Downtown Birmingham
Before going into downtown Birmingham today, I was very excited to be able to visit the 16th Street Baptist Church and to meet those who experienced the mayhem that occurred on the streets during that time. Previously, I had learned about what happened at the Church but to finally be able to put a ‘face’ on the material made me very anxious to see the sites of downtown. Not only was I excited to visit the legendary church but to walk in the neighboring Kelly Ingram Park where police brutality and civil rights avocation had occurred in years past.
I was not surprised by too many things today, except for the fact that the 16th Street Baptist Church was closed for the day. I was really looking forward to going into the basement to see the memorial for the 4 girls killed and to feel how it would have been to be in the room that was the setting for such a vicious form of terrorism. Sitting outside of the church in Ingram Park, I began to reflect along with some of my classmates about how cruel it was to hurt such innocent children in the bombing and by police force used during the marches. I began to gain a sense of anger, not geared to a particular group of individuals but a general sense of frustration of why the world functions like it does and how humans can be so cruel in their intentions.
I really enjoyed talking to Mrs. Peggy Heidi, Judge Helen Shores Lee and Barbara Shores! Growing up I had always heard about experiences with segregation from my father, but to hear about personal accounts from those in one of the most historic cities in the south. I was taking by surprise when the Shores sisters talked about the bombings of their homes and the threats made towards their family. I knew that there had been threats made towards important officials of the Civil Rights movement but to hear the stories with my own ears was very interesting. I know of family and community members that encountered racism and segregation but never someone who had experienced racism based violence as this level.