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Chicago: The founders of America’s third largest city were Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, a Haitian man of African descent, and Kitihawa, his Potawatomi wife. The city has been a magnet for immigrants and a rainbow of cultural diversity ever since. It holds one of the largest Mexican populations in the world. Travelers will explore the rich cultures and learn about the many social services that make up Chicago’s present day.
Over the Rainbow: Would you like to visit a city where more than thirty languages are spoken in the high school, a city that sits on the former border with Mexico, a city with African and Asian markets, a city where the first Catholic Mass was celebrated in 1541? Is it Los Angeles, San Francisco, Santa Fe? Maybe Dallas or San Antonio? None of these—it’s Garden City, Kansas! Starting in the 1980s, the meat processing industry began attracting new immigrants to the area, people coming from Southeast Asia, from Africa, and from Latin America. What has grown in this garden is a community that doesn’t tolerate diversity—it celebrates diversity. Located not far from Dodge City and the Oklahoma and Texas Panhandles, visitors will also enjoy the beauty and history of the Great Plains, and they will get up close with a bison herd.
Father Tolton Tours and the origins of Black Lives Matter: Father Augustus Tolton was born a slave near the town of Hannibal, Missouri (home to Mark Twain). He became the first Black-identified Catholic priest in the United States. There is currently a cause for his canonization as a saint in the Catholic Church. Travelers will learn about the history of slavery through visits to sites associated with the Underground Railroad, Lincoln, Twain, and Dred Scott. They will also explore current issues in St. Louis and Ferguson, birthplace of the “Black Lives Matter” movement.
Memphis: It was here that Martin Luther King was assassinated on a balcony of the Lorraine Hotel. That site is now the home of the National Civil Rights Museum, dedicated to continuing King’s dream of justice and equality. Memphis is also home to the world-famous Saint Jude’s Hospital. Travelers will have time to explore one of the most culturally gifted cities in the United States, home to Rock-and-Roll and Soul.
Louisville: Historically known as the “Gateway to the South,” Louisville has a long history in the struggle for racial justice that continues to this day. The Muhammad Ali Center is one resource in learning about racial justice, and the Thomas Merton Center provides a distinctively Catholic perspective on racial justice. Like many places, Catholic institutions in Louisville have had to come to terms with their history of slave ownership. Visiting with the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, there is the opportunity to understand a history of both slave holding and work for racial justice.
If you don’t mind some long drives, two of St Louis, Memphis, or Louisville can be combined into a 1-week journey.
We take special requests!
Chicago: The founders of America’s third largest city were Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, a Haitian man of African descent, and Kitihawa, his Potawatomi wife. The city has been a magnet for immigrants and a rainbow of cultural diversity ever since. It holds one of the largest Mexican populations in the world. Travelers will explore the rich cultures and learn about the many social services that make up Chicago’s present day.
Over the Rainbow: Would you like to visit a city where more than thirty languages are spoken in the high school, a city that sits on the former border with Mexico, a city with African and Asian markets, a city where the first Catholic Mass was celebrated in 1541? Is it Los Angeles, San Francisco, Santa Fe? Maybe Dallas or San Antonio? None of these—it’s Garden City, Kansas! Starting in the 1980s, the meat processing industry began attracting new immigrants to the area, people coming from Southeast Asia, from Africa, and from Latin America. What has grown in this garden is a community that doesn’t tolerate diversity—it celebrates diversity. Located not far from Dodge City and the Oklahoma and Texas Panhandles, visitors will also enjoy the beauty and history of the Great Plains, and they will get up close with a bison herd.
Father Tolton Tours and the origins of Black Lives Matter: Father Augustus Tolton was born a slave near the town of Hannibal, Missouri (home to Mark Twain). He became the first Black-identified Catholic priest in the United States. There is currently a cause for his canonization as a saint in the Catholic Church. Travelers will learn about the history of slavery through visits to sites associated with the Underground Railroad, Lincoln, Twain, and Dred Scott. They will also explore current issues in St. Louis and Ferguson, birthplace of the “Black Lives Matter” movement.
Memphis: It was here that Martin Luther King was assassinated on a balcony of the Lorraine Hotel. That site is now the home of the National Civil Rights Museum, dedicated to continuing King’s dream of justice and equality. Memphis is also home to the world-famous Saint Jude’s Hospital. Travelers will have time to explore one of the most culturally gifted cities in the United States, home to Rock-and-Roll and Soul.
Louisville: Historically known as the “Gateway to the South,” Louisville has a long history in the struggle for racial justice that continues to this day. The Muhammad Ali Center is one resource in learning about racial justice, and the Thomas Merton Center provides a distinctively Catholic perspective on racial justice. Like many places, Catholic institutions in Louisville have had to come to terms with their history of slave ownership. Visiting with the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, there is the opportunity to understand a history of both slave holding and work for racial justice.
If you don’t mind some long drives, two of St Louis, Memphis, or Louisville can be combined into a 1-week journey.
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