Minneapolis nonprofit visits Montgomery, Civil Rights Trail

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) – A novel group of vacationers visited Montgomery this week. Members of the McKnight Basis from Minneapolis, Minnesota, have been on the town to see a few of Alabama’s wealthy historical past.

They booked their tour with Montgomery-based vacation spot administration firm Civil Rights Path Excursions, a company bringing guests to the state from everywhere in the nation.

“It’s our aim to ensure that we maintain this a part of American historical past alive, particularly our Black historical past and tradition,” mentioned Civil Rights Path Excursions President Leon Burnette.

Because the birthplace of each the Confederacy and the Civil Rights motion, tourism is a big financial driver for Montgomery.

“It not solely makes a monetary impression, however it makes an impression on our model and what we’re in a position to do after we’re recruiting companies and we’re recruiting expertise,” mentioned Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed.

It’s why there’s an enormous push by metropolis leaders to promote the town as a historic vacationer vacation spot, and Civil Rights Path Excursions is hoping to just do that.

“Our mission is to attempt to unfold a constructive gentle on Montgomery, in addition to inform the reality in regards to the civil rights period and what occurred in Montgomery,” mentioned Civil Rights Path Excursions Vice President Steve Myers. “It’s not all the time going to be a pleasing expertise, as a result of the reality isn’t a pleasing expertise on a regular basis. Over the previous couple of months, now we have actually been in a position to contact some individuals.”

The tour firm has lately hosted college students from Massachusetts, Chicago, and New York. This week, they took the McKnight Basis to the Legacy Museum, Nationwide Memorial for Peace and Justice, and the Selma-to-Montgomery Voting Rights Path.

“All of it got here out of George Floyd’s incident in Minnesota the place they’re from, and so they’re attempting to get a brand new perspective on the place this world is headed,” Myers mentioned.

McKnight Basis President Tonya Allen mentioned they plan to take what they discovered and use the information to assist rebuild their metropolis.

“We consider that this expertise goes to deepen our appreciation and understanding of the way to good that work, and we predict that the Civil Rights Path tour is a vital a part of that have,” Allen mentioned.

It’s that very same historical past and tradition the town is hoping will draw in additional individuals to the world. The McKnight Basis was based by William McKnight, a frontrunner of 3M, a Fortune 500 manufacturing firm.

You possibly can study extra in regards to the Civil Rights Path Excursions right here.

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