Skip to content
Search
Search
 

10 Significant Landmarks Along the U.S. Civil Rights Trail

Visit the sites where ordinary citizens fought injustice and made history

by Larry Bleiberg, AARP, Updated February 14, 2022

stools from the F.W. Woolworth counter in Greensboro, NC

U.S. Civil Rights Trail

The Greensboro, N.C., lunch counter where four African-American college students protested “whites-only” service by refusing to give up their seats. The site is now part of the International Civil Rights Center & Museum.

En español | America’s struggle for civil rights had many battlegrounds.

In Little Rock, Arkansas, history was made at a high school, where soldiers escorted nine students past taunting crowds to integrate a formerly all-white campus. In Greensboro, North Carolina, it unfolded at a lunch counter, where months of sit-ins won the right for customers of any race to order a cup of coffee.

Today, it’s easy for travelers to visit these places, thanks to the U.S. Civil Rights Trail, a public initiative launched in 2018 that links more than 100 key sites across 15 states and the District of Columbia. The 10 destinations described below vividly help recount the cruelty of Jim Crow segregation, offering an unblinking look at the racial violence and hatred that consumed a society — as well as the remarkable stories of ordinary individuals who showed incredible bravery in the face of injustice.

Virginia native Larry Bleiberg is president of the Society of American Travel Writers, a frequent contributor to BBC Travel and the creator of CivilRightsTravel.com.

Editor's note: This article was originally published on February 10, 2020. It's been updated to reflect COVID-19 closures.

More on History

AARP Travel Center

Call: 1.800.675.4318

Search Flights

Enter a valid date

Enter a valid date

Child under 2 must either sit in laps or in seats:

Enter a valid date

Child under 2 must either sit in laps or in seats:

Enter a valid date

Child under 2 must either sit in laps or in seats:

Flight 2

Enter a valid date

Flight 3

Enter a valid date

Flight 4

Enter a valid date

Flight 5

Enter a valid date

Add Another Flight

Search Hotels

Enter a valid date

Enter a valid date

Room 1

Room 2

Room 3

Room 4

Room 5

Room 6

Room 7

Room 8

Search Packages

Enter a valid date

Enter a valid date

You didn't specify child's age

Child under 2 must either sit in laps or in seats:

Room 1

There are children in rooms without an adult

You didn't specify child's age

You didn't specify child's age

Room 2

There are children in rooms without an adult

You didn't specify child's age

You didn't specify child's age

Room 3

There are children in rooms without an adult

You didn't specify child's age

You didn't specify child's age

Room 4

There are children in rooms without an adult

You didn't specify child's age

You didn't specify child's age

Room 5

There are children in rooms without an adult

You didn't specify child's age

You didn't specify child's age

You have more than 6 people total

Please select a trip duration less than 28 days

There must be at least 1 traveler (age 12+) for each infant in a lap

Search Cars

Enter a valid date

Enter a valid date

Search Cruises

Select a valid location

Select a month

Search Things to Do

Enter a valid date

Enter a valid date