Application deadline: October 15, 2023
History and Memory of the US Civil Rights Movement: A Southern Civil Rights Tour (AAS 3671) is a 3.0 credit hour course designed for 3rd and 4th year students (2nd year students considered on a case-by-case basis). 2024 travel dates are January 4-10, with online classes January 2-3 and 11-12. AAS 3671 fulfills the Historical Studies requirement for UVA undergrads.
This course examines the history and legacy of the African American struggle for civil rights in twentieth-century America. It provides students with a broad overview of the civil rights movement -- the key issues, significant people and organizations, and pivotal events -- as well as a deeper understanding of its scope, influence, legacy, and lessons for today.
Students will study the history and memory of the U.S. civil rights movement, mainly through visits and guided tours of key civil rights and other historic sites and museums, including:
- Birmingham Civil Rights Museum
- Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama
- the Legacy Museum
- the Peace and Justice Lynching Memorial in Montgomery
- the Laura Plantation in New Orleans
- the courthouse where Emmett Till’s killers were tried and acquitted in Sumner, Mississippi
- the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, built at the site of the Lorraine Motel where Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated
Students will explore connections between segregation and the longer history of oppression in the South dating back to slavery. Students will also have the opportunity to engage in dialogue with local movement veterans and others dedicated to keeping the history and memory of the movement alive.