New York City & Washington DC: Social Justice & Civil Rights
Program includes
- Roundtrip Airfare
- 11 Nights of Hotel Accommodation
- Daily Breakfast
- 3 Group Lunches & 3 Group Dinners
- Full Time Guide & Assistance
- All Ground Transportation
- Entrance to All Venues Listed
- Historical & Cultural Walking Tours
- Local NGO Visits
- Theater of the Oppressed Workshop
Program highlights
- Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island Museum
- Museum of Jewish Heritage
- LGBT Centre
- United Nations Headquarters Visit
- Empire State Building
- Martin Luther King & Lincoln Memorials
- National Museum of the American Indian
- Holocaust Memorial Museum
- The Supreme Court Visit
Itinerary
Day 1 – Departure
- Depart Home for New York City
- Arrival in NYC – Airport Transfer
- Check-in, Relax & Refresh
- Orientation Walking Tour – The group will become oriented with their neighborhood, the public transportation systems, nearby pharmacies, markets, ATMs, etc.
- Welcome Dinner – The group will be taken for a dinner with options to cater all diets.
Day 2 – New York City
- Breakfast & Day Briefing
- 9/11 Memorial, Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island Museum – Located in the main building of the former immigration station complex on Ellis Island, the museum tells the stories of the approximately 12 million immigrants who entered America via the island. In addition to looking specifically at this history, other exhibits focus on immigration from the time Ellis Island closed in 1954 to present times.
- National Museum of Immigration
- Group Lunch or Picnic in the park – included
- Lower Manhattan Walking Tour – Fraunces Tavern, Wall Street, Charging Bull, Federal Hall and Trinity Church
- Museum of Jewish Heritage – A living memorial to the holocaust
Day 3 – New York City
- Breakfast & Day Briefing
- Queer History Walking Tour of the West Village
- LGBT Centre Visit – Since 1983 The Center has been supporting, fostering and celebrating the LGBT community of New York City. The centre offers the LGBTQ communities of NYC advocacy, health and wellness programs; arts, entertainment and cultural events; recovery, parenthood and family support services.
- Lunch Break – meal not included
- Relive Life Under the Chinese Exclusion – With a history of over 160 years, Manhattan’s Chinatown is one of NYC’s oldest neighborhoods. Experience Chinatown through the intimate lens of the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, the first U.S. law that banned an entire ethnic group from coming into this country for more than 60 years. Through our immersive tour, you’ll discover the dark origins of the neighborhood, hear stories of assimilation and sacrifice, and learn about the challenges that Chinese-Americans continue to face in pursuit of the American Dream. From the unsavory origins of chop suey to the violent past of the Bloody Angle, join us as we uncover the stories of a historically marginalized community. Whether you’ve come to Chinatown for years or it’s your first time, you’ll walk away (no pun intended) with a deeper understanding and appreciation of this storied neighborhood.
- Structured Free Time
Day 4 – New York City
- Breakfast & Day Briefing
- Harlem Civil Rights Walking Tour – During this tour participants will learn about the historic movement from those who actually lived and worked in Harlem during the 1960s. The tour explores a time when blacks felt a closer association to their African roots and an increased awareness of racial pride. Throughout the two-hour history tour, participants visit the church led by Wyatt Tee Walker, a top aide to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.; see the statue dedicated to Adam Clayton Powell Jr., and view the mosque where Malcolm X served as a leader. We will also cover 125th Street, one of the many streets where religious and political leaders gave historic speeches from street corners.
- Lunch Break – meal not included
- African Burial Ground & Black Heritage Tour – Explores how African Americans helped build New York from its beginnings to present day. The tour visits remnants of the historic African Burial Ground, which dates back more than 350 years. During the 18th century, free and enslaved Africans were buried in the 7-acre parcel of land. The tour continues with an exploration of black heritage, including the establishment of black churches and schools in the late 1880s, the contribution of African Americans in New York City during World War I, the Civil Rights movement and the emergence of arts and culture among African Americans living in New York City.
Day 5 – New York City
- Breakfast & Day Briefing
- Empire State Building – It’s a view you have to see to believe. 102 floors above New York City, the Top Deck observatory takes your Empire State experience higher, with breathtaking views in every direction.
- Lunch Break – meal not included
Theater of the Oppressed Workshop – Details to be confirmed – Theatre of the Oppressed NYC partners with community members at local organizations to form theatre troupes. These troupes devise and perform plays based on their challenges confronting economic inequality, racism, and other social, health and human rights injustices. - Rockefeller Center
Day 6 – New York City
- Breakfast & Day Briefing
- United Nations HQ Visit – Students would have a chance to learn more about the United Nations through a guided tour of its headquarters in midtown Manhattan. We suggest the special group tour with a Focus on Women.The special tour will also include access to the Security Council Chamber, the Trusteeship Council Chamber and the General Assembly Hall.
- Lunch Break – meal not included
- Social Justice and Civil Rights Organization Visit – Sakhi for
- South Asian Women – To be confirmed. Sakhi for South Asian Women exists to represent the South Asian diaspora in a survivor-led movement for gender-justice and to honor the collective and inherent power of all survivors of violence.
Day 7 – Washington D.C.
- Breakfast & Day Briefing
- Train Transfer to Washington D.C. (approx. 3 hours)
- Check-in & Refresh
- Lunch Break – included
- Historical Walking Tour of Washington – National Mall, Museum of African American History and Culture, Korean Memorial, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, The FDR Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, The Thomas Jefferson Memorial, Martin Luther King Memorial, WWII Memorial, Constitution Gardens, The Washington Monument.
- Group Dinner – included
Day 8 – Washington D.C.
- Breakfast & Day Briefing
- Visit DC Anti-Violence Project – To be determined
- Lunch Break – meal not included
- Holocaust Memorial Museum
Day 9 – Washington D.C.
- Breakfast & Day Briefing
- National Museum of the American Indian
- Lunch Break – meal not included
- Workshop on Indigenous Rights at the Indian Law Resource Center – The Center provides legal assistance to indigenous peoples of the Americas to combat racism and oppression, to protect their lands and environment, to protect their cultures and ways of life, to achieve sustainable economic development and genuine self-government, and to realize their other human rights.
Day 10 – Washington D.C.
- Breakfast & Day Briefing
- Black Lives Matter Plaza – is a two-block long section in downtown Washington, DC renamed as such in June 2020 as part of the protests against the killing of George Floyd.
- Discussion with activists from Black Lives Matter DC – To be confirmed. Black Lives Matter DC is a radical collective of Black artists, infrastructure builders, movement healers, and strategists from the future. They are a member-based abolitionist organization centering Black people most at risk for state violence in DC.
- Lunch Break – meal not included
- The Supreme Court Visit – The Supreme Court is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States of America and has been the site of many historic civil rights rulings.
Day 11 – Washington D.C.
- Breakfast & Day Briefing
- Howard University Tour – including Andrew Rankin Memorial Chapel, Frederick Douglass Memorial Hall and Founders Library, these were key sites for the university’s legal establishment of integrated public education.
- Lunch Break – included
- Free Afternoon in Washington
- Farewell Dinner & Program Closing
Day 12 – Return
- Breakfast & Day Briefing
- Airport Transfer
- Depart Washington D.C. for Home
All of our programs are 100% customizable
Is there an experience you would like to provide that isn’t included in our itineraries?
Let’s add it!
Are there sites that better fit your subject than the ones provided?
Let’s swap them!
Contact us to get started building a fully-customized itinerary.
Tell us your dream program and we’ll make it a reality!
