About
Connecting Past and Present Through Education
Discover the mission, vision, and leadership behind the Civil Rights Museum Tour of America℠, dedicated to preserving and sharing the legacy of the civil rights movement.
Connecting Gandhi and King:
A Legacy of Nonviolent Resistance
CRMTOURS℠ highlights the profound intellectual, political, and spiritual connections between Mahatma Gandhi and the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Dr. King’s 1959 journey to India—undertaken “not as a tourist, but as a pilgrim”—deepened his commitment to nonviolent resistance as a moral and practical force for social change.
The Tour provides educational context on the legal, political, cultural, artistic, and spiritual dimensions of the U.S. civil rights movement, emphasizing its continued relevance today. CRMTOURS℠ underscores the movement’s multi-dimensional, multi-racial, and international character, and its enduring influence on struggles for equality, justice, and human dignity around the world.
Leadership
Rumu Sarkar
Rumu Sarkar serves as President of the Civil Rights Museum Tour of America and is an Adjunct Professor of Law at Case Western Reserve University School of Law. She is a legal scholar, educator, and former senior government and nonprofit executive with extensive experience in international development, national security, and public service law.
Ms. Sarkar has served as General Counsel and Chief Risk Officer of the Global Innovation Fund, General Counsel of Millennium Partners, and General Counsel to both the Defense Base Closure and Realignment (BRAC) Commission and the Overseas Basing Commission. Her prior government service includes roles at the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (now the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation) and the U.S. Agency for International Development.
In academia, Professor Sarkar has taught and published widely, holding appointments at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Georgetown University Law Center, Loyola University Chicago School of Law, and Case Western Reserve University. A Fulbright Scholar, she lectured at the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Poland.
She holds a B.A. from Barnard College, Columbia University; a J.D. from the Antioch School of Law; and an LL.M. and Ph.D. in Law from Newnham College, University of Cambridge. She is a member of the New York, District of Columbia, and U.S. Supreme Court Bars.
Colonel Zachary Z. Kinney
Colonel Zachary Z. Kinney served as Vice President of CRMTOURS℠ and was the founder and President of Colonel Kinney’s Chess Academy, a Maryland-based nonprofit dedicated to leadership development through chess education.
He earned his B.A. from the University of Maryland, completed graduate studies at Cornell University, and received his J.D. from the University of Antioch School of Law. Commissioned through the U.S. Air Force Judge Advocate General’s Corps, Colonel Kinney served with distinction as a military prosecutor, defense counsel, staff judge advocate, and instructor, retiring from active duty in 2004.
His service was recognized with numerous military honors, including the Meritorious Service Medal and the Joint Meritorious Service Medal. He later served as Judge Advocate General of the District of Columbia Defense Force, rising to the rank of Colonel, and as an instructor for the U.S. Department of State’s International Law Enforcement Academy. He was also the author of three books and multiple legal publications.
In MemoriUm
Colonel Zachary Z. Kinney contracted COVID-19 in 2020, prior to the availability of vaccines, and courageously battled long COVID for four years. He passed away on January 1, 2025.
Colonel Kinney was the inspiration behind the creation of the Civil Rights Museum Tour of America℠. During a visit to him while he was serving at Air University in Montgomery, Alabama, he introduced the founder to the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, the Rosa Parks Museum, and other pivotal civil rights sites—an experience that gave rise to CRMTOURS℠’ mission.
A cherished friend, mentor, and spiritual guide, Colonel Kinney’s integrity, intellect, and unwavering commitment to justice continue to shape the vision and purpose of CRMTOURS℠. He is deeply loved and profoundly missed.