U.S. Civil Rights Trail Expands with Six New Historic Sites in Four States

ATLANTA, Feb. 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Civil Rights Trail is expanding in 2026, with the addition of historic sites in Virginia, Louisiana, Tennessee and Florida, offering travelers new destinations to explore pivotal stories, places, and voices that shaped the nation's civil rights movement.

The six new sites include:

• Historic Caroline County Courthouse Campus (Bowling Green, Va.) – Site of the 1959 arrest of Richard and Mildred Loving, whose case led to the landmark Supreme Court decision that struck down bans on interracial marriage nationwide.
• Gloucester Museum of History (Gloucester, Va.) – Through exhibits and a 12-stop driving tour, the museum highlights civil rights pioneers such as Irene Morgan, whose actions helped dismantle segregation in interstate travel.
• Texas & Pacific Railway Depot (Natchitoches, La.) – One of Louisiana's best-preserved segregated public spaces, the depot offers an immersive look at Jim Crow–era travel and the Great Migration, when African Americans journeyed north and west in search of opportunity.
• Jefferson Street Sound Museum (Nashville, Tenn.) – Located in the heart of historic Jefferson Street, the museum showcases how music, culture, and activism intersected to energize Nashville's civil rights movement.
• Museum of Christian & Gospel Music (Nashville, Tenn.) – Examines the powerful role gospel music and musicians played as a source of hope, unity, and inspiration during the fight for civil rights.
• Jacksonville Civil Rights Trail (Jacksonville, Fla.) – This citywide trail uses place-based markers and storytelling to connect visitors to the neighborhoods, institutions, and leaders who drove grassroots activism and lasting change.

"Every year, the U.S. Civil Rights Trail continues to grow, giving visitors new opportunities to experience the people and places that shaped history," said Mark Ezell, Chairman of the U.S. Civil Rights Trail Marketing Alliance. "These new sites add unique and powerful stories that will truly deepen our understanding of the civil rights movement."

About the U.S. Civil Rights Trail
Launched in 2018, the U.S. Civil Rights Trail is a collection of more than 130 churches, courthouses, schools, museums and other landmarks primarily in the Southern states where activists challenged segregation in the 1950s and 1960s to advance social justice. The people, locations and destinations included in the Civil Rights Trail provide a way for families, travelers and educators to experience history firsthand. For details about the sites and stories from civil rights pioneers, visit CivilRightsTrail.com.

SOURCE U.S. Civil Rights Trail