It was a wonderful experience! The tour was carefully curated, and the participants turned out to be a lovely, very diverse crowd from different walks of life. Joining the tour for the first time, I wasn't sure what to expect - and as it turns out, it could not have been a better, more supportive experience! While I was previously familiar with most of the events we learned about, it made a huge difference to visit the sites where they occurred and to learn about the concrete lives of people involved in them. The tour greatly enhanced my personal understanding of the significant role the civil rights movement plays in the history of our nation to this day! My hope is that participants will manage to stay in touch and compare notes as this profound experience settles in - and perhaps meet up for future tours.

The 2026 Heritage Civil Rights Tour of the South was very informative and necessary. I observed, heard and saw content of the Civil Rights era of American history i would have never known about if not for the tour. Being a 32 year law enforcement veteran learning about the many negative roles law enforcement played in furthering the suffering of people of color was alarming and very humbling. To hear current Republican politicians parrot the same discriminatory and racist language of racists politicians from the Civil Rights era is very troubling to my spirit. Overall, my experiences of the Heritage Civil Rights Tour will be with me for the rest of my life. I will definitely make the trip again with members of my immediate family. Thank you Napoleon and Toni Bell for exposing me to a part of American history that needs to be shown to every American citizen and members of law enforcement.

This trip was 10 times more than I ever expected! The Bell's were the greatest guides and made the trip so informative and fun. I met so many like minded people that I will never forget. I appreciated always having cold drinks available with hot weather. I look forward to doing another trip with this group.

This trip was extremely meaningful. I learned history of the Civil Rights Movement that I should have known before. The videos during the bus rides prepared us for each of the next museums we entered. Best of all was the way the tour leaders helped us connect and share our reactions with our fellow travelers. The tour days were long but wonderful with learning, talking, good meals, good motels each night.

I really enjoyed myself and learned so much I didn’t know. I was actually in awe of the prominent spaces I was in. I toured with some awesome and amazing people of many different backgrounds. I want to encourage anyone with the chance to go on this tour please do. Your soul needs this.