Conceived and organized by a Buddhist nun based at the New England Peace Pagoda in Leverett, Mass., Sister Clare Carter, and a performance artist and activist, Ingrid Askew, the Interfaith Pilgrimage of the Middle Passage was a year-long walk from the eastern United States to Africa, reversing the direction of the Middle Passage symbolically and geographically. A "living prayer of the heart, mind, and body for the sons and daughters of the African Diaspora," the Pilgrimage was intended by the participants to contribute to a process of healing the wounds inflicted by hundreds of years of slavery and racial oppression. Intellectually and spiritually, it would acknowledge the painful legacy of slavery as an issue affecting not just black African Americans but also white European Americans and would be a way to draw whites into the cultural conversation about race and racism. Traveling mostly on foot, the pilgrims would visit sites associated with the history of slavery, offering prayers and connecting with local residents. The organizers put together an advisory board that included scholars, religious leaders, politicians, activists, and artists, and while it was mostly drawn from the western Massachusetts community, Bishop Desmond Tutu served as honorary chair. In addition, the organizers and pilgrims made and relied on local connections as they planned the walk as well as during the walk itself.

The journey began in Massachusetts on May 30, 1998, and continued down the east coast. Passing through more than 200 U.S. cities, the pilgrims arrived in Louisiana. From New Orleans they traveled by boat through the Caribbean, finally crossing the Atlantic Ocean to arrive in western Africa. The Interfaith Pilgrimage of the Middle Passage pilgrimage ended in Cape Town, South Africa, on June 12, 1999. The diverse group of pilgrims included ten who traveled the whole route, and hundreds more sharing part of the journey, from a day or a few days to weeks or months.