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Montgomery, Alabama, is the location of several Civil Rights landmarks from the 1950s and 60s. Some of the most important events in the Civil Rights movement took place there. I’ve listed them here in chronological order.
Dexter Parsonage
Dexter Parsonage was the home of 12 pastors of the Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church from 1920 to 1992. The most famous resident was Martin Luther King Jr. who lived there with his family from 1954 to 1960. The parsonage is located on Jackson Street.
Tours of the home run on Fridays and Saturdays from 10am to 4pm and by appointment on other days (as of March 2024). There’s no indication of the cost of the tour on the website, but they were US$7.50 per person in March 2020. Check the official website for more info. Tours begin at the interpretive center next door, where you watch a short film and listen to the guide before heading to the parsonage.
Our tour guide was Dr. Shirley Cherry, a dynamic woman who gives a moving and inspiring look at the parsonage. She took us through every room and told us some incredible stories of what went on there during King’s time in Montgomery. The passion in her voice captivated all of the visitors and we hung onto her every word. No photos were allowed inside the house, but at the end of the tour, Dr. Cherry snapped a photo of us at the King family’s kitchen table.
Behind the parsonage is the King-Johns Garden for Reflection. The garden is named for Vernon Johns (1892-1965) and Martin Luther King Jr. who had consecutive pastorates at the church. The two men are considered to be the most important pastors ever to serve the church.
Montgomery Bus Boycott
Perhaps the most significant Civil Rights event to take place in Montgomery happened on December 1, 1955, when a seamstress named Rosa Parks boarded a bus at Court Square. Shortly after, she was arrested for refusing to give up her seat to white riders boarding the bus. African-American community leaders, led by Martin Luther King Jr. organized a bus boycott until the Supreme Court ordered integration of public transportation 381 days later. The spot where Parks boarded the bus and the spot where she was arrested are commemorated with historical markers.
Rosa Parks Museum
The Rosa Parks Library and Museum is located on the spot where Parks was arrested. The museum, which opened on December 1, 2000, has information, exhibits, and artifacts on the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
The museum is open from Monday to Saturday from 9am to 5pm (3pm on Saturday) and charges US$7.50 for admission (as of March 2024). There’s an attached children’s museum, and a statue of Parks sits in the lobby of the museum. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to visit because the guide was giving a tour to a large school group and we would have had to wait an hour for the next tour.
Freedom Rides Museum
The Freedom Riders were activists who rode interstate buses to protest segregation. One of the buses pulled into the Montgomery Greyhound Bus Station on May 20, 1961, and was met by an angry mob. The mob attacked the Freedom Riders with baseball bats and iron pipes while the police stood by and did nothing. Several people were brutally beaten.
The following night, over 1,500 people led by Rev. Ralph Abernathy packed into the nearby First Baptist Church to honor the Freedom Riders but were attacked by a mob of 3,000 whites. President John F. Kennedy threatened Alabama Governor John Patterson to intervene with federal troops, but the governor finally ordered the Alabama National Guard to disperse the mob.
The bus station opened in August 1951 and closed in 1995. It was turned into the Freedom Rides Museum in May 2011. Adult admission is US$5 (as of March 2024) and it’s open Tuesday through Saturday. I highly recommend the guided tour. Inside there are lots of photos, and the guide gives excellent information about the rides.
Harris House
A few houses down from the Dexter Parsonage is the Harris House, owned by Dr. Richard H. Harris (1918-1976), a pharmacist. From May 20-24, 1961, Harris opened his house to Freedom Riders who were attacked at the Montgomery Greyhound Bus Station (see above) upon their arrival. King, Rev. Ralph Abernathy, John Lewis, Diane Nash, and others met at the house to strategize the continuation of the rides.
Voting Rights March
On March 25, 1965, over 25,000 entered Montgomery after a five day, 54 mile march from Selma. Once there, Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous How Long, Not Long speech at the Alabama State Capitol.
The Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail starts in Selma and finishes at the capitol building, and there are several interpretive signs along the route. In front of Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church, hundreds of footprints have been painted on the crosswalk to commemorate the march. The footsteps face in the direction of the Alabama State Capitol.
Civil Rights Memorial
Finally, the Southern Poverty Law Center sponsors the Civil Rights Memorial, designed by Maya Lin. It opened in 1998 and has a timeline of important events in the Civil Rights movement etched into it. It also includes the names of 41 people who died during the Civil Rights movement. An additional 74 names are on display inside the building. The memorial is free and open to the public 24 hours a day.
Adult admission is US$5 to enter the Civil Rights Memorial Center (as of March 2024). It’s open daily except Sundays from 9am to 5pm and tickets must be purchase in advance online.
