Can you believe we're only a week and a half away from our pilgrimage? All the plans are falling into place nicely. We are looking forward to meeting you all.riv

Arrival
The Pilgrimage officially begins at 8:45 am on Monday, March 16, 2020, at The Church of the River (First Unitarian Church of Memphis, 292 W Virginia Ave, Memphis, TN 38103). You can meet us there, or you can join the group at the following times and places:  

• 6:00 am – the lobby of Holiday Inn Express Memphis Medical Center Midtown (1180 Union Ave, Memphis, TN 38104)
• 6:30 am – outside Memphis Central Station (545 S Main St, Memphis, TN 38103) – look for the blue and white Cline Tours bus.
• 7:00 am – Everyone is invited to join us for a breakfast buffet at The Arcade Restaurant (540 S Main St, Memphis, TN 38103) across the street from the train station. You must let us know as soon as possible if you plan to come so we can reserve a seat for you. If you did not already complete a travel survey, or if you have changed your mind, email us at [email protected].  Otherwise, you are on your own for breakfast that morning. 

If you’re confused about how to connect with us on the first morning, or you have questions, please email us at [email protected] and we can discuss your specific circumstances.

Healthy habits
Over the past few days, federal health officials have advised us all to begin preparing for the anticipated spread of the coronavirus in the United States. We want to reassure you that the Living Legacy Project Board is paying close attention to this emerging situation. 

At this point in time, we see no need to cancel the Pilgrimage. Currently, the CDC is recommending that travelers avoid all nonessential travel to China, Iran, Italy, and South Korea. The agency also says that older adults and those with chronic medical conditions should consider postponing nonessential travel to Japan. We’re not going to any of those places, and there is no recommendation to avoid travel within the U.S., so for now, we’re moving ahead as planned.

Just as in any flu and cold season, we can best protect ourselves and one another by paying close attention to careful hygiene practices. On the Pilgrimage, we ask that you: 

• Wash your hands fully (for a minimum of 20 seconds) at each restroom stop. 
• Keep your hands off your face, particularly your mouth, nose, and eyes. 
• Disinfect your cell phone, camera, and other electronic devices with electronics wipes. And remember the cleaner your hands, the cleaner everything you touch.
• Avoid hugging or touching other people, including hand-shaking. Feel free to greet others by pressing your palms together, holding your hand over your heart, or giving a friendly nod. 
• Notify the LLP staff immediately if you start to have cold symptoms or feel sick in any way.
• Don’t go on the trip if you are feeling sick. 

Because the coronavirus, like the flu, is spread from close, person-to-person contact, as well as contact with contaminated surfaces and objects, we’re taking extra steps to make sure you are as safe as possible. We will have Clorox wipes available on the bus, so you can wipe down the arms rests on your seat. You can also take them with you to your hotel room if you want to wipe down any surfaces in your room (especially the TV remote!). 

Please know that we will do everything we can to keep you safe and informed in the days ahead. We will let you know immediately if anything changes.

For those of you who might like some additional information, here is an NPR podcast I found helpful in decreasing my anxiety by focusing on prevention and preparedness: LifeKit: Coronavirus 101

Weather
The weather continues to look promising: low 70s in the daytime and 50s at night. There is a high possibility of showers, so it's a good idea to pack an umbrella or rain gear. We encourage you to watch extended forecasts for Memphis, Birmingham, Montgomery, and Selma as we get closer in case anything changes.  

Packing list
Below is a recommended packing list. We encourage you to pack as light as possible.

• Water bottle (for the good of the environment, we will have only a limited amount of bottled water on the bus)
• Umbrella or rain gear
• Small tote bag or backpack if you want easy access to things on the bus
• Journal
• Pens
• Camera
• Comfortable clothes that you can layer
• Comfortable walking shoes
• PJs
• Unscented hand lotion
• Sunscreen
• A cap or hat, especially if you're sun-sensitive
• Hand sanitizing wipes or liquid hand sanitizer
• Screens wipes for your electronics
• Tissues
• Personal toiletries
• Prescription medications
• Personal snacks, especially if you have special dietary needs
• Thank-you cards

We ask that you not pack perfume, cologne, or other scented lotions or creams. Being in group for several days can be difficult for people who have chemical-sensitives, so anything you can do to be mindful of added scents is appreciated. 

Cash
Several people have asked about how much money to bring with you. It’s a good idea to have cash to leave a tip for the housekeeping staff at each hotel along our route. We generally recommend $3-5 per night. If you’re sharing a room, you can split that between you.

We also recommend at least $5-10 per day for a total of $25-50 for our bus driver. We present him with an envelope at the end of the trip with our thanks. Cash is best, but if you want to write a check that’s fine too. If you can afford more that will help those who aren’t able to contribute as much.

You might also want cash or credit cards for incidentals, gifts, etc. That should be all you need. 

Parking your car
If you are driving to Memphis, you will be able to leave your car at The Church of the River (First Unitarian Church of Memphis, 292 W Virginia Ave, Memphis, TN 38103) at no cost for the duration of the trip. Please park as far back in the lot as you can. After we’re all there, we might move our cars so they’re parked together.

Time Zone
Please note that we'll be on Central Daylight Time (UTC-06:00) throughout the trip so you might need to reset your watches when you arrive (or remember that your phone might have automatically reset). 

Sharing your experience
We encourage you to document and photograph this journey by journaling, blogging, keeping notes, and taking photographs. Be sure to include your preparations for the trip, traveling by planes, trains, and automobiles to Memphis, the time on the Pilgrimage itself, and your reflections after you return home. This is important for your friends and family and for your own memories.

And please share your photos and reflections with us. They are invaluable to us and to people who are considering a pilgrimage for themselves! Talk with Annette if you have questions about the best way to do this.

If you're into social media, we appreciate all the tweeting, Facebooking, Instagramming, blogging, and whatever other social media you want to share. Please use hashtag #LLP20 so we can identify your posts and share them on Living Legacy Pilgrimage platforms.

Gratitude
Expressing gratitude is an important part of developing relationships. We encourage you to bring thank-you cards and/or find other ways to express gratitude to those you meet along the way. 

In case you have missed important information
Some of you have not opened previous bulletins and emails we've sent. If you're concerned that you missed anything, you'll find all the information you need, including what’s contained in this one, at this link: http://www.uulivinglegacy.org/03162020bulletins. Scroll down to see earlier bulletins. 

This is the last bulletin you'll receive, so let me know if you have any additional questions. We’re looking forward to seeing you in Memphis. 

Safe travels!
 
Annette

Annette Marquis
Director of Operations
Living Legacy Project, Inc. 
804-551-0241
​[email protected]

We are less than a month away from our initial gathering in Memphis on Monday, March 16, 2020, for the Living Legacy Pilgrimage! Please read this bulletin carefully for travel information and resources to help you make the most of our week together. All the details are coming together, and I know we will have an incredible journey. I can’t wait!

Staff
We expect to have a total of fifty people on the bus, including forty-four participants and six Living Legacy Pilgrimage and Cline Tours staff members:

• Kristin Famula, staff
• John Harris, staff
• Annette Marquis, Pilgrimage leader
• Joseph Selmon, logistics coordinator
• Robert Lakes, driver
• Matt Watroba, musician

We’re coming from nine states from California to Virginia, although most participants—37 of the 50—hail from the great state of Illinois. This trip was conceived by the Urbana-Champaign Unitarian Universalist Church, and it is through their great effort that we have filled the bus and raised scholarship dollars to ensure everyone who wanted to go could. They are a wonderful example of what happens when a small group of people set a goal and work to achieve it!

If you’re not from Illinois, don’t worry—even all the people from Illinois don’t all know each other, so everyone on the bus will be meeting new people, and you’ll have plenty of opportunities to get to know other participants.

Our median age hovers around 64, but we range from 15-79, so we’ll have lots to learn from each other across generations!
Although this Pilgrimage was conceived by Unitarian Universalists (UUs), and UUs make up the majority of participants, we also have Mennonites, Catholics, African Methodist Episcopalians, Friends, and Presbyterians in the group, so it will be a rich interfaith experience. UUs, we ask that you work hard to avoid UU-speak as much as possible. Our goal is that everyone feels welcomed and included.

Travel Survey
So that we can make sure we are able to connect with you in Memphis and get you back in time for your transportation needs at the end of the Pilgrimage, please complete this Travel Survey. If you’re traveling by car or plane, only one person in your group needs to complete the form.

Our first morning
The Pilgrimage officially begins at 8:45 am on Monday, March 16, 2020, at The Church of the River (First Unitarian Church of Memphis, 292 W Virginia Ave, Memphis, TN 38103). You can meet us there, or you can join the group on that morning at the following times and places:  

• 6:00 am – the lobby of Holiday Inn Express Memphis Medical Center Midtown (1180 Union Ave, Memphis, TN 38104)
• 6:30 am – outside Memphis Central Station (545 S Main St, Memphis, TN 38103)
• 7:00 am – breakfast at the Arcade Restaurant (540 South Main Street, Memphis, TN 38103)

 See more information about these options below.

Staying overnight on Sunday, March 15
If you’re arriving on Sunday and would like a hotel room, we have a few rooms held in a room block for $119 plus tax at the Holiday Inn Express Memphis Medical Center Midtown. You can make a reservation until 2/29/2020 using this link: Living Legacy Pilgrimage Room Block. Let me know if you have any trouble reserving a room.

Note: You might be able to get a room for less using an online hotel booking service.

If you’re staying at the Holiday Inn Express Memphis Medical Center Midtown, the bus will be there to pick you up at 6:00 am on Monday, March 16th to take you and the LLP staff who will be staying there to connect with the rest of the group. You can also arrange for your own transportation to meet us at the Arcade Restaurant at 7:00 am or Church of the River at 8:45 am.

Amtrak Arrivals
A number of the folks who are coming from Urbana-Champaign will be arriving on the City of New Orleans Amtrak train at 6:27 am on Monday, March 16th. If you’re with this group, the bus will meet you outside Memphis Central Station. You’ll be able to deposit your bags on the bus before going to breakfast.

Note: Because so many of our group are arriving by this train, the schedule will be adjusted to accommodate a train delay.

Monday, March 16th Breakfast
We have arranged a breakfast buffet for our group at 7:00 am at The Arcade Restaurant (540 S Main St, Memphis, TN 38103) across the street from the train station.

You’re welcome to join us whether you’ve arrived by train or another means, but you must complete the Travel Survey and let us know that you plan to join us, so we can reserve a spot for you. If you reserve a spot, breakfast is included in your registration fee.

Parking your Car
If you are driving to Memphis, you will be able to leave your car at The Church of the River (First Unitarian Church of Memphis, 292 W Virginia Ave, Memphis, TN 38103) at no cost for the duration of the trip. However, please complete the Travel Survey, so we can provide them with information about how many spots we need and specific information about your vehicle.

What to Expect on the Pilgrimage
We’ll start each day with breakfast in the hotels. We’ll depart the hotel by 8:00 or 8:30 depending on the day (we’ll make sure you know what time to be on board).

On the bus, we’ll share a morning centering meditation or reading and maybe join in some singing. We’ll orient you to the day, then, depending on where we’re going, we might give you some history, point out sights along the route, tell some stories, show a video, or give you time to get to know your seatmate.

We’ll be on and off the bus a lot, but don’t worry if you have challenges with steps, we’ll assist you so you can get on and off as much as you want. We have no strenuous hikes planned and walking is generally pretty easy. The most challenging walk is across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma. We’ll give you more information about that once we’re in Selma, and if you decide it’s too much, you can ride across in the bus.

Over the course of each day, we’ll be traveling to significant sites in the Civil Rights Movement. Some of our stops will be at small town or country churches where veterans of the Movement will share their personal stories with us. Some stops will be at sacred sites like the places where the Rev. James Reeb and Viola Liuzzo were murdered.

No matter where we are, we’ll do our best to put what happened there in context for you and help you connect with the real stories that made the Civil Rights Movement such a powerful force for change in our country.

Most days, we’ll have lunches and dinners in restaurants/cafeterias, or we’ll have them catered for us at various stops. Whenever possible, we’ll be eating at African American owned businesses.

Your job on this Pilgrimage is to immerse yourself in the experience and not worry about anything else. Your staff will make sure we get to where we need to be. We know that not everything will happen as planned. Some of the best experiences we’ve had on the many Pilgrimages we’ve hosted have happened spontaneously, like meeting the Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth, just months before he died, and being able to thank him in person for his courageous life. That’s the wonder of this experience!

See the full itinerary here.

Packing and Weather
We expect the temperatures to be in the 60s during the day and 40s to 50s at night. However, we all know that could change in an instant. We suggest you pack layered clothing, a warm sweater and rain jacket, for example, to keep you comfortable in any weather we might experience.

Plan to wear comfortable clothes and good walking shoes. You will have to lug your suitcase into the hotel and back again every day, so we suggest you pack lightly. We don't care if you wear the same outfit more than once (as long as you shower regularly!).

Those of us who have spent a lot of time on the bus have found that a small day pack or tote bag works well in the overhead bin or on the floor by your feet to hold the stuff you might need during the day.

Also, please remember to pack a water bottle. We will have some bottled water for those who need it but, for the environment's sake, we don't want to purchase too much of it. We'll also have some snacks on the bus but bring whatever you know you'll want (or need) with you, especially if you have dietary concerns, so you're not disappointed that we didn't get your favorite kind.

Advance Preparation
We strongly suggest that you listen to the NPR seven-part podcast, White Lies, about the murder of the Rev. James Reeb. It offers a powerful introduction to the journey you’ll be on. Here’s the description:   

In 1965, Rev. James Reeb was murdered in Selma, Alabama. Three men were tried and acquitted, but no one was ever held to account. Fifty years later, two journalists from Alabama return to the city where it happened, expose the lies that kept the murder from being solved and uncover a story about guilt and memory that says as much about America today as it does about the past.

You can listen to it wherever podcasts are found and from this website:  https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510343/white-lies

Note: Be sure to listen to it chronologically, i.e., Episode 1, 2, etc., which means you’ll have to scroll down the page to find Episode 1 from May 14, 2019.

Questions?
That's all for now. We’ll be sending out a third and final communication about 10 days before your trip.

Feel free to contact us at [email protected] if there are questions we didn’t answer for you.

See you in Memphis!

Annette
​
Annette Marquis
Director of Operations
Living Legacy Project, Inc
 ​

We appreciate your patience as we’ve gathered registrations for the March 16-20, 2020 Living Legacy Pilgrimage (LLP). We pleased to inform you that we have met our minimum number of registrants, so the Pilgrimage is on! 
We still have open seats, so if you know of someone who’s been considering going and hasn’t committed yet, please encourage them to visit the LLP Information and Registration page and register as soon as possible. Early-bird registration ends tomorrow, January 31, 2020, but we'll still be accepting registrations through Feb 29, 2020, or until we've filled all the seats, whichever comes first. 

​PLEASE READ THIS BULLETIN CAREFULLY AS IT CONTAINS IMPORTANT INFORMATION YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE THE PILGRIMAGE.

​TRAVEL INFORMATION
It’s a good idea to begin exploring transportation options to and from Memphis, Tennessee, i.e., flights, train schedules, bus routes, etc., so you can secure the best options and rates.
We will begin orientation at approximately 8:00 a.m. on Monday, March 16, 2020, at a local church in Memphis.
If you’re arriving by Amtrak from Champaign-Urbana on the overnight City of New Orleans train, the bus will pick you up at the train station and take you to our meeting place.
If you’re arriving via other transportation, we will confirm with you where we’ll be meeting once it has been finalized.

Flights
If you’re flying, you’ll probably want to fly in and out of Memphis International Airport: https://www.flymemphis.com/. It’s serviced by Delta, American, Southwest, among others.

​Driving
If you're driving, we are working on arrangements for you to be able to leave your car at no or low cost for the duration of our trip. We will give you more about this in a future bulletin.

Leaving for home at the end of the Pilgrimage
Our final day, Friday, March 20, ends after our closing dinner, probably about 7:00 pm CDT. We hope you can stay through the closing dinner, but if you have to get an earlier flight, we’ll be at the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel from 2 pm to 5 pm. You can take a cab or rideshare from there to the airport. 

Pre and post Lodging
If you need to arrive the day before or leave the day after, you’re welcome to make a reservation at the same hotel the LLP staff will be staying at in Memphis, Holiday Inn Express Memphis Medical Center Midtown, for any extra nights, or, of course, you’re free to stay anywhere else. We will give you information about making a reservation using our group code in a future bulletin.

ITINERARY
Now the trip is confirmed, we’ll be finalizing details related to the itinerary. If you’d like to review our tentative itinerary and map, you’ll find it here: http://www.uulivinglegacy.org/03162020itinerary.html

PREPARING FOR THE TRIP
For you to get the most out of this experience, we hope you will do some advance reading and video watching. Our website, www.uulivinglegacy.org, offers many resources (see Resources) covering both history and current developments in civil rights areas relevant to the stops. We thought we would highlight a few especially good sources that you might find in your library or bookstore.

Books
Weary Feet, Rested Souls
We recommend purchasing a copy of Weary Feet, Rested Souls by Townsend Davis to carry with you on the journey. It’s available from Amazon in print, both new and used copies, and Kindle edition, or you can order it from your favorite independent bookstore.
Arranged by location, Weary Feet, Rested Souls describes many of the places we will visit, including maps, Movement history, photos, and quotes. It provides a good preliminary review of the significance of each site, and a helpful tool for remembering the sites and telling others about them back home.

Civil Rights Movement
For a general look at the historic Civil Rights Movement, two books are especially well done:

• Parting the Waters – America in the King Years, 1954-1963, by Taylor Branch – a comprehensive and informative summary of historic events with ML King, Jr. as a focus.
• Walking with the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement, by John Lewis and Michael D'Orso – John Lewis’s incredible story of his involvement in the Civil Rights Movement.

Especially those of you who are Unitarian Universalists, we highly recommend reading Mark Morrison Reed’s book: The Selma Awakening: How the Civil Rights Movement Tested and Changed Unitarian Universalism. It’s available from the UUA Bookstore and from Amazon (including Kindle edition). According to the UUA Bookstore, “With rigorous scholarship and unflinching frankness, The Selma Awakening provides a new way of understanding Unitarian Universalist engagement with race and offers an indispensable new resource for anyone interested in UU history.”
You might also be interested in learning more about Bryan Stevenson and the Equal Justice Initiative for our visit to Montgomery through his book, Just Mercy, which is also available now as a film.

FILMS
Several films (available as video, DVD or both) are well worth watching on your own. Some are available through streaming services or your local library. We will be using some visual materials on the bus, but will not have the time to include all of these excellent resources:

• Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Years 1954-1965 by Henry Hampton - (available now in a 3 DVD set) We will view the Selma segments on the bus, but all sections are well worth watching ahead of time.
• Home of the Brave – the case of Viola Liuzzo, who was killed on the road between Selma and Montgomery following the famous march.

This is just a start. You’ll find more on our Resources page and many more with some searching around the Web. The more you know about the Civil Rights Movement before the Pilgrimage, the more you’ll gain from the Pilgrimage itself.

ABOUT SCHOLARSHIPS
The value of this Living Legacy Pilgrimage is priceless. The cost of the trip is an opportunity for individuals who are privileged by means of their color to take concrete action toward healing the wounds of racism by offering an opportunity for a second person whose life has been impacted by color discrimination, by the legacy of enslavement, or economic discrimination to fully participate in the Pilgrimage. We appreciate the generosity of those who have already donated to our scholarship fund.
We encourage participants who have the resources to do so to make a contribution. Every donation you make will go directly to allowing someone else to join us on the bus, either on this trip or a future pilgrimage. 
DONATE TODAY. All of us will be richer for your generosity.

FUTURE UPDATES
Your planning team is working on setting up all the details, and you should look for regular bulletins from us that will help you prepare and know what to expect. In the meantime, if you have questions, please visit our website at www.uulivinglegacy.org or feel free to e-mail us at [email protected].
See you in Memphis!

Annette
Annette Marquis
Director of Operations
Living Legacy Project, Inc.
http://www.livinglegacypilgrimage.org/