Driving Legacy: Two Friends Embark On A Civil Rights Journey

A Road Trip through the deep south

Several years ago, pre-pandemic, Gabrielle and I got into taking multi-city road trips with another friend Trevor. She was moving furniture and heirlooms from her hometown, St. Louis to her home in Brooklyn, and this required good friends and a U-Haul.

We decided to make the trip into an adventure. We flew into Memphis, drove to Nashville, jetted off on a quick unplanned excursion to Kentucky, then finally to St. Louis and then made the long drive home to Brooklyn, New York. We had so much fun on the road. We visited museums, ate tasty food (Gabrielle’s a foodie!) and stayed at quirky Airbnb’s.

Gabrielle and Wendy behind the wheel of the Mercedes-AMG GLC43.

As we re-emerged, we were ready to hit the road again, and decided to plan a road trip to visit the Legacy Museum and The National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama. Gabrielle is a film and TV creative producer and strategic consultant to entertainment companies and nonprofits. She had produced the opening events for the debut of these two civil rights landmarks, which were created by the Equal Justice Initiative under Bryan Stevenson’s leadership. She was now looking forward to experiencing the memorial and the new, expanded museum as a full-fledged tourist who could holistically take in the remarkable presentation of this important history.

My interest in visiting the museum and memorial came from my love of history, and as a Vassar College history major (long ago) and someone who makes a living out of creating immersive experiences through my PR/Marketing company, the TID Agency. Great museums provide opportunities to be present to historical moments in a way that you can’t do through reading about it or watching a documentary. One of the best museums I’ve visited in the country is The Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, where visitors get to sit in a segregated classroom and experience the disparities for themselves. Immersive storytelling brings you into a deeper understanding of history. I’ve been drawn to visit Montgomery since the opening of the museum and memorial in 2018.

With her connection to the Legacy Museum and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, Gabrielle was the perfect travel partner for this trip. Although we’ve known each other for decades, our friendship deepened when we became roommates during our annual Paris girl’s trips. She’s the one who won’t hesitate to jump on the Metro to explore the less touristy arrondissements and go out in search of oysters and french fries at 2AM. Bonus points: she can tolerate a snorer(!)

Days before the trip, I was nervous. Because Trevor couldn’t make it, it would be two Black women driving through “the deep South” for a journey into a difficult historical past in this presently divisive climate. I was also concerned because the news and social media have left the impression that there’s hostility towards masking in some areas of the South in particular. But we were very much excited about driving into the past in style in a Mercedes AMG GLC43 SUV!

Thursday: Atlanta

We flew from New York on separate flights to the ATL. My trip started in the newly renovated Terminal D at LaGuardia, which was an oasis — clean, organized and not a lot of travelers. I met Gabrielle at baggage claim, then we headed to airport valet to pick up our GLC. Once we got the car- we pulled off into a parking lot to figure out the features on the Mercedes-GLC 43AMG. Plenty of space, ambient lighting, and comfortable seats. Back at home, Gabrielle drives a Porsche Cayenne and I drive a Mercedes-Benz C300 cabriolet. We’ve both owned our cars for over 10 years and we’re tech Luddites. The AMG features are dynamic compared to my older Mercedes: the upgraded MBUX infotainment system, better navigation, Apple CarPlay, and safety features like active driver assist and lane change and keeping assist. After being a BMW loyalist for years, I switched to Mercedes because my car can go from 0 to 60mph smoothly without stuttering over potholes, and I like to drive, fast and smooth. I noticed that the GLC has that same vibe.

The plan was to have dinner at the Spanish inspired Cooks & Soldiers. (The chistorra in blanket -- aka pigs in a blanket -- were croissants brushed with a cider glaze and dipped in a maple-mustard aioli…they are a MUST!). We spent the night at our friend Veronica’s house in Old Fourth Ward, and planned to set out to Montgomery in the morning.

On the way to Veronica’s, I was loving the speed, extra power, and agility of the GLC, as we coasted down 85 North. Somewhere along the way we made a wrong turn and found ourselves in an artsy neighborhood surrounded by a wall that spanned blocks and blocks of elaborate, vibrant murals. Small cafes and restaurants nestled in between cottages- each distinct and well kept. Cabbagetown. In all my years of traveling to Atlanta for business I’d never seen anything like this before. And the wonderful thing about road trips is the opportunity to explore the unexpected places you stumble upon: The journey means as much as the destination.

Friday: Atlanta to Montgomery

Though I’ve been to Atlanta too many times to count and visited the historic sites over 20 years ago, I’m compelled to revisit them as part of this “Legacy” road trip. The post Breonna Taylor and George Floyd racial reconciliation world has brought the past into sharper focus. I felt a new sense of urgency to understand the fundamentals of where we are and how we got here as a country: to touch base with what is true and real about “us” (as a country) and what is fiction. Is the divisiveness new or has it been hiding in plain sight all along?

Veronica and I got up early and did a 3.1 mile walk around her neighborhood. Veronica’s spectacular home is made of six shipping containers. Within the 3-mile radius is the MLK memorial, Ebenezer Baptist Church, the house where Martin Luther King was born and grew up in, a mural of John Lewis in Sweet Auburn Historic District, and an overpass with a sweeping view of downtown Atlanta. We grabbed the most delicious takeout breakfast from ABC Chicken & Waffles located in the Sweet Auburn district. I highly recommend the waffles with peach cobbler crumble…the lightly breaded chicken breast placed neatly on top was devoured by my “dark meat only” road trip partner, Gabrielle, claiming this as one of her best meals on the trip.

As we programmed directions to Montgomery, I was surprised that it’s only a 90-minute drive from Atlanta. Gabrielle, whose past work with EJI required her to make the trip from Atlanta to Montgomery several times, insisted that it was longer. I shrugged and told her she must not have been paying attention. We set the music to Sirius XM’s Heart & Soul channel and coasted down 85 South towards Montgomery blasting Burmester surround sound stereo. We saw it as a good omen that “Glory” by John Legend and Common came on the radio. Of course, “Glory” is the poignant song that played over the end credits of the movie, Selma, which was one of the destinations on our trip. Our soundtrack curated by Sirius included songs we were unfamiliar with and favorites like Snoh Allegra’s “Whoa.” We also had Snoh Allegra on the playlist I made for the trip, along with Carl Thomas, Chante Moore and Musiq Soulchild. As we made our way, I continuously checked the speedometer because the GLC drives so smoothly you can easily be driving 95 miles per hour and not notice.

Just as we hit the “Sweet Home Alabama” state line, the nav system informed us that we’d entered the central time zone and we’d jumped back an hour. Gabrielle gave me the “I told you so” look and we continued the 2 ½ hour drive. As we neared the city limits of Montgomery, I saw a sign pointing to the exit to visit “The First White House of The Confederacy.” Hard pass. We were not feeling that experiential.

Once inside the museum we were disappointed to find that there is a strict policy prohibited photos and videos of the exhibits. That meant we needed to journey through this carefully curated interactive experience with intention, fully engaging with the understanding that our memory, and our feelings, would have to suffice in memorializing the experience for us. It was heavy. There were moments where my eyes were so filled with tears that I couldn’t read the descriptions, others where I was deeply enraged to my very core.

The museum is a living exposition of the plight of enslaved Africans from the middle passage to now- with exhibits that detail the brutality of enslavement, the terrorism during reconstruction, Black codes, civil rights, up to present day. A comprehensive display of articles announcing lynchings, quotes from prominent white men of the day declaring the inferiority of Blacks. Walls of listings from newly freed African Americans trying to find family members, “I was sold to…” “I was at xx plantation…” “I had two sisters and one brother…” Heartbreaking. In between exhibits were small theaters that showed provocative short films with informative narratives that most people haven’t considered, at least I hadn’t. Like what is it like to discover that your grandmother relocated the family from Louisiana to California and never returned, never spoke about it because your grandfather was lynched?

One of the most chilling moments for me in the museum was to read that in Alabama it was at one time illegal for free Blacks to be in the state. To be Black in Alabama was to be a slave, period. End. Again, it’s one thing to read this in a book, quite another to be in the state of Alabama comprehending this fact. There are many teary moments in the museum, three-dimensional holograms that blink and interact with visitors. They bring the past to life and tell their stories from perspectives that have not been broadly considered before, including a young boy and girl innocently calling out for their mother who has been taken from them, separated and sold into slavery.

After the museum, we took a short drive to the National Memorial for Peace and Justice. We made our way down a winding pathway that goes uphill where we found monuments to Black Americans who were lynched, listed by state and county. These are the lynchings that were recorded. There’s a fountain of remembrance for those deaths that went unrecorded. We visited the site in the late afternoon, so it was comfortable, not too hot, which was good because this was a heavy moment. There are signs throughout that remind visitors that this is a sacred site, not a place for selfies and carelessness.

After the museum, we checked into the Springhill Suites located around the corner from the original location of the Legacy Museum, and just across the street from the action, the main street downtown. You cannot walk through downtown Montgomery without stumbling on a plaque commemorating a historic occurrence. We ate dinner at Central restaurant (the beignets with mapled candied bacon and salted caramel sauce are the highlight!) and called it a night.

Saturday: Montgomery to Birmingham

What’s curious about the historic Sweet Auburn District in Atlanta and Dexter Avenue in Montgomery is how the communities are embracing (and monetizing) the past and trying to revitalize these areas with hip eateries and companies. Old timers co-existing with newcomers.

And I felt like I was straddling the two worlds. We grabbed coffee for me and orange blossom tea with locally sourced honey for Gabrielle from Prevail Union Craft Coffee, a super cute, hip coffee shop on Dexter Avenue next to the historic Kress building, steps away from a Rosa Parks statue. The Birmingham Civil Rights Heritage Trail is our mission, our tour, but a stunning 20-something couple in the coffee shop was looked straight out of central casting from the CW’s TV show All American, fully representing what being free and “American” now means in Montgomery.

We hit the highway, and the Mercedes navigation system smoothly guides us to Selma. Fifty miles outside of Montgomery we see historic markers that I assumed were rest stops along the march from Selma to Montgomery. The sky was blue dotted with random clouds and not coming close to the 80-degree weather we were expecting. Perhaps struck by nostalgia, we took turns selecting our favorite R&B/Neo Soul songs from the 90’s on the Burmester sound system. We sailed past bales of hay, white cows and livestock. We unsuccessfully tried to capture photos of the two small patches of cotton fields we drove past. In the context of our trip cotton fields seem like “historical sites.” As we approached the Edmund Pettus Bridge, I’m startled. I wasn’t expecting the Brooklyn Bridge, but this humble bridge is tinier than I imagined. At the foot of the bridge, as we’re reading the plaque commemorating Bloody Sunday- a man approaches us and tells us he had “two people on the bridge” and forcefully insists that we sit down at a picnic table situated near the bridge, so he can give us the “real” history of what happened. Gabrielle wonders quietly out loud, “People on the bridge? When? Last week?” It lightened the moment- we can’t knock “the civil rights hustle,” but we demurred, promising to buy the “BLM” rubber bracelets he was selling instead.

Once we drove across the Alabama River on the bridge and parked the car- we found a small storefront operated by the National Park Society that has pamphlets, books, gifts, everything one would need to acquaint themselves with what happened here. There were also great children’s books. We picked up facsimile editions of The Negro Motorist Green Book.

With Selma checked off our list, we continue north to Birmingham and as we got close to the city- we decided to stop for gas and water at a filling station on the outskirts of Birmingham. We spied some great stuff at gas stations in remote areas. This time, it was an end cap of Rap Snacks potato chips and ramen noodles. The score was rapper E-40’s beef prime rib flavored ramen noodle cups. At another point in the trip near the airport in Birmingham we found a gas station that sold pickled pig’s feet in large mason jars near the register and mix-tape CDs on the other side of the pig’s feet. Awesomeness on the road!

Once in Birmingham, we headed straight to the 16th Street Baptist Church and the Kelly Ingram Park directly across the street. We chased down a popular food truck that’s supposed to be located at the park and did some sight-seeing- but unfortunately for us the truck was pulling off just as we arrived. It was bewitching time between lunch and dinner when restaurants are closed or have limited menus and we were hungry. Rather, I was hungry and Gabrielle was “hangry,” so I got out to explore the memorial statues located all around the park while Gabrielle, the resident foodie, got to work on finding a place to eat that would hopefully open ASAP.

I have to admit that I didn’t know anything about the park beforehand. I didn’t realize it was part of the Historic Trail, so it was a true discovery to stumble upon the powerful civil rights statutes that are located all throughout the park. One of the most moving statues I’ve seen in my life was the “Four Spirits” bronze and steel memorial or the four girls that were killed in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in 1963 and the two boys that were killed later that day. Birmingham native Elizabeth MacQueen sculpted and designed the memorial and words don’t do justice to describe the power and beauty of each individual sculpture and then taking in the memorial in its entirety. It’s as moving as anything I’ve seen at the Louvre or the Uffizi. The memorial consists of four individual statues of each girl. All three of them are on a bench: one seated on one side of the the bench turning her attention away from her book, looking upward as if someone disturbed her reading, another next to her standing in a ballerina pose tiptoe reaching skyward releasing six doves, while another kneels on the bench adjusting the bow on the back of the ballerina’s dress. The last girl stands away from the bench beckoning the girls to follow her. One of the most haunting elements of the memorial are the ballet shoes that rest at the feet of the bench, now forever abandoned. The memorial movingly depicts how an ordinary day turned into a violent loss of innocent lives. We would return to the Park before leaving Birmingham, so that Gabrielle could take in the beauty and power of these statues on a full stomach.

After leaving the park and killing time, driving our whip through random Birmingham neighborhoods, we settled in at Chez Fonfon, a bistro located in Five Points South. If I have any road trip advice for anyone that isn’t on a restrictive diet it is this: make sure to travel with a foodie, someone with discerning tastes. You will eat like a Queen! Everything we had there was delicious starting with the deviled eggs with caviar and followed by the trout amandine drizzled with brown butter and the best lemon meringue tart EVER. The wonderful thing is that this tart was the recipe of Dolester Miles, the 2018 James Beard Award winner for Best Pastry Chef in America -- a Black female pastry chef who has built a baker’s legacy at one of the finest restaurant groups in Birmingham. Like I said, Gabrielle is a foodie, so on all our trips she’s the one we depend on to find the best dining spots. This trip is no different, although “comfort food” has a new meaning for me on this heart-wrenching trip,

While we were dining on Dolester’s dessert, a friendly married couple at a nearby table struck up casual conversation with us about the tart we were enjoying. At this point, I was interested in checking out boutiques and shopping and the wife advised that I’d better get it in today because “it’s the South, most stores are closed on Sundays.” Alas, she was righ,t except for the ginormous Summit mall, the cute boutiques were closed. As they left, the couple, who had not introduced themselves, gave us their address and invited us to come over to their place for the evening. He assured us that he was “wealthy,” drove a Ferrari and owned two planes so they were “safe.” This was far from assuring, so it was a hard pass.

Post meal we did a scenic drive through Birmingham, climbing steep hills in luxury, checking out different neighborhoods. Some areas in town didn’t feel like my ideas about the “deep south” at all. So far, our destinations kept us in the “historic” parts of towns surrounded by plaques, statues and memorials, but there was a whole other side of Birmingham outside of that space. Nice, modern homes, mansions and collegiate areas of town that did not feel distinctly, well, southern.

Sunday: Birmingham

We had one of the best meals of the trip at The Essential, a popular spot located on a quaint cobblestone street in an artsy strip downtown. The pastrami melted like butter and our waitress was a vision of Birmingham from another era, with makeup and hairstyle blending period and modern flawlessly.

“The car became our third partner in adventure as well as a place of comfort and respite, the place where we could process and unwind.”

Before heading to the airport, we drove around the city to get a feel for the city- from the prosperous suburbs near The Summit to the modest housing near the airport. Our final travels even included an undercover drive-by of the couple’s home (or rather hotel, as they branded it) from Chez Fonfon, located in the posh neighborhood of Mountain Brook. We were sad to drop the GLC off at the airport valet. We enjoyed being transported in a sleek vehicle that was comfortable. We lounged in the passenger seat like we were reclining in a chair at home, and that commanded attention. Several valets commented on the car, and made us feel that we were arriving in unquestionable style as we literally and figuratively navigated different time zones. The car became our third partner in adventure as well as a place of comfort and respite, the place where we could process and unwind.

The legacy road trip was not set up to be a traditionally “fun” excursion. Perhaps part of my initial apprehension had to do with the fact that it is not enjoyable to revisit painful parts of history. I did find that beyond the pain, there was gratitude and relief to see a more comprehensive accounting of history. I remember the totality of my high school American History class. Black Americans were mentioned twice — as slaves and then Martin Luther King. There’s a confidence and sense of rooting that comes from truth and being seen and heard. As upsetting as the National Memorial was, there is a peace and mandate that comes with visiting this sacred space.

I also appreciate how road trips lend themselves to time and discovery. In the dozens of trips we’ve made to Atlanta, Gabrielle and I had never heard of Cabbagetown and it revealed itself to us in the most surprising, accidental way on this trip.

We are planning our next road trip. The adventure will take us out west where we will plot a drive anchored around Antelope Canyon, Arizona and White Sands National Park in New Mexico. Leading up to our eventual plan to gather some friends and do a cross country road trip in an Airstream.

Photography by Wendy Washington and Gabrielle Glore.