Among the trips to tropical destinations and far-away locales reported by members of Congress members since Jan. 1, 2000, are 76 trips to Alabama -- 37 of them for a "civil rights pilgrimage" sponsored by the Faith and Politics Institute, a group that fosters discussion among members of Congress and leaders of different faiths.

An analysis of congressional trips by Medill News Service, in partnership with American Public Media's Marketplace program and American RadioWorks, found that private interests spent about $14.4 million since Jan. 1, 2000, to send House and Senate members on more than 4,800 trips.

The civil rights pilgrimage was the 32th most common trip reported by House members among about 208 destinations and was 51st among the Senate's more than 100 destinations. A total of $42,300 was spent on civil rights pilgrimage trips by House and Senate members combined.

The pilgrimages, usually in February or March, lead legislators on a tour through Alabama's historic civil rights sites in Selma, Birmingham and Montgomery, and, in the process, through the state's economically downtrodden Black Belt.

Alan Freyer, spokesman for Rep. Artur Davis, D-Ala., who hosted the event last year, said the congressman wanted to raise awareness about the Black Belt and to bring together people of differing backgrounds.

The 2003 pilgrimage was one of at least 16 trips Davis took since 2000. Most were to Alabama for speaking engagements.

Virginia Davis, spokeswoman for Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., said the senator used the trip to gain perspective on issues he is working on in the area, like the extension of I-85 from Montgomery to Meridian, Miss., an improvement meant to boost the area's lagging economy.

Shelby was not able to attend the entire 2004 pilgrimage, but Davis said he found it "extremely informative" and that it "served as an important reminder of the central role that Alabama played in the civil rights movement."

The abbreviated pilgrimage was the only trip Shelby reported since 2000. His staff, however, took 46 sponsored trips over that period.

Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions also attended the pilgrimage in 2004. The trip was one of 12 trips Sessions reported since 2000. Grace Cummings, executive director of the Faith and Politics Institute, said at least two Alabama lawmakers attend each trip, but some just drive from their home districts to join the delegation rather than making special travel plans paid for by the institute.

The pilgrimage started when Georgia Democratic Rep. John Lewis, a civil rights legend, took New York Republican Rep. Amo Houghton, who had never been to the South, to see Alabama's civil rights sites and to assess the current state of the South.

The one-time trip grew into an annual event, with invitations extended to congressman of both parties, their staff and their guests, after Lewis became co-chairman of the Faith and Politics Institute in 1997. The event became semi-annual in 2001, though a special trip only for senators was held this year.

The pilgrimages include visits to the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, the Rosa Parks Library and Museum, the National Voting Rights Museum and Institute, and the Slavery and Civil War Museum.

Legislators also visit churches that played an important role in the civil rights movement, like 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham where a 1963 Ku Klux Clan bombing killed four young girls. The trips culminate at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, site of a famous 1965 Voting Rights March.

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