Moon U.S. Civil Rights Trail: A Traveler's Guide to the People, Places, and Events That Made the Movement

The U.S. Civil Rights Trail offers a vivid glimpse into the story of Black America's fight for freedom and equality. From eye-opening landmarks to celebrations of triumph over adversity, experience a tangible piece of history with Moon U.S. Civil Rights Trail.

• Flexible Itineraries: Travel the entire trail through the South, or take a weekend getaway to Charleston, Birmingham, Jackson, Memphis, Washington DC, and more places significant to the Civil Rights Movement
• Historic Civil Rights Sites: Learn about Dr. King's legacy at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, be transformed at the small but mighty Emmett Till Intrepid Center, and stand tall with Little Rock Nine at their memorial in Arkansas
• The Culture of the Movement: Get to know the voices, stories, music, and flavors that shape and celebrate Black America both then and now. Take a seat at a lunch counter where sit-ins took place or dig in to heaping plates of soul food and barbecue. Spend the day at museums that connect our present to the past or spend the night in the birthplace of the blues
• Expert Insight: Award-winning journalist Deborah Douglas offers her valuable perspective and knowledge, including suggestions for engaging with local communities by supporting Black-owned businesses and seeking out activist groups
• Travel Tools: Find driving directions for exploring the sites on a road trip, tips on where to stay
• Detailed coverage of: Charleston, Atlanta, Selma to Montgomery, Birmingham, Jackson, the Mississippi Delta, Little Rock, Memphis, Nashville, Raleigh, Durham, Virginia, and Washington DC
• Foreword by Bree Newsome Bass: activist, filmmaker, and artist

Journey through history, understand struggles past and present, and get inspired to create a better future with Moon U.S. Civil Rights Trail.

About Moon Travel Guides: Moon was founded in 1973 to empower independent, active, and conscious travel. We prioritize local businesses, outdoor recreation, and traveling strategically and sustainably. Moon Travel Guides are written by local, expert authors with great stories to tell--and they can't wait to share their favorite places with you.

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Author: Deborah D. Douglas,Moon Travel Guides
Publisher: Moon Travel
Published: 01/20/2026
Pages: 520
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.10lbs
Size: 8.30h x 5.40w x 0.90d
ISBN: 9798886471366

About the Author

Deborah D. Douglas, a distinguished member of the journalism community, directs the Medill Solutions Journalism Hub at Northwestern University, where she also serves as a faculty member. She is the founding co-editor-in-chief of The Emancipator, an award-winning digital platform that reimagines abolitionist newspapers, and she sits on its advisory board.

Douglas' significant contributions to journalism have earned her multiple recognitions, including the Society of American Travel Writers 2021 Guidebook of the Year for her work on the first edition of Moon U.S. Civil Rights Trail: A Traveler's Guide to the People, Places, and Events That Made the Movement.

Her extensive career includes roles such as the Eugene S. Pulliam Distinguished Visiting Professor at DePauw University and a senior leader with The OpEd Project, where she amplified underrepresented expert voices. Additionally, she was the founding managing editor of MLK50: Justice Through Journalism. Douglas has participated in prestigious fellowships like the Sulzberger Executive Leadership Fellowship at Columbia University, the Complicating the Narrative Fellowship by the Solutions Journalism Network, and the Kaiser Family Foundation/NABJ Fellowship.

At Northwestern University, Douglas spearheaded a graduate investigative journalism capstone on the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and imparted best practices in Karachi, Pakistan, as part of a teaching exchange.

Douglas' adventures in thought leadership were seeded at the Chicago Sun-Times. She served as Deputy Editorial Page Editor/Columnist, among other management roles. Her reporting and commentary have been featured in a wide array of publications such as The Guardian, Washington Post, Condé Nast Traveler, Afar magazine, Ms., ProPublica, Time, Borderless, The Boston Globe, American Prospect, Columbia Journalism Review, VICE News, USA Today, and O, The Oprah Magazine. Douglas is also among the 90 contributors to the New York Times bestselling Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019.

Her work has been extensively covered by major media outlets including the Washington Post, NPR, BBC, PBS, Associated Press, WGBH, WBUR, WGBH, WBEZ, NewsNation, and more. She presented at the inaugural Obama Summit, and in 2016, The New York Times magazine cited her reporting on Black women and erasure. A product of the Great Migration, Deborah D. Douglas is Northern-born and Southern-rooted, embodying a blend of soft sensibility with an urban edge.