Although this Pilgrimage is completed, reviewing this page will give you an idea of the type of Pilgrimages we offer, a possible itinerary, and approximate price information.
Living Legacy Pilgrimage
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From early support of the NAACP and Urban League to involvement in voter registration drives, Mississippi Freedom Summer, sit-ins, protests, and legal-system challenges, Jews played a prominent role in securing the rights of African Americans in the South. In Philadelphia, Mississippi, the Ku Klux Klan murdered two young Jewish men, Michael Schwerner and Andrew Goodman, along with local African American activist James Chaney, who were working together to secure voting rights for the people of that state.
About this PilgrimageIn this special five-day pilgrimage, we’ll visit important sites of the Civil Rights Movement in Alabama and Mississippi. We’ll talk with Jewish leaders about the history of Jewish involvement in the fight for civil rights, we’ll meet with veterans of the Civil Rights Movement, and we’ll hear how the struggle continues today. People of all faiths are invited to participate.
We will gather in Birmingham, Alabama. We'll then travel to Montgomery and Selma, Alabama, and on to Philadelphia and Meridian, Mississippi. On the final day, we’ll travel back to Birmingham for your trip home. 
When: November 14-18, 2022 (Travel days: Nov 13 and Nov 18)
Where: Starts and ends in Birmingham, Alabama REGISTRATION IS CLOSED ItinerarySunday, November 13, 2022 – TRAVEL DAY
Arrive in Birmingham, Alabama, for overnight stay. This five-day journey starts and ends in Birmingham, Alabama, where the 1963 Ku Klux Klan bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church killed four little girls, Denise McNair, Addie Mae Collins, Carole Robertson, and Cynthia Wesley. Monday, November 14, 2022 DAY 1: BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA In Birmingham, we’ll visit the site of 16th Baptist Church and then walk across the street to Kelly Ingram Park, where during the first week of May 1963, Birmingham police and firemen attacked civil rights demonstrators, many of whom were children, in the streets bordering this park. The violence raised a nationwide public outcry, hastening integration in America's most segregated city. While in Birmingham, we’ll visit the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute and learn about the Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth, pastor of Bethel Baptist Church, and the role he played in ending segregation and other forms of racism in the city of Birmingham. We'll also visit Temple Beth El where you'll encounter stories by historians, religious leaders, and congregants as you explore the lives of Jewish community members who navigated one of the most challenging moments in American history. Tuesday, November 15, 2022 DAY 2: MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA We travel to Montgomery, Alabama, to the spot where Rosa Parks boarded the bus that changed history and visit the Equal Justice Initiatives' Legacy Museum and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice. Wednesday, November 16, 2022 DAY 3: SELMA, ALABAMA We'll visit Selma, Alabama, the center of the Selma Voting Rights Campaign, hear the stories of people who participated in Bloody Sunday, the day Alabama State Troopers and local law enforcement chased and beat non-violent protestors led by the young John Lewis as they attempted to walk over the Edmund Pettus Bridge. You'll learn the story of the friendship between Rabbi Abraham Heschel and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and their inherent understanding of the ways in which the Black and Jewish struggles are interwoven. We’ll reenact that solemn march across the bridge to honor those who have gone before. Thursday, November 17, 2022 Day 4: PHILADELPHIA, MISSISSIPPI We'll then travel to Philadelphia, Mississippi, where members of the Ku Klux Klan killed three civil rights workers, James Chaney, Michael Schwerner, and Andrew Goodman, who had gone to investigate the arson of Mt. Zion United Methodist Church in Philadelphia, Mississippi. We’ll hear from family members of people who were beaten by the Klan after leaving a meeting at their church. Friday, November 18, 2022 – TRAVEL DAY Day 5: BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA We’ll return to Birmingham by early afternoon for your trip home. Join this Pilgrimage and invite your family and friends to accompany you.
Registration is open now and is capped at 40 participants. Reserve your seat on the bus today! |
The National Memorial for Peace and Justice, Montgomery, Alabama
Voting Rights Mural in Selma, Alabama
Memorial to James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner at Mt. Zion United Methodist Church in Philadelphia, MS
Living Legacy Project Mailing ListIf you can't join us this time, sign-up to be on the mailing list for future Pilgrimages.
Learn more on our blogRead what one recent traveler said about her experience on the Living Legacy Pilgrimage. Read "Stories of Resilience" from our November, 2016 Living Legacy Pilgrimage 
Maya Lin Civil Rights Memorial at the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Alabama
Brown Chapel AME Church, Selma, Alabama
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Transportation to Birmingham, AL
This trip begins and ends in Birmingham, AL. The nearest airport is Birmingham - Shuttlesworth International Airport (BHM). Birmingham is also serviced by Amtrak.
Please plan to travel on Sunday, November 13, so we can gather at 8:30 am on Monday, November 14 and begin the Pilgrimage. We will provide more information about airport transportation to the hotel as we get closer.
The program will end by 2:00 pm, Friday, November 18, 2022. To be safe, plan your flight departure any time after 4:00 pm.
This trip begins and ends in Birmingham, AL. The nearest airport is Birmingham - Shuttlesworth International Airport (BHM). Birmingham is also serviced by Amtrak.
Please plan to travel on Sunday, November 13, so we can gather at 8:30 am on Monday, November 14 and begin the Pilgrimage. We will provide more information about airport transportation to the hotel as we get closer.
The program will end by 2:00 pm, Friday, November 18, 2022. To be safe, plan your flight departure any time after 4:00 pm.
Registration Information
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Registration is closed
Registering early helps us plan, so please register as early as you can.
Eligibility: Adults and youth 9th grade and above accompanied by a parent or guardian. What does the fee cover? The registration fee is quite inclusive, covering:
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Cancellation Policy
Cancellations before September 30, 2022 will receive a full refund minus a $100 administrative fee. Although we will do our best to provide partial refunds after this date, we can only do so if we can refill your seat. Rate Adjustments We make every effort to keep our rates as low as possible, while offering a comfortable journey for our participants. We make hotel and other reservations early to assure the best possible rates. However, we are dependent on hotel, gasoline, and other fluctuations outside of our control. If those prices increase substantially, we must adjust our rates to take those changes into account. We will notify you as soon as possible if such an adjustment is necessary. Purchasing Travel Insurance We recommend that you consider purchasing personal trip cancellation and interruption insurance that includes “cancel for any reason” coverage in case you have to cancel your travel plans due to illness, weather, or other reason. A review of top-rated travel coverage can be found at Best Covid-19 Travel Insurance Plans -- July 2022 – Forbes Advisor. Participant Agreement
In order to participate in the Pilgrimage, we ask that you read our Participant Agreement, which covers our participant code of conduct, our COVID-19 policy, and other terms and conditions. When you register, you will be asked to give your consent to abiding by this agreement You can find all this important fine print here. |
Pilgrimage Leadership Team
Mr. Reggie Harris
Reggie Harris
Singer/songwriter/storyteller Reggie Harris. Reggie will share songs and stories of the Movement and will introduce you to some of the powerful social justice music he has written for our time. A songwriter of great depth and passion, Reggie Harris writes from a personal sense of mission that merges a world wise point of view with a singularly hopeful stance that life, though often challenging, is filled with possibility and hope. His songs reveal thoughts about life and love and some of the deep aspects of the human experience and cover topics from his own personal journey to world issues and history. (reggieharrismusic.com).
Rabbi Jonathan Kligler
Reggie Harris
Rabbi Jonathan Kligler has been building bridges between the African American and Jewish communities for decades. A singer and guitarist, Rabbi Jonathan, as he is known, and his dear friends Kim and Reggie Harris produced the CD “Let My People Go: A Jewish and African American Celebration of Freedom.” In spoken word and in song, the album explores the shared connection of the African American and Jewish communities to the Biblical tale of the Exodus, and the deep involvement of Jews in the modern African American struggle for civil rights. Kim, Reggie and Jonathan have performed the Let My People Go concert throughout the US and in Europe. Rabbi Jonathan recently retired after serving the Woodstock Jewish Congregation in Woodstock, NY for 34 years. In 2019, Rabbi Jonathan and his wife Ellen Jahoda participated in a Living Legacy pilgrimage tour, and he is thrilled to be part of the leadership team for this trip.
Dr. Janice Marie Johnson
Dr. Janice Marie Johnson
Janice Marie Johnson is a co-founder of the Living Legacy Project and has served as a board member, pilgrimage co-leader, educator, and wise counselor. Janice is Co-Director of Ministries and Faith Development for the Unitarian Universalist Association. She is also a consultant, curriculum developer, and trainer to New York City educators, students, and parents with a focus on social-emotional learning, intersectionality, and conflict engagement. Committed to making multiculturalism “real,” Janice is a Jamaican, a New Yorker, an internationalist, and a “third-culture kid” who grew up all over the world.
Mr. Larry Rubin
Larry Rubin
Larry Rubin was a SNCC organizer in Southwest Georgia and Northern Mississippi, working to support Black Southerners who were risking their lives to exercise their right to vote. Larry grew up in a secular Jewish household in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Rubin’s father was a welder and his mother a hairdresser. Both were active in the progressive movement. His parents instilled in him the idea that the “essence of being Jewish is the responsibility to fight for justice.” When SNCC asked white organizers to form their own projects in white communities to fight racism Rubin started organizing poor whites, then became a union organizer and communications specialist and served four terms on the Takoma Park, Maryland, City Council.
Scholarships
Scholarship aid may be available to assist those who do not have the financial resources to afford the full cost of the Pilgrimage. Please complete the scholarship application as fully as possible. Scholarship decisions will be based on the information provided in this application. The number and the amount of the scholarships offered depend on the generosity of our donors.
All scholarship recipients must pay a minimum of $50 toward registration and most are expected to pay more. Travel expenses are not included. However, don't forget to calculate the cost of round-trip travel to Memphis in deciding how much of the registration fee to request.
Note: scholarship awards apply to double-occupancy only. If you do not have someone to room with, a roommate will be assigned to you.
The deadline for receipt of scholarship applications is September 14, 2022.
Following notification of grant awards, a completed registration form and the balance of fees are due by October 14, 2022.
All scholarship recipients must pay a minimum of $50 toward registration and most are expected to pay more. Travel expenses are not included. However, don't forget to calculate the cost of round-trip travel to Memphis in deciding how much of the registration fee to request.
Note: scholarship awards apply to double-occupancy only. If you do not have someone to room with, a roommate will be assigned to you.
The deadline for receipt of scholarship applications is September 14, 2022.
Following notification of grant awards, a completed registration form and the balance of fees are due by October 14, 2022.
The Living Legacy Project, Inc. is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt non-profit organization, incorporated in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Federal Tax ID Number: 84-2816632
