UMW faculty, staff, alumni, friends, and neighbors are invited to join our students as they celebrate the legacy of Dr. James L. Farmer, Jr., on the Freedom Rides Tour, a social justice field trip commemorating Farmer's signature movement to enforce the federal government’s desegregation of interstate travel.
The tour will follow the exact route of the Freedom Riders. This journey will include stops at several of the same places the Freedom Riders stopped, whether it was to speak with other civil rights activists or student leaders at Bennett College in North Carolina, to meet and strategize for next steps in Georgia, or just to have a safe place to sleep for the night. Along the way, we will visit the International Civil Rights Museum in Greensboro, North Carolina and the Birmingham Civil Rights Museum in Birmingham, Alabama. Other visits will include The King Center for Nonviolent Social Change and the Atlanta University Center in Atlanta.
Witness and learn more about the sites, history, and experiences of the Freedom Riders and other significant landmarks and trailblazers of the Civil Rights movement. We will be joined on the trip by Dr. Erin Devlin, assistant professor of history and American studies, and Dr. Marion Sanford, director of multicultural affairs at the James Farmer Multicultural Center. These faculty consultants will be able to add commentary and context to sites we see along the way.
James Farmer was a dedicated civil rights activist, educator, and UMW professor, as well as the recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He co-founded one of the most important civil rights organizations of the 20th century, CORE (Congress of Racial Equality). Dr. Farmer personified and carried forth UMW’s founding and continuing commitment to be a force for positive change, educating citizens who are ready and eager to address our society’s greatest challenges. We hope you’ll get on the bus!
The bus for alumni and community members will caravan with the bus carrying students. Stops, site visits, and tours will be conducted jointly with the students. The tour will begin early in the morning of Saturday, October 12 and will return to Fredericksburg on the morning of Tuesday, October 15. We will spend Saturday night in Atlanta, Sunday night in Birmingham, and Monday night traveling home. See detailed itinerary here.
Cost per person, including transportation, double-occupancy hotel accommodations, and tour admissions, is $490.00. Cost does not include meals, but travel snacks will be provided. If you are traveling solo, there is a $125 single supplement.
Please note: A minimum of 25 alumni/community members need to participate in order for the alumni bus to proceed. We will email registrants confirming the trip no later than September 27.
See more info and read detailed trip itinerary here.