000 double, triple, or quadruple occupancy/$2,200 single occupancy.
• Special student rate of $1,500 for students traveling with their parents; $1,700 for students traveling solo.
• Included: hotel accommodations, bus transportation on a luxury tour bus with restrooms on board, some meals, entrance fees to museums and experiences.
• Flights to Atlanta and from Memphis are not included. Some meals will be on your own. Budget $5/pp per day for bus driver gratuities.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Is this tour a fundraiser for Messiah University?
A: No. Messiah does not profit from this tour; our generous sponsors enable us to offer this tour at below actual cost.

Q: How large is the tour group?
A: Space is intentionally limited to no more than 40 guests to preserve the intimacy and depth of the experience.

Q: Are flights included in the price?
A: No. We will meet in Atlanta and depart from Memphis. You are responsible for handling flight reservations and transportation from and to the airport for your party.

Q: Is there a discount for families traveling together?
A: Rates are discounted for parties of 2-4 traveling together. Group rates are $2,000/pp for adults and $1,500/pp for students.

Q: What meals are included in this tour?
A: Breakfasts are included at all hotels. Some lunches and dinners are also included. More details will be provided closer to the time.

Q: What else is included in this tour?
A: Bus transportation in a luxury bus with a restroom on board; All museum and experience entrance fees; Books by featured speakers; Some meals.