Guest Information · 25th Anniversary Weekend
Delta Immersion Experience
Friday, October 23, 2026 · 2:00 to 10:00 p.m.
Jackson to Cleveland, Mississippi, and back
We are glad you are coming with us. This page has everything you need for Friday afternoon and evening: where to board, where we are going, what to bring, and who to call.
The day follows Highway 49 and the back roads of the Mississippi Delta through places where ordinary people risked everything for the right to vote, to own land, and to be treated with dignity. Their courage is part of the ground Together for Hope stands on, and the communities we serve in the Delta today carry that history with them. We will stop at homes, churches, memorials, and gravesites, and we will close the day around a dinner table in Cleveland.
Rev. Dr. K. Jason Coker, President and CEO of Together for Hope, will guide us along the way.
At a glance
| Board at Homewood Suites | 1:45 p.m. Homewood Suites by Hilton Jackson Fondren Medical District, 2815 N State St, Jackson, MS 39216. This is an easy walk from the closing keynote at Fondren Church, which ends at 1:15 p.m. |
| Board at the Westin | 2:10 p.m. The Westin Jackson, 407 South Congress Street, Jackson, MS 39201 |
| Return | About 10:00 p.m. at the Westin and 10:20 p.m. at Homewood Suites |
| Transportation | A 26-passenger charter bus, with water and snacks on board. The full route is about 272 miles round trip. The bus does not have a restroom. Restroom stops are the Greenwood Walmart around 4:35 p.m. and the restaurant in Cleveland at 7:00 p.m. |
| Dinner | Cleveland, MS. Included. Restaurant to be announced. |
The route
Times are approximate. Delta roads and good conversations both have a way of running long.
| 2:35 to 3:05 p.m. |
Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument 2332 Margaret Walker Alexander Drive, Jackson Medgar Evers, the NAACP’s first field secretary in Mississippi, was assassinated in the driveway of this home in June 1963. The house is now a national monument managed by the National Park Service. We will walk the grounds before heading north. |
| About 4:35 p.m. |
Greenwood: rest stop A short stop at the Greenwood Walmart. This is the only restroom between Jackson and dinner in Cleveland, so please use it. |
| Drive-by |
Tallahatchie Bridge, Money The bridge over the Tallahatchie River on Money Road. Jason will talk about the river’s place in the Delta’s history as we pass. |
| 5:00 to 5:15 p.m. |
Little Zion M.B. Church and the grave of Robert Johnson Money Road, north of Greenwood Blues musician Robert Johnson died near Greenwood in 1938. Three sites in the area claim his grave, and the churchyard at Little Zion is the one many historians consider most likely. The lot is gravel and the cemetery is grass, so wear sturdy shoes. |
| 5:30 to 5:45 p.m. |
Bryant’s Grocery and the Emmett Till marker, Money In August 1955, 14-year-old Emmett Till of Chicago was accused of whistling at a white woman inside this store. Days later he was abducted and murdered. His mother’s decision to hold an open-casket funeral brought the country face to face with what had been done to her son. The ruins of the store still stand beside a Mississippi Freedom Trail marker. |
| 6:15 to 6:30 p.m. |
Fannie Lou Hamer Memorial Garden, Ruleville Fannie Lou Hamer was a sharecropper who lost her job on a Ruleville-area plantation after trying to register to vote in 1962. She went on to co-found the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party and to start the Freedom Farm Cooperative, which helped Black families in Sunflower County grow food and own land. She is buried here, and the garden includes a statue in her honor. Her insistence that poor rural people could build their own economic future is close to the heart of Together for Hope’s work. |
| 6:40 to 6:50 p.m. |
Dockery Farms, Highway 8 The former plantation between Ruleville and Cleveland where Charley Patton and other early bluesmen lived and played. It is often called the birthplace of the blues. |
| 7:00 to 7:50 p.m. |
Dinner in Cleveland Restaurant to be announced Dinner is included, with time around the table to talk about what we saw. Restrooms are available here. |
| 7:50 p.m. |
Return to Jackson About 2 hours and 10 minutes back, arriving at the Westin around 10:00 p.m. and Homewood Suites around 10:20 p.m. |
What to wear and bring
- Comfortable closed-toe shoes. Several stops are on grass, gravel, or a road shoulder.
- Casual clothes in layers. Late October afternoons in the Delta are usually mild, and evenings turn cool.
- We will have water and snacks on the bus.
- A charged phone. Cell coverage can drop between towns.
- Any medications you may need during an eight-hour day.
Good to know
| Restrooms | The bus has no restroom, and there are no facilities at any rural stops. Plan on the Greenwood Walmart stop around 4:35 p.m. and the restaurant in Cleveland at 7:00 p.m. |
| At the memorials | Several stops are gravesites and places of loss for families who still live nearby. Photos are welcome; please move through these places with respect. |
| Mobility | The ground is uneven at Little Zion and in Money. If walking on grass or gravel is difficult for you, let Natalie know ahead of time so we can plan the stops with you. |
We will see you Friday, October 23.
Questions before the trip or on Friday: Natalie Aho, Chief Development Officer, natalie@tfhope.org · 919 482 6548