Civil Rights Trail Tours brings tourists to central Alabama

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) - The Civil Rights Trail and its many locations showcase Alabama’s rich history and it’s also bringing tour groups from across the country to the state.

Leon Burnette and Steve Myers recently started Civil Rights Trail Tours, it’s a Montgomery-based destination management company specializing in cultural and historical group experiences. People from all over have booked tours with the company and have traveled to Tuskegee, Selma, Montgomery and beyond.

“We started our own black-owned business about a year and half ago and business has been tremendous,” Burnette said. “Every city we go to, there is a black story to tell and that’s what we try to tell. There’s so much to learn here in Montgomery. We try to tie in the Civil War, the Civil Rights Movement, slavery, and lynching. We’ve been to Memphis, Birmingham, there’s a lot to see.”

People are ready to see all Alabama has to offer. The latest economic impact report shows that Alabama did take a bit of a hit during the pandemic with tourism down 20% at one point. But now, the numbers are up once again as people are back out and traveling. The latest Civil Rights Trail Tour group came all the way from Ohio and stopped at the Rosa Parks Museum in downtown Montgomery.

“I’ve been to Alabama before, but never for something like this,” Jeanette Langford said. “It’s been interesting, it’s been educational, and it’s also been painful. I lived through segregation; I’ve lived through a lot of it…but some of it made me cry realizing all the hardships our people went through. It’s important because if you don’t know where you’ve been, it’s hard to appreciate where you’re going.”

For her, that means appreciating the museums, monuments, Alabama and the Civil Rights Trail.

You can learn more about the Civil Rights Trail Tours here.

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