I'm sitting in my hotel room in Birmingham, listening to a Blues station on Pandora, and reflecting on the day I've had. Wow - what a day! I'm less than 36 hours into my trip and have already learned and experienced so much!!!
I spent a good part of the day at the National Civil Rights Museum. The Lorraine Hotel, the place where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, has been remodeled into this incredible museum that traces the history of the civil rights movement from slavery to modern civil rights issues. It easily ranks as one of the best museum experiences I have ever had - incredibly well laid out, incredibly engaging, incredibly powerful! My research had led me to believe I could experience the museum in about 2 hours, but 4.5 hours later we were still deep in the history of it all! There was just so much to see!
One of my favorite things about the museum was the way they integrated photos, music, videos, statues, artifacts, and signage. It was all put together in such a fluid, multidimensional way. I've truly never seen anything like it. You could walk through a passage accompanied by the sound of Dr. Kings voice, sit next to a statue of Rosa Parks on a bus as a voice roughly urged you to give up your seat, walk across a structure made to look like the Edmund Pettis bridge, or sing along with a freedom song. Their were quotes, pictures, voices, stories - a legacy told with the honor it deserves. It is both horrific and inspiring, troubling and victorious.
The musuem wound its way through the first and second floor of what was once the hotel, eventually making its way into the rooms where Dr. King and his colleagues spent the final hours of his life. There is also a section in the boarding house across the street, where the shot that took Dr. King's life was fired through a second floor bathroom window. One can stand in the window and see the balcony where Dr. King was hit. The reality and gravity of what happened here is overwhelming. In the building next door, a small exhibit celebrated the lives of 20 African American women, and their influence on civil rights. This was also very fascinating and inspiring.
Some of my biggest takeaways from the museum experience:
In the afternoon, I had the chance to meet with a local educator and talk shop about race and education, comparing the systems and communities where we work and live and sharing about our experiences. We had a great visit, through once again I'm struck by how complicated these issues are. I was so thankful for her honesty and willingness to share with me her anecdotal experiences in the Memphis area schools.
At the end of the day, off we headed for Birmingham! I was struck by the rural areas we drove through - we could go miles and miles without seeing anything but trees! We also battled a crazy thunderstorm, had a humorously strange encounter at a Subway ($2 veggie subs!), and shared great conversations and reflections on our drive. Day one and my mind is already racing with what I've seen, learned, felt, and experienced!
Tomorrow I'll be exploring Birmingham! I'll keep you posted! :-)
~emily~
I spent a good part of the day at the National Civil Rights Museum. The Lorraine Hotel, the place where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, has been remodeled into this incredible museum that traces the history of the civil rights movement from slavery to modern civil rights issues. It easily ranks as one of the best museum experiences I have ever had - incredibly well laid out, incredibly engaging, incredibly powerful! My research had led me to believe I could experience the museum in about 2 hours, but 4.5 hours later we were still deep in the history of it all! There was just so much to see!
One of my favorite things about the museum was the way they integrated photos, music, videos, statues, artifacts, and signage. It was all put together in such a fluid, multidimensional way. I've truly never seen anything like it. You could walk through a passage accompanied by the sound of Dr. Kings voice, sit next to a statue of Rosa Parks on a bus as a voice roughly urged you to give up your seat, walk across a structure made to look like the Edmund Pettis bridge, or sing along with a freedom song. Their were quotes, pictures, voices, stories - a legacy told with the honor it deserves. It is both horrific and inspiring, troubling and victorious.
The musuem wound its way through the first and second floor of what was once the hotel, eventually making its way into the rooms where Dr. King and his colleagues spent the final hours of his life. There is also a section in the boarding house across the street, where the shot that took Dr. King's life was fired through a second floor bathroom window. One can stand in the window and see the balcony where Dr. King was hit. The reality and gravity of what happened here is overwhelming. In the building next door, a small exhibit celebrated the lives of 20 African American women, and their influence on civil rights. This was also very fascinating and inspiring.
Some of my biggest takeaways from the museum experience:
- The discrepancy between historic laws and actual freedoms experienced (Did you know that there was a voting rights act for African American men in 1870?!)
- The incredible courage of people young and old, wealthy and poor, and the power of grassroots organizing!
- The issues stemming from the Civil War - Issues of states rights, reconstruction, Jim Crow laws, etc.
- The awe inspiring individuals who carried the movement forward, risking everything!
- Nonvoilence
- The power of music - singing in the jails, freedom songs, etc
- One quote in the museum said that the "movement without music would have been like a bird without wings."
- The frighteningly prevalent terrorism and racism by white Americans.
- Parallels with South Africa:
- Birmigham's creation through steel, Johannesburg's creation through gold
- MLK's letter from a Birmingham Jail, Mandela's writings from Robben Island
- Not only voilence, but oppression through denying dignity
- A willingess to sacrifice, die if necessary, for the ideals for which people were fighting
- The power of youth!
I have pages in my notebook filled with people, legal battles, and moments I want to further research, but that's a start to my reflections on my experience at the National Civil Rights museum
In the afternoon, I had the chance to meet with a local educator and talk shop about race and education, comparing the systems and communities where we work and live and sharing about our experiences. We had a great visit, through once again I'm struck by how complicated these issues are. I was so thankful for her honesty and willingness to share with me her anecdotal experiences in the Memphis area schools.
At the end of the day, off we headed for Birmingham! I was struck by the rural areas we drove through - we could go miles and miles without seeing anything but trees! We also battled a crazy thunderstorm, had a humorously strange encounter at a Subway ($2 veggie subs!), and shared great conversations and reflections on our drive. Day one and my mind is already racing with what I've seen, learned, felt, and experienced!
Tomorrow I'll be exploring Birmingham! I'll keep you posted! :-)
~emily~
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