The United States Civil Rights Trail

The U.S. Civil Rights Trail Podcast is collaborating with a podcast called History Daily , which tells the true stories of people and events that shaped our world. In this episode, we’re going to learn the back story of President Abraham Lincoln’s most famous speech — the Gettysburg Address. What’s interesting and relevant for us is that some legal scholars believe that the speech is part of the “...

This is season two of the Mississippi Freedom Trail Podcast, where the people who pushed for Civil Rights--and their family members--tell their stories of the role they played in the state's Civil Rights Movement. You’ll hear the real stories of people who drew from courage and persistence to make voting a reality for the Black residents of Mississippi. In this fourth of four episodes, we hear the...

This is season two of the Mississippi Freedom Trail Podcast, where the people who pushed for Civil Rights--and their family members--tell their stories of the role they played in the state's Civil Rights Movement. You’ll hear the real stories of people who drew from courage and persistence to make voting a reality for the Black residents of Mississippi. In this third of four episodes, we explore t...

This is season two of the Mississippi Freedom Trail Podcast, where the people who pushed for Civil Rights--and their family members--tell their stories of the role they played in the state's Civil Rights Movement. You’ll hear the real stories of people who drew from courage and persistence to make voting a reality for the Black residents of Mississippi. In this second of four episodes, we pick up...

This is season two of the Mississippi Freedom Trail Podcast, where the people who pushed for Civil Rights--and their family members--tell their stories of the role they played in the state's Civil Rights Movement. You’ll hear the real stories of people who drew from courage and persistence to make voting a reality for the Black residents of Mississippi. In this first of four episodes, we begin in...

Listen to this in-depth exploration of Bloody Monday, a public library protest, and organized marches that were met with violent backlash. Trip-Planning Resources:  Explore Virginia's sites on the U.S. Civil Rights Trail  Learn even more about Danville's history and how to visit Check out other states and stories along the U.S. Civil Rights Trail This episode features the voices and perspectives o...

Listen to the inspiring stories of individuals who sparked real change in Fredericksburg, Virginia, through school protests and department store sit-ins. Resources:  Explore Virginia's sites on the U.S. Civil Rights Trail  Learn even more about Fredericksburg's history and how to visit Check out other states and stories along the U.S. Civil Rights Trail This episode features the voices and perspec...

A teenager named Barbara Johns leads a student protest at her segregated school in Farmville—an act of courage that would help change legal history in Virginia and beyond.  Resources:  Explore Virginia's sites on the U.S. Civil Rights Trail  Learn even more about Farmville's Civil Rights stories at the Robert Russa Moton Museum Check out other states and stories along the U.S. Civil Rights Trail T...

The Virginia Civil Rights podcast explores significant moments and movements across the Commonwealth, sharing stories of everyday citizens whose courage and resilience drove lasting change. Through firsthand accounts, expert commentary, and historical context, the series examines key events in Farmville, Fredericksburg, Danville, and Richmond, featuring voices of those who lived the history alongs...

This is the North Carolina Civil Rights Trail podcast. A series where historians and experts help us explore significant events in African American history that happened in the state. This is the third and final episode, where we take you to protests and movements across the state inspired and energized by the Greensboro Four sit-in in places such as Elizabeth City, Kinston, High Point, Salisbury,...

This is the North Carolina Civil Rights Trail podcast. A series where historians and experts help us explore significant events in African American history that happened in the state. This is the second of three episodes. And in it, we’re going to learn about how four young men protesting at a department store lunch counter in Greensboro, NC, influenced generations. Learn more about the sites on t...

This is the North Carolina Civil Rights Trail podcast. A series where historians and experts help us explore significant events in African American history that happened in the state. This is the first of three episodes. And in it, we’ll tell the story of the events leading up to the famous A&T Four sit-ins in Greensboro in 1960, including the story of Dorothy Counts and her attempt to integrate a...

The North Carolina Civil Rights Trail podcast is a series where historians and experts help us explore significant events in African American history that happened in the state. It features well-known events from larger cities like Charlotte, Greensboro and Raleigh. It also tells stories of how everyday citizens joined together to make change in their communities such as Chapel Hill, Kinston, Monr...

This episode takes us to the town of Clinton in the eastern part of the state. Following the pivotal U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education, a judge ordered the desegregation of Clinton High School. On August 26, 1956, a group of African American students – the Clinton 12 – attended their first day of class, marking the first integration of a public high school in the South. What...

The Tennessee Civil Rights Trail podcast explores the most significant aspects of the Movement in the state. This episode takes a look at the integral role college students played in the city (from Fisk University, American Baptist College, Tennessee State University and elsewhere) especially as they participated in significant protests, such as the Feb. 1960 sit-in at the F.W. Woolworth building...

The Tennessee Civil Rights Trail podcast explores the most significant aspects of the Movement in the state. This episode offers a sketch of the city’s overall history before bringing us into what it was like there in the 1950s and 1960s. We learn about the city’s Sanitation Workers’ Strike in 1968, the cause that compelled Martin Luther King, Jr. to visit there that spring to offer his support. T...

The Tennessee Civil Rights Trail podcast explores the most significant aspects of the Movement in the state. The episodes will take you from the cities of Memphis and Nashville to the town of Clinton. And they will feature the voices of veteran foot soldiers who stood strong against oppression. You’ll also hear from historians and experts who explain the full context of what was happening and help...

In this episode, “Meeting Places, Organizing Protests & Confrontations, pt. 2,” historians and experts help explain the role of the civil rights movement in Louisiana’s rural towns such as Plaquemine, Jonesboro and Bogalusa. You’ll hear the heroic stories of the Deacons of the Defense and learn about the influential 105-Mile March from Bogalusa all the way to the capitol steps in Baton Rouge.  Cli...

In this episode, “Meeting Places, Organizing Protests & Confrontations, pt. 1,” historians and experts help explain the growth of the non-violent protests that helped desegregate Louisiana. You’ll hear the story of the nation’s first bus boycott in Baton Rouge. And you’ll learn about the student-organized sit-ins and protests in New Orleans, Shreveport and Baton Rouge.  Click for more information:...

In this episode, “Desegregation,” historians and experts help explain some of the most pioneering moments in desegregation in the state of Louisiana. You’ll learn about the key role that the 761st Tank Battalion at Camp Beauregard played during World War II. You’ll hear the story how a coach fought to integrate the basketball team at what is now known as the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. A...

The state of Louisiana plays a pivotal role in the history of the Civil Rights Movement. And the Louisiana Civil Rights Trail podcast tells the triumphant stories of people there who made a difference both in their communities and around the country.  Each episode features historians, experts and eyewitnesses who explain the full context and help us understand why what took place then is still so...

In this episode, “The March for Equality,” historians and experts help us explore how African Americans in South Carolina, and their allies, began peaceful protests in the late 1950s and into the 1960s, when the state ignored new federal legislation calling for integration and equality. To learn more about the stories and places you hear about, you can see the markers where students held their sit...

In this episode, “Separate is Not Equal,” historians and experts help us explore how some of the pivotal legislation — rooted in South Carolina — made a significant difference in the entire Civil Rights movement. To learn more about the stories and places you hear about, you can visit Columbia where the protest took place at the state capitol and where Sarah Mae Flemming boarded the bus. You can a...

In this episode, “Precursor to the Movement,” historians and experts help us explore critical 19th Century events that plunged the nation into a civil rights crisis. To learn more about the stories and places you hear about, you can visit Beaufort County, Hilton Head, Mitchelville and Union County. You can also visit the Reconstruction Era National Historic Park and The Penn Center. At the Taberna...

The South Carolina Legacy of Courage podcast tells the stories of people who stood strong against oppression. Across three episodes, historians and experts help us explore critical 19th Century events that plunged the nation into a civil rights crisis and then illuminates court cases, protests and those who affected positive change in the state and nationally. You’ll also hear the real stories of...