The four institutions that were most prominent in the civil rights movement include Morehouse College, which was also known at the time as the “black Harvard”, Spelman College, Clark Atlanta University, and West Hunter Street Baptist Church. This area is part of the National Park Service’s “We Shall Overcome” tour, historic places of the civil rights movement. Students visiting these sites gain a greater understanding of the people involved in the movement. They also learn that the movement was organized in a campus setting by college students. Martin Luther King, Jr. graduated from Morehouse College and Morehouse students Lonnie King and Julian Bond organized marches, boycotts and sit-ins throughout the city. Spelman student Ruby Doris Smith helped lead freedom rides, sit-ins, jail-ins and vote registration drives. Civil Rights leaders W.E.B. Du Bois and Whitney Young, Jr. taught and chaired departments at Atlanta University. The Reverend Ralph Abernathy pastored West Hunter Street Baptist church when he was the head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
There are options for student travel groups visiting Atlanta. A student tour may primarily focus on Black History, with other types of historic sites included. Or, a historic tour with a larger focus may include some points of interest for Black History. Either option provides educational tours a diverse viewpoint of American history. Following is a breakdown of some of the highlights of the National Park Service “We Shall Overcome” tour.
Morehouse College:
In 1867, just two years after the Civil War ended, Augusta Institute was established in the basement of the Springfield Baptist Church in Augusta, Ga. Founded in 1787, Springfield Baptist church is still the oldest independent African American church in the United States. The schools primary purpose was to prepare black men for the ministry and teaching. In 1913 Augusta Institute became Morehouse College, which is located on a 66-acre campus in Atlanta and enjoys an international reputation for producing leaders who have influenced national and world history. On the campus is the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel, the world’s most prominent religious memorial to alumnus Martin Luther King, Jr. The chapel seeks to develop and promote clergy, laity and youth awakening through reconciliation, non-violence, science, spirituality and the building of global “communities of hope”. A tour of the country’s leading historically black college can easily be added to a student travel tour.
Spelman College:
Founded as Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary in 1811 in the basement of Friendship Baptist Church, the institution became Spelman Seminary in 1884 and then Spelman College in 1924. The college sits on 32 acres just 3 miles from downtown Atlanta and consists of 25 buildings. It is a private, independent liberal arts college for women today, considered among the top historically black colleges in the nation. An educational tour of this campus requires prior registration and is suggested since approved dates fill up early.
Clark Atlanta University:
Atlanta University was founded in 1865 by the American Missionary Association and was supplying black teachers and librarians to the public schools of the south by 1879. In 1930 it began an affiliation with Morehouse and Spelman colleges in a university plan known as the Atlanta University System. The campus was moved to its present site and Clark College, Morris Brown College and the Interdenominational Theological Center joined the affiliation later. Clark College was founded in 1869 as Clark University by the Freedman’s Aid Society of the Methodist church.
West Hunter Street Baptist Church:
Founded as the Friendship Baptist church in 1881, West Hunter Street Baptist Church was moved to its current location in 1906 on West Hunter Street. In 1961 Ralph D. Abernathy became the pastor. Mr. Abernathy and Martin Luther King, Jr. founded the Southern Baptist Leadership Conference and worked together to lead successful bus boycotts and change through advocating non-violence. Upon Dr. King’s death, Abernathy succeeded him as president of the SBLC and continued their work.
The University Tour District of Atlanta provides the most “walking in the footsteps” experience available to student travel groups looking to be immersed in the U.S. Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 60s. Students interested in pursuing careers as teachers, ministers, librarians, or lawyers may find this tour especially inspiring. For more information on creating an African American history tour, which can be customized to incorporate additional civil rights sites in the Atlanta, Georgia area, email info@educationaltravelconsultants.com.
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