SAMPLE ITINERARY April 10 - Monday7 pm: Opening Circle at Springhill Suites Montgomery Downtown, located within walking distance of all our Montgomery venues (check in anytime after 4:00). April 11 - TuesdayMorning: Tour historic Montgomery through the eyes and firsthand perspective of Ms. Wanda Battle, city native and founder/CEO of Legendary Tours. Named Community Hero for May 2022 by Montgomery’s leading newspaper, Wanda exudes an infectious love and optimism for her hometown. Learn more about Wanda here. Noon: (provisional): Lunch at Dreamland restaurant. (Group meal #1)1:30 pm: Tour the Museum of Alabama with Edwin Bridges, emeritus director of the Alabama Department of Archives and History, who will give us an overview of Alabama’s history, beginning with the arrival of humans 13,000 years ago. After the tour, Ed will share his personal story with us. Author of Alabama - the Making of an American State, Ed has also been named a Montgomery Community Hero. Learn more about Ed here. Overnight: Montgomery April 12 - Wednesday9-11:30 am: Visit Legacy Museum of the Equal Justice Initiative. Lunch: on our own 2-3:30: Visit the National Memorial for Peace and Justice.4-6:00 pm: Debrief at SpringHill Suites Hotel Overnight: Montgomery April 13 - Thursday8:30-10 am: Tour the First White House of the Confederacy with lawyer and avid amateur historian Jay Hinton and with Curator of the First White House Museum Bob Wieland. After the tour, Jay will share his personal story with us. 10:30-noon: (provisional) Listening session with Rosemary Judkins, Civil Rights Coordinator, State of Alabama12:30-2:30 pm: We will be joined by several prominent local citizens for lunch and extended conversation at the Commerce Cafe. We'll learn about their life’s work and hear about their hopes for Alabama’s future. Listening session with Rosemary Judkins, Group Tour Director/Civil Rights Coordinator, State of Alabama 3-5 pm: Debrief and discussion of the day’s events. 5-7 pm: (provisional) Drinks, dinner, and listening session with lawyer and avid amateur historian Jay Hinton at Lek’s Railroad Thai restaurant. Overnight: Montgomery April 14 - Friday Early morning: Depart for Selma (1 hour drive). Stay two nights at Holiday Inn Express. Meet entrepreneur and Coffee Shoppe owner Jackie Smith and Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Sheryl Smedley for coffee and conversation.At 11 am, we will be joined by Bloody Sunday protestors Thelma Dianne Harris and Joyce Parrish O’Neil. Noon: Lunch at Coffee Shoppe (not included)Afternoon: Walk over Edmund Pettus Bridge. Late afternoon: Visit Old Live Oak Cemetery. Meet with Doug Buster, Preservationist.Overnight: Selma April 15 - Saturday (Tentative)Morning: Visit Project Horseshoe Farm in Greensboro (1 hour drive) whose founder Dr. John Dorsey will give us a tour, introduce us to some of the fellows who work at the farm, and tell us the story of this remarkable experiment to lift people out of deep poverty.3-4:30 pm: Debrief at the Farm. Visit Jimmy Lee Jackson landmark in Marion AL (25 minute drive), whose murder sparked the Selma-to-Montgomery marches that led to the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Dinner (provisional): Lottie’s Restaurant, voted #1 restaurant in Marion by Trip Advisor. Return to Selma (40 minute drive) Overnight: Selma April 16 - SundayDepart for Birmingham (95 minute drive). Stay two nights at Tutwiler Hotel Downtown. Meet Echota Cherokee flutist and award-winning composer Ron Warren, who will join us at the Birmingham Museum of Art(or possibly First Presbyterian Church) for a day of music, story telling, meditation, and reflection. Lunch and dinner today will be on our own. Overnight: BirminghamApril 17 - Monday9-10:30 am: Listening session with Ms. Mashonda Taylor, E.D., executive director of Woodlawn Association, a collaboration of partners committed to breaking the cycle of poverty in the Woodlawn neighborhood of Birmingham. Location: historic First Presbyterian Church of Birmingham.11 am-12:30 pm: Listening session with Elizabeth Vander Kamp, Artist in Residence at UAB's Institute of Arts in Medicine and Executive Director at The Listening Project.Lunch: on our own.Afternoon: Free time. Consider visiting Vulcan Park and Museum and learn about Birmingham’s iron origins (9 minutes by taxi). Or walk to Kelly Ingram Park (11 minutes).Evening: group dinner (tbd). Overnight: Birmingham April 18th9-10:30 am: TBD10:45 am-12:30 pm: Debrief and closing circle.Lunch: On our own.Afternoon (optional for those not on early flights): Walk to Kelly Ingram Park (11 minutes) and/or visit Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. Book a 1 hour tour at historic 16th Street Baptist Church, site of the tragic 1963 bombing that killed four young girls and garnered sympathy and concern throughout the world. Orientation/trainingWe have found through experience that participants benefit much more from our listening sessions if they have completed one of our Introduction to Compassionate Listening courses either in person or online before the trip. Therefore, this will be a prerequisite for participation. There will be at least two online Intro courses offered before the Journey and information about them can be found on the Compassionate Listening Project website. We will have an orientation Zoom call before the trip to update participants on logistics and final details. We will also provide two two-hour Zoom trainings with Will Osmun, Ph.D., on Implicit Bias before the trip. During the Journey, we will have time to reflect on our experience and to deepen our understanding and practice of Compassionate Listening. The Journey is designed as an experiential training. We live our practice and trust in it deeply. Travel:We will be able to confirm this trip once all payments are in - the deadline is February 23, 2023. Please wait to purchase your flight tickets until then. Our opening circle will begin at 7:00 pm on April 10h in Montgomery (check-in begins at 4:00 pm). Our Journey ends in Birmingham at 1 pm on April 18th. PaymentYour full trip cost is $3,150 for a double occupancy room or $3,680 for a single occupancy room. If you registered with a $500 deposit, your final payment is due by February 23, 2023. You can pay online by credit card or PayPal here. If you'd like to pay by check, please make it out to TCLP, and mail to: TCLP, P.O. Box 17, Indianola, WA, 98342. How to Fundraise for the Cost of your JourneyParticipants in each one of our Journeys have successfully raised all or most of their trip expenses. Some have even gone beyond, raising funds to cover missed income while they are away. You’ll find sample letters below. We encourage you to request support from your network of family, friends, and colleagues. Supporters often express gratitude for giving them a meaningful way to make a difference in the world. Participants have also used our films for their fundraising efforts in home or small-group gatherings. Our short intro video, for example, can be found on our Media page:Media | Compassionate Listening Project.In recent years, people have also successfully used various "gofundme" sites and Facebook fundraising (if they are deeply connected on FB).The key to fundraising for this trip is to make it personal. Letters using peoples’ names - instead of “dear friends” - will be much more successful than email blasts, generic letters or FB posts. You can also consider personal emails or letters that direct them to a gofundme site. You are welcome to offer tax deductions for donors in the United States as we are a non-profit, but that’s only possible with checks written out to TCLP or if they donate to usonline (they can include your name in the instructions/comments). We cannot give tax receipts to people who donate to a gofundme or to you directly. We’re happy to process payments coming in your name and apply those funds to your account. You will find some fundraising letter exampleshere.
Cancellation PolicyIn the unlikely event that we must cancel this Journey due to a resurgence of the Covid pandemic, or other force majeure, we will refund your payment in full. If you cancel - Cancellations received by February 10th: full refund, less $200 administrative fee Cancellation after February 10th: no refund unless trip refills to maximum. (If the trip fills to capacity and we are able to fill your spot, we will refund in full)
We suggest purchasing third party travel insurance which includes coverage for cancellation for any reason. Forbes magazine publishes regularly updated travel insurance comparisons here. Please note that our trips are billed as a package and refunds cannot be provided for unused portions. Covid Considerations:Please bring proof of a negative PCR test received within three days of departure, if possible. Please bring your vaccination card with you. We’ll be masked while indoors and on the bus and we will check everyone’s temperature and ask about symptoms each morning. We take our responsibility to keep our participants safe and healthy very seriously. We will continue to monitor the public health situation as the trip approaches.