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What do you get when you combine ten states, thirteen days, and over 100 points of historical interest? Ask Art Meripol, who was approached by Alabama Tourism Director Lee Sentell about a project of massive proportions. The Birmingham-based photographer was asked to help document a new Civil Rights Trail, which included monuments, museums, and schools across the Southeastern United States.
A self-proclaimed history buff, Art was more than happy to take on the challenge.
After months of planning, Art and Art Director, Miles Wright of agency Luckie & Co. set off on the trail. Their mid-September start date meant they would need to work quickly before they encountered changing leaves and chilly weather.
We drove from Birmingham to New Orleans to Little Rock to Topeka. Then we flew to DC and drove back from there to Richmond and Farmville Virginia, Greensboro North Carolina, Orangeburg South Carolina, Atlanta Georgia and then on to Memphis before returning home. It was over 4,000 miles of driving and the DC flight, two rental cars, a couple Uber rides and a lot of road snacks.
Unsurprisingly, Art and Miles have countless tales from their trip. They often spent time chatting with local historians, park rangers, and museum curators about the history of each site. One of Art’s favorite moments took place at the Medgar Evers home in Jackson, Mississippi. The curator of the site had actually worked with Evers as a young adult in the early 1960s and told stories about the activist as the crew sat at the kitchen table.
The overall weight of seeing new sites day after day and hearing their stories told will always stick with me. It was the most meaningful thing I’ve done in my career, and I really do hope that people will pick up on it and go see these remarkable places where history is made present every day.
Art’s images first went live on the website for the Civil Rights Trail, just a few weeks ago on MLK day. Since then, the story has been picked up by multiple news outlets, all giving rave reviews on the project. There are even some whispers about creating a travel-centered ‘tour’ book, which would feature Art’s photos as a visual guide to the trail.
As for Art, he credits much of the success to Lee Sentell’s hard work in pushing for the trail, and the expertly handled jobs from the crew at Luckie & Co. He is back home in Alabama for now, reaping the rewards of a job well done and awaiting his next big adventure.
Additional Credits:
Client: US Civil Rights Trail
Agency: Luckie & Co
Art Director: Miles Wright
Videographer: John Hunter
Video Crew: Lizzie Holt, Karen Kizzire
See more of Art at artmeripol.com, or check out his instagram!