Rescuing History, Inc. Launches Multi-State “Authors Rescuing History” Bus Tour — A Rolling Symposium Preserving Family and Cultural History
Florida, Georgia, Alabama | February 28 – March 4, 2026
Rescuing History, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to preserving overlooked and at-risk histories, announces the Rescuing History Authors Tour, a five-day, multi-state bus tour taking place February 28 through March 4, 2026, across Florida, Georgia, and Alabama. Branded as “a rolling symposium,” the tour brings authors, scholars, and cultural historians directly into communities, archives, universities, museums, and historic sites to ensure that personal and collective stories are documented, preserved, and shared.
Founded and curated by Ersula K. Odom, the tour combines scholarship, performance, author panels, book signings, and free high-speed family history scanning stations, allowing attendees to preserve precious family photos and documents on-site.
“Too much history lives in attics, garages, and memory alone,” said Odom. “This tour affirms that ordinary families carry extraordinary historical evidence—and that their stories deserve care, respect, and permanence.”
Tour Highlights by City
Day One – Royal & Stonecrest Village, Florida
The tour opens with a 40 Acres Tour and Presentation at the Alonzo A. Young, Sr. Enrichment & Historical Center, followed by a Black History Program featuring Elizabeth P. Brooks, tributes to Carter G. Woodson, rotating author spotlights, and community dinner gatherings.
Day Two – Atlanta, Georgia | Theme: Preservation & Restoration
Hosted in partnership with university faculty and distinguished guests, the Atlanta program includes panels on advanced research methods, fathers and legacy, health and healing through writing, and historical fiction. A featured Chautauqua-style portrayal of Mary McLeod Bethune, performed by Ersula K. Odom, anchors the day’s programming.
Day Three – Montgomery, Alabama | Theme: Surviving History — Your Family Survived
Participants tour the Legacy Freedom Museum, attend an Authors Awards Ceremony and engage in roundtable discussions and book signings focused on survival as historical evidence. Featured topics include They Were Not Supposed to Survive, Receipts of Survival, and You Are the Evidence.
Day Four – Tallahassee, Florida | Theme: FAM-ly History
Highlighting the FAMU Meek-Eaton Black Archives Research Center & Museum, programming explores how family memory becomes public legacy. Sessions address urgent questions such as Who Gets the Box When You’re Gone? and From Family Story to Cultural Asset.
Day Five – Tampa, Florida | Theme: Afterglow
The tour concludes at Ersula’s History Shop with a breakfast reception, reflections on the tour, author highlights, and conversations on sustaining community-based history beyond the event.
Featured Authors & Contributors
The tour includes nationally respected and emerging voices such as Anthony Browder, Tracy Rookard-Shaw, Elizabeth P. Brooks, Ingrid Landis-Davis, Pamala McCoy, Nadine Mcilwain, Alice Moore, Elvina Parker, Yolanda Thompson, Jerel McCant, Alvin Harris, Annie Miles, Troy Johnson, Akua Adiki Anokye, D. Amari Jackson, Katrina Blanchett, Monica Grant, Gwyn Parker, and additional historians, narrators, and community scholars appearing across tour stops .
Preserving History in Real Time
At every stop, the Rescuing History High-Speed Family History Scanning Station will provide free preservation scanning of family photographs and documents, reinforcing the organization’s mission to rescue history before it is lost.
About Rescuing History, Inc.
Rescuing History, Inc. is a nonprofit organization committed to identifying, preserving, and redirecting historical materials and stories that are often discarded or overlooked. Through tours, educational programming, community scanning initiatives, and author engagement, the organization works to ensure that history—his, hers, and ours—is protected and passed forward.
For media inquiries, partnership opportunities, or to follow the tour, visit www.RescuingHistoryInc.com.