Civil Rights Day 6

Today, Thursday,  April 14^th, 2011, began much like the others. In chaos. We were scheduled to leave at 8:30. Easier said than done, especially when we’re talking about 13 teenagers. When 8:30 rolled around, Dawson and Jaylen were nowhere to be found. They missed their wake-up call, and had to skip breakfast. Everyone went out to the cars and got ready to leave, but now Alden, Kaitlin and Zoe had gone back up to their room. They came back down at 8:35, and we were ready to go. Or maybe not… Augusto managed to sneak away to the bathroom without telling anyone. Jaylen was promptly sent inside to find him. However, just as he went in, Augusto came back out. and we had to wait for Jaylen to return. Finally, when Jaylen returned, we dispersed to our different cars and hit the road. Although we were behind schedule, at least we were on our way to the Civil Rights Museum, we thought. What we didn’t know was that the GPS in Mrs. Post’s car wasn’t guiding us on any particular route; she was just winging it. There was a scramble to get the GPS working before we really needed it. We finally reached the National Civil Rights Museum, Lorraine Motel, each of us with our fair share of stress and adventure for that morning.
When we got inside, we watched a short civil rights video. That was followed by an interesting audio of the museum. Some things were a review, while others were new information. We got to see the actual room where Martin Luther King, Jr., stayed before he was shot. Overall, it was extremely interesting. Next, we crossed the street to see where the bullet was shot from. This was particularly interesting because we got to see actual evidence from the case. We saw the bullet that was removed from MLK’s chest, the gun he was shot with, the get-away vehicle, among other objects. The purpose of this is for the tourist to formulate his own theory on what and who actually killed MLK, Jr. Was it really James Earl Ray? Or could Ray have been framed by Hoover and the FBI or the mafia in Memphis? To this day Martin Luther King’s death is a mystery, and it seems it shall remain that way forever.  
Austin, Ryan and Augusto

Civil Rights: Day 5

After a busy day in Alabama touring the 16^th Street Baptist Church where the four little girls were killed in 1963 and traveling from Selma to Montgomery on the same roads the marchers once traversed in 1965, we woke up at 6:30 for our drive through the Mississippi Delta. After travelling for an hour or two through the Delta, we were astonished at the vast expanse of cotton fields and the absence of houses and cars. Our first stop was at Money, Mississippi. Money was a small town where the young Emmett Till was murdered for whistling at a white woman at the Bryant Store. Despite playing a major role in the Civil Rights Movement and being a catalyst to the movement, we were surprised to see the Bryant Store in its current condition. It is easy to tell that the Bryant Store was old, and it looks like the store could fall down any minute. The wooden walls were barely attached, and the ceiling was destroyed. It’s shocking that such an important place in history has been almost completely abandoned. The State of Mississippi does not want to buy this property for a historical museum, and the price of the store has been decreased from 6 million to 50 thousand dollars. The next destination was the grave of Fannie Lou Hamer. Engraved on her tombstone is her famous saying, “I am sick and tired of being sick and tired.” This refers to her struggle for civil rights. Fannie was important to the movement. She attempted to register blacks in the Mississippi area to vote, and she also ran for Congress as a member of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party. After visiting her gravesite, we headed for Abe's in Clarksdale, where we had pulled pork sandwiches.  Then we stopped by to drop off the donations raised in our two bake sales to the Aaron E. Henry Community Health Center that runs the Mobile Health Units in Clarksdale. We were pleased to see the happiness in the director’s face when he saw our $800 donation and children’s books. After dropping off the books and the donation, we went to see the actual Mobile Health Unit. The bus has three rooms to treat patients, and the workers were very happy to be around and help the underprivileged kids. Finally, we drove for another few hours to arrive in Memphis Tennessee where we will be looking at the famous Beale Street and visiting the place where Martin Luther King, Jr., was killed.  Despite the heavy travelling today, it has been an enlightening experience. We would have never thought that people could live in such poor conditions as they do in the Mississippi Delta.

By, Vlady Rachev & Jaylen Jennings

Civil Rights - Day 4

After an eventful night of hiding from tornados, we were, luckily, able to sleep in. We woke up at eight, had breakfast, and departed for our first appointment at Kelly Ingram Park. The park is named after the first American soldier to die in World War I, who was supposedly African American. The park was instrumental in the civil rights movement because it is where  the children's war occurred in 1963. The children were attacked by dogs, blasted with water hoses, and thousands were sent to jail. The children’s bravery that day was truly amazing, and after out visit to the park we all have  great amount of respect for the kids who endured the pain. Next, we walked across the street to the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. This museum has a number of interactive parts and interesting things to see. Along with the scavenger hunt, in which we learned valuable information about the civil rights movement, it was easy to stay focused through the tour, while still having fun. Afterwards, we took a short walk over to the 16^th Street Baptist Church, which is famous for being bombed in 1963, when four young girls were murdered. The church had an eerie feeling knowing that it was where these four, young, innocent girls lives were taken. Not only were these girls killed, but there was a fifth girl in the church during the bombing who lost an eye. Others were injured, and two boys were murdered the same day as well. Our final stop of the day was at the Indian Springs School. We ate lunch with several of the students and played interactive games where we discussed what it meant to have privileges, and what privileges we are gifted with in our everyday lives. It was easy to get to know the students, and even though they live in a different part of the country, they go through similar experiences to ours everyday. As of now we are traveling in our vans to Starkville, Mississippi, where we will spend the night to prepare for our long day of driving through the Mississippi Delta tomorrow. 

 By Sara Norton and Cuyler Brodnax

Civil Rights: Day Three

Hello readers.   Today, Monday, April 11, 2011, the civil rights group ventured around Alabama, specifically Selma and Montgomery.  First, we saw the capital building where Zoe, Cole and Kaitlin shared their studies on hate groups and Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam.  Afterwards our group walked over to Dexter Avenue Baptist Church and watched an informative video on the church’s history.  We then got to go upstairs and see the very pulpit from which Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., preached!  Then, we saw the fully secured, bulletproof Southern Poverty Law Center.  We went to the visitor center where we were lectured rather uncomfortably about being engaged and staying focused. We started off the morning a little flat, but after the inspirational and moving lecture, we got our creative juices flowing and broke out the grown up thinking. We saw an educational film about the martyrs and victims of the movement and then had the opportunity to go see the memorial. The Civil Rights Memorial designed by Maya Lin (she also designed the Vietnam Memorial) is a large round granite table with forty names engraved on it. The names serve as a timeline from the start to the finish of the civil rights movement. There is water constantly running over the memorial which was inspired by a Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., quote where he said African Americans would not be satisfied “until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream."  We then entered our names into a wall of people who have taken a pledge to stand up for justice.  Proceeding our lavish gourmet lunch at Wendy’s, we attended our valuable appointment at the Rosa Parks Museum.  It proved to be both interactive and informative.  Then we drove to Selma on Highway 80, the route that stopped at Viola Luizzo’s memorial.  Viola Luizzo was a white woman from Detroit who believed in the civil rights movement and was helping transport black marchers from Montgomery back to Selma.  While she was driving she was traced by white men who pulled up along side her and shot her dead.  We then walked across the very bridge that the foot soldiers of the march had walked over in 1965 and proceeded to the National Voting Rights Museum and had a wonderful tour from Samuel L .Jacskon. We continued onto Birmingham where we ended a long and action-packed day. However, we soon learned that there was a tornado warning for our area, so we panicked and ran for the leaking stairwell while the tornado blew over. It was a fitting end to a long day.

By Zoe and Dawson

Civil Rights: Day Two

Six twenty read the clock as our tired bodies rolled out of bed and managed to toss on some formal wear for church, an eight o’clock service at the Ebenezer Baptist Church. As we filed into the pews we felt the soul-stirring songs of the choir warming their voices. After being warmly welcomed by the church community, we settled into our seats, not nearly expecting what we would witness in the next hour and a half. Joy, love and passion filled every corner of the empowering church. The charismatic minister warmed our hearts with his intergenerational sermon about the word “whatever." He elaborated on how this word is not simply a word, but has now become a sentence, speaking of the focuses you have to have in life. In between this sermon, the choir sang giving goose bumps to everyone’s arms. We left with a feeling of uplifting spirits and the feeling of wanting to return.

            Next we went to the birth home of Martin Luther King, Jr., born with the first name Michael, as we learned. We were toured by a park ranger, giving us elaborate details on the history of the home. Then we went to the serene resting place of MLK, stopping to see the quote “Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty I’m free at last,” which is placed on his tombstone.

            We went back to our hotel feverishly packed in order to check out in time. All changed into casual clothes, we made our way to the Georgia Aquarium. There we saw marine life ranging from amazing schools of fish to beluga whales.

            We then went to the museum of Martin Luther King, Jr., and saw a documentary on his short-lived but extraordinary life called New Life, New Voice.

            Now we are driving to Montgomery, Alabama, having passed through the Morehouse College Campus and stopped at Tuskegee airfield where 3,000 African-American airmen trained during World War II.
            To be continued…

            Best wishes,

                        Alden and Megan.

First Day Atlanta

Starting off with an exciting race to the airport, not sure if we would get there in one piece, we had to make an hour earlier flight. Alden’s bag was an inappropriate weight. We luckily made our flight, some of us had to sit in the emergency row. The flight was around two hours; it was very special for Zoe Marsh, because it was her first time flying. Arriving in Atlanta ,we had a fantabulous time at the CNN tour, Austin Homes conquering his fear of escalators and heights, on the world’s largest escalator of 250 feet. Alden was able to go Harry Potter on us when she used the editing techniques of the invisibility cloak (green screen). We got to see how the weatherman uses his green screen map, and the high tech ten million dollar studio. Then we walked to Centennial Park, and sunbathed, played football, but unfortunately the fountains were out of order, but we found an alternative coin pool to swim in. Kaitlin, Cole, Austin, Zoe, and Megan went swimming in the two-foot deep pond, but many others got thoroughly splashed. After an encounter with a python, most of us were able to fit in a nice workout at the hotel, while others like Zoe Marsh took a thirty-minute shower. We went out to a classic southern grill, and the girls rocked their dresses. After the dinner we all went to one room for some quality bonding over a movie and candy. It was a great way to kick off the week, and all of us are already bonding and feeling the love.

By Cole and Kaitlin