Social Stratification in the Deep South

Day 10 & 11: Cleveland, Mississippi

On the bus, we watched the Darryl Hunt video, which I have seen before but never fails to shake me every time. This case is probably one of the most horrific, modern examples of what racism can cause. Darryl had his entire life trashed, yet committed no wrongdoing whatsoever.

We also took our tour of the most rural cities we have been into on our trip. I definitely learned a lot about how important the Blues are to Mississippi in particular and how it still remains a major form of music in this area. Also, we went to Greenwood, where I fell in love with their Alluvian Hotel and the Viking Cooking Center. I definitely would like to return and spend a weekend there. It was amazing to learn how when Viking began, it revolutionized the entire city, particularly the downtown, and began more of the tourist, upper end part of the city. It was quite a weird feeling to go from the simplistic Hoover’s Grocery to the immaculate hotel and spa; it seemed as we couldn’t possibly be in the same vicinity of the country.

At night, we went to Po Monkey’s jook joint, by far one of my favorite experiences of the trip. It was amazing to experience how lively such a small place could be. I definitely found out I have a love for blues music. Po Monkey himself was astounding in all of his suit changes, and was extremely welcoming to all who came. It was a good time getting to go out and bond with the entire group. We definitely have all gotten extremely close on the trip, which is one thing I value the most and will take away from this experience.

Day 12: Parchman Penitentiary

I have been somewhat nervous though excited about this day. I made sure to not put on any makeup or do my hair because I wanted to appear as least feminine to the convicts we were about to see as possible. In reality, we were in very contained areas so this didn’t really matter. It was a good thing for me that the convicts we spoke with were not domestic abusers or rapists because due to my personal passions with these issues, I would have had an extremely hard time being in the same room with them, let alone listening to anything they had to say. I had no idea that much of our tour would actually be led by convicts, not to say that it was scary at all, I just was surprised at the levels of freedom they would give those who were close to leaving and had not committed violent crimes. It definitely made much more of an impact that we were able to talk candidly to convicts as to how their life was before and in prison. It is scary to see how normal some of these people’s lives were before they wound up getting involved with drugs to make extra money, and where they are now. It is so said to hear the people say all they want in life is to be altogether with their family for once, and be able to watch their children grow up. They will never get their children’s early years back, something that shapes both the prisones and their children’s lives forever.

There were quite a number of things that stunned me about Parchman that I feel are pretty characteristic of prisons in general. One was the obvious amount of corruption in numerous phases of the prison system, such as the lack of emotional wellness programs to get convicts recovered and in a state of consciousness that they can be readmitted into society and know how to be socially proper. Prison officials when asked note that the corruption exists, yet seemed to delay it off as the responsibility of another department to handle. In the end, the problem is too big that it simply is not handled for the most part. Also, the small metal animal cages that were considered the exercise area seem quite a joke to me. All you can really do in one of them is walk around in a four by four foot square. No person can stay fit and healthy on that minimal amount of exercise. Also, the horrible food and lack of any help for convicts during brawls within areas is appalling and inhumane in my mind. Above all, I am infuriated to meet with the convicts we did who are serving forty years, and even some who are serving life sentences for drug charges. Not to minimize the problem of the existence of drugs in society, but I don’t think anyone can argue that drugs are worse than child molesters, murders, and rapists in society. I was looking at a chart when we first walked in that showed how many years was typical for each offense. For rape, the charge was only five years. This is startling and irritating to say the least particularly being a woman, but also that there is just no comparison between drugs and rape. Rape tears apart the victim’s life, not just temporarily, but in most cases, for the rest of their life, yet we only give perpetrators five years in prison? Seriously what are we thinking?

Day 13: Clarksdale, Mississippi

I got up early this morning to finish working on my paper. I was mad again as I tried to walk to get breakfast at a place in our hotel on the other side of the casino that I got yelled at just trying to get something to eat. Like the last casino, I can’t even walk through the casino to go to the bathroom or the restaurant.

We took a short drive to the quaint little downtown of Clarksdale. It was so nice to have some free time to just look around and shop. We went in a bunch of stores, and I got a few souvenirs for some of my friends and family. We talked with a few people in the stores about how long they had lived in Clarksdale, what the rest of the town was like, and they told us a little about the hotel we are staying in for the night. The downtown was very quiet and the outside of stores and buildings appeared rundown, but inside all of the stores were very upscale. All of the stores were really neat, and their pride in blues music was evident in many of the stores. A few of us got to play with one of the store’s mascots which was a cute little pug dog. Next, we had an amazing lunch at Ground Zero Blues Club, and got to sign their wall. Now we are on the way to the much anticipated Shack Up Inn where we are staying tonight. I am very excited to see how authentic this place really is.

Shack Up Inn is awesome!! I absolutely love it! It is the coolest place I have ever stayed. I love cute little old timey places like this. It’s been nice to unwind and be able to walk from house to house to see everyone. I’m definitely glad we decided to trust that the place we were staying would be ok because it was worth it, without a doubt, in my mind.

Day 7: Bay St. Louis

Wow, what a day this was!  We got up really early to go back to the library and setup for our long awaited oral histories.  After some of our reflection time on all the information we had heard in regards to Hurricane Katrina from the day before, and all the horrific images we had seen, I was excited to get to actually hear in depth stories from people who had lived through it.  At the same time, I feel like I went into the day somewhat skeptical, and with somewhat mixed emotions.  It’s hard to go out and see the massacred homes with no remains left but the stairs or the mailbox, and then imagine approaching a way to help through simply talking to people rather than getting out and building homes or something involving more physical work.  Also, all the talk about the money spent to refurbish statues in the library, as well as seeing some people who are relatively speaking, doing well as compared to some who are still in FEMA trailers or without even that, was a complex model to piece together.  I can say after doing the interviews, I can totally understand why that was the task that we were chosen to do, as it forced us to step a little out of our comfort zone to do interviews, but in a way that helped us to grow and learn, all while providing the victims with almost a form of therapy and rejuvenation.

Without getting in to any specifics about my particular oral histories, I can say overall that it was touching to see how we as the interviewers gradually gained the respect of the interviewee, and how as this occurred, their willingness to open up and not fear that they will be judged or rejected.  It really renewed my sense of how important it is just to be a good listener, and show you care about other people, even if you can’t provide them with money or a physical way to make it better, just listening goes a long way.

Though stratification is far from absent in the different levels of recovery from the hurricane, it is an institution in society that simply exists, and there isn’t any way I see to make that change.  At the same time, it is true that we do need people to recover at different times and in different manners in order for more people to be available to help others and resources to be available.  The more affluent people as a general rule did same to fare better in some circumstances, be it access to help, a trailer, medical attention, etc.  Yet, this is just kind of the way it is, and we can’t expect everyone to wait for the very last person to get back on their feet and try to move together all at the same time because it is just not reasonable.  It is not fair to wish the worst on people of higher socioeconomic status in order for them to experience what some of the most underprivileged go through, we must try to identify with everyone and remember how much more horrible this is than any of us can really begin to comprehend.  The oral histories really opened my eyes a lot more to how resilient these people are who returned, how much lending a helping hand makes a difference, and helped to put the city of Bay St. Louis in perspective for me.

We later had the opportunity to watch a Finnish movie with English sub titles called “Mother of Mine.”  It was by far one of my favorite movies I’ve ever seen; it even brought me to tears.  I definitely want to try and find this movie to buy.  This was a neat cultural activity to get a glimpse of some of the library activities, and the people in the area.

Day 8 & 9: New Orleans

We traveled to New Orleans today after a trip to the Laundromat, and conducting the last oral history at the library.  We had a good discussion on the bus about what the individual oral histories meant to us, and how we felt about our time at the library.  I feel like it was a general consensus that people got much more out of it than they expected to when they went in.  This was definitely a major eye opening experience for me.

After checking in, we walked around and went shopping and got dinner.  I can’t say we had the most pleasant dinner ever, but we definitely got to experience the culture of New Orleans.  A walk down Bourbon Street, lined with tons of restaurants, bars, clubs, and souvenior stores, is unlike anything I have ever experienced, and definitely gives new meaning to why they call it “The Big Easy.”  I have never seen anything like some of the hair styles, clothing, and PDA that I witnessed while visiting this street.  Quite a culture shock from the seemingly a little more conservative and smaller town atmosphere of Bay St. Louis.  We also learned to be very careful due to the rising levels of crime in the city, particularly after the hurricane, so we made sure to travel in groups, and hide all personal belongings.

The next day we visited the organization called ACORN, and heard a very different account of the hurricane.  It was much more of a geographical and more city overview, and less personal hard times such as we experienced in Bay St. Louis, so the combination really rounded out our experience learning about the hurricane.  Despite all the news reports, I really had failed to realize that the levies were what really had caused all the damage to New Orleans.  Between Bay St. Louis and New Orleans, it was two very different sites due to the water vs. wind damage, as well as the types of houses and attention that the places had received.  Though we heard much more information regarding New Orleans, the help didn’t seem to have filtered down to them as Bay St. Louis received, but also there may have just been such an extreme number of houses destroyed in New Orleans that it was just taking that much longer.  It’s hard to decipher exactly why some areas have recovered faster, and how their ability to access resources and receive outside help may have modified their recovery.

For lunch, a few of us went to an amazing restaurant called mothers with the best po’ boy sandwiches I’ve ever had.  It was definitely a favorite spot in the city, and seemed to be a good representation of where the locals go to eat.

Today was one of the longest seeming days yet.  I expected that our time in the library would be a lot more information about the library in general, but was pleasantly surprised that much of our time was spent discussing Hurricane Katrina at large, as well as on a personal level.  The people at the library and from different organizations throughout the city couldn’t have been more welcoming to us in their wanting to come and speak to us, and to provide us with all sorts of tokens to show their appreciation for our time we were giving to them.  I was surprised with how much information I really didn’t know about Hurricane Katrina, and the massive amounts of devestation it caused to people significantly far from the actual coast.  I’ve had a hard time imagining what such a place like Bay St. Louis looks like at the current time, hearing conflicting reports that the cities were up and running as normal in some places, yet still seeing pictures of nothing but rubble and house foundations where ornate neighborhoods used to stand.

The irony I felt when you could drive down a street and have a perfect pristine mansion surrounded on either side by fallen trees, metal scraps, and remaining items from houses that used to exist was kind of overpowering for me.  How do you cope in a situation like this?  When is it proper to move on and try to get yourself and your life and property back to normal without seeming to be ridiculous to the people who are still having to live in FEMA trailers and tents more than two years later?  I really am struck with how to deal with this.  It is of utmost importance at times like this to unite and help others as a means of survival physically and mentally.  Yet, when is it proper to draw the line with the time and money commitment to others, and start repairing your life to the level that you used to consider normal?  All of this has to do with what level people are starting from, and reflects the continued focus we have had on how social stratification manifests itself in many different situations.  This town, like every place we have seen so far, as well as most places in America, is not exempt from the role that socioeconomics plays in life in general, and how citizens are able to cope and recover in a situation such as this.

I am excited for tomorrow to get to interview individuals who actually lived through this, yet hope I can be strong enough to deal with whatever impossible stories these people will have to tell.  I feel much more comfortable going into this with other people so we can all work together to do a well rounded interview for ourselves and for the individuals we will be talking with.

Over the past few days, we have had limited access to internet in the hotel we stayed in so I am now covering our last day in Birmingham, as well as our time in Montgomery and Selma.

Before we left Birmingham on Sunday, we had the privilege of attending a church service at the 16^th Street Baptist Church where the four children were killed while attending a youth event by members of white supremacist organizations. I thoroughly enjoyed my time at this service, probably more so than others on the trip, partially because I had never been to a service like this, and also because it kind of spoke to me in a way that I’ve never really felt from a church service. The loudness, vivaciousness, and contemporary nature of the opening songs and others throughout was done in such a way that I literally felt the music, something I can’t say is true of any song at my Methodist church, or any other more traditional service I have been to. Though these are two very different styles, and neither one is more right or wrong, I can honestly say there was much more spirit, depth, and a much more powerful message in this service than I have ever derived from the more traditional services. I don’t know that the style is something I would necessarily feel comfortable in all the time, or that I could make this church my home, but it definitely was a rejuvenating and enlightening experience of faith. I was impressed with how much time everyone in this church put in to the service, and how they truly seemed to not only pay attention, but appeared to have connected with God in the service based on their responses and loud praise during song. At times, I was struck by the more fire and brimstone approach, trying to figure out whether I liked it better or not than what was used to. I feel there truly are positives and negatives to both my type of church and the 16^th Street Baptist Church, but neither one is more proper or correct in how they conduct themselves. I feel I developed a much bigger respect for this style of church and worship from my experience today, and was able to draw many parallels between the church I have been brought up in and this. I would be interested to go to this style church in another area to see how the messages and feelings differ. I feel that the more verbal style of worshipping of this African American church and longer length of their service than usual shows the central importance of religion in their lifestyle and culture. I am impressed with the amount of effort that seems to be put into each individual service at this particular church.

By the next morning we had checked in to our hotel in Montgomery. I went for a run around the abandoned downtown area where all the government buildings were. I marveled at the fountain in the town center, only to learn that it was the old slave trade market. I also ran up the steps of the capital building, and was stunned when I watched the movie on the bus, showing those same steps filled with the people who had made the march from Selma to Montgomery to protest African Americans being denied the right to vote. On a later trip to the capital building with the group, I was shown a monument I had failed to notice in my earlier trip: a monument to the confederacy and its leaders. I am appalled that this monument was allowed to have been constructed at all, much less next to the capital building, and containing all the flags of the confederacy and with very white supremacist quotes adorning the walls. This was a powerful message to me, showing that this is just one way in which racism continues to exist even today. More refreshing was the fountain monument to Martin Luther King Jr. in front of the Southern Poverty Law Center. It was such a place of peace with the slow flowing water, which seems to symbolize to me the nonviolence and slow progressing civil rights movement, but that the people kept fighting, despite obstacles, just like the water never ceased to move.

During the day, we went to the Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail center, where we toured and had a cookout. It was nice to have a little time to explore and process all that we have been taking in over the past few days. The displays in the Center, as well as the very provocative memory they showed struck me very firmly. Each day of the trip has seemed to loosen me up a little bit, and hit into me a little harder as the information begins to accumulate and conceptualize itself. Though I first learned about the differences in ethnicities and the civil rights movement when I was young, I don’t think the depth of it has really come full circle to me until this trip. Each day serves as a stepping stone for me in my understanding and identifying with the discrimination that African Americans have faced ever since they came to America, and continue to face even today.

On Tuesday morning, after checking out of the hotel and loading the bus for Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, we walked to the Southern Poverty Law Center. This by far has been the most touching part of the trip so far for me. I can’t tell you exactly why, though the movie, discussion, and stories all depicted brutal stories and thoughts, but something about today just hit me. Seeing the faces of these poor victims, both African American and white, who died at the hands of organizations such as the KKK and the Night Riders, and the sheer number of people we know about, let alone the ones we don’t, just overtook me. Sitting in the movie and seeing the number of white power organizations still in power, combined with the horrific story of Michael Donald’s lynching, were enough to just kind of push me over the edge, though in a good way. Maybe another reason this day impacted me so much was because of my passion for justice, and continued interest in the law profession. Over the past few years, I have gone back and forth as to what career I want to pursue; after today, I think my choice to go to law school has been cemented. I could totally see myself doing the type of law that Morris Dees of the Southern Poverty Law Center does. I have struggled with how to combine my want to genuinely help people who are in the most dire need of help with my passion for justice and other skills in that area. I bought a book on how Dees came to be what he is today, and hope it will continue to lead me down a path towards what I want to be in the future. I’ve always heard that you can tell which lawyers are in their field because of passion, and which are there for money, and the ones who do it because they are truly driven to help, stand out among the crowd. This is what I would like to become.

The experience of walking across the same bridge that the people who marched from Selma to Montgomery did was one of great importance. This in particular really put us in the mindset of what it was like to walk right down into the police officers with their clubs and dogs, and how intense the walk they made must have been even beyond any concept we could ever have of it. Following, going to the George Washington Carver Projects was a little bit of a different experience for me. I couldn’t help feeling like we were being somewhat invasive into the homes of people, and felt like I wanted to hide my camera to avoid being rude. I began to feel somewhat uncomfortable and unwelcome in the neighborhood due to some of the looks and yells we got from some of the residents. It still was definitely important to see to give us an idea of where the march actually began, and how little the area seems to have changed since the march took place many years ago.

Today was a powerful day for me. Everything so far has been even better than I expected. It was disappointing that the 16^th Street Baptist Church wasn’t open, but the park and museum were more than enough to do in the time we had. We watched a movie in the museum, and looked at very interactive and intriguing models of different aspects of the civil rights movement, such as KKK members, segregation in schools, buses, and other public places, and timelines depicting significant protests. I wish we had had more time, as this is one of the most fascinating historical sites I have ever been to. We went into the museum with a family reunion group that was entirely African American, and I couldn’t help noticing a few looks we got as we went in, possibly due to the fact that our group was composed of both African Americans and Caucasians, or maybe just simply thinking Caucasians were out of place in a memorial such as we were in.

It was surreal to be in the actual place where children were so ruthlessly brutalized by dogs, high powered water guns, and other weapons during their nonviolent protests. I was completely speechless as to how to react, and felt extremely close to the incidents that happened just by walking through the park. The statues were powerful representations evicting fear and restlessness in everyone that was walking in a group with me. I was glad to have seen the movie before to fully understand the significance of where we were, and what effect the March had on the future of African Americans and our country as a whole.

I can’t say enough about how captivating and powerful what Peggy Heidi, Barbara Shores and Helen Shores Lee had to say was. I have never been exposed to such examples of racism as close as just hearing it from an African American in a way we did today. Even if I were to read their exact testimonies in a text book or watch it in a movie, it couldn’t possibly have the impact that hearing them talk and seeing their faces had on me today. I don’t think anyone can say they have never prejudiced someone else, or discriminated against or stereotyped another individual on the basis of race at sometime in their life, even if they just thought it in their head. I am not exempt from this at all myself either. I can honestly say after the events of today, particularly hearing these courageous women speak, that I have spent a lot of time, and will continue to think further, about any ways in which I could possibly be a perpetrator of negative stereotyping towards others myself, and how I can go about changing that in my thoughts and actions. I have never had any other event or message reach me in the way that today has.

This emotionally exhilarating day was followed by literally one of the best dinners of my life. We ate at a place called Farmland BBQ, serving ribs that are definitely famous for a reason. I have never had any that begin to compare. Combined with potato salad and banana pudding, this meal was to die for.

Now, I’m just relaxing with some of the new friends I have met, thinking how amazing and life changing this experience is after just two days.

Here are links to all three books that Mrs. Heidi told us about earlier on Amazon.com if anyone is interested in looking at/purchasing them.

Carry Me Home
By: Diane McWhorter

Long Time Coming
By: Sandra Brown

Angela Davis: An Autobiography
By: Angela Davis

If you go to Participants and then Lauren Kulp, they are hyperlinked to the actual address I’m just having trouble getting the actual links in here.

Sorry guys, I’m learning!

I didn’t know what to expect when I boarded the bus what seems like was days ago. Everyone immediately began talking and getting to know each other, which made me feel much more at home and comfortable in a setting I was first unsure in due to not knowing anyone going on the trip. I was surprised to find a number of students on the trip who were from the Winston-Salem area, something I feel is rare due to the very few students from my high school and other surrounding schools who typically choose to come to Wake. It was easy to find commonalities among everyone I talked to, and I was excited with how open and friendly all the students and staff were with each other.

I actually had a really good time on the bus ride, and didn’t even seem to notice that we were stuck in the Atlanta area for a good two hours due to traffic. I enjoyed the class time we had as it was done in a way in which we intertwined the articles, our own opinions and perspectives, and also continued to learn more about where each person was from and the environment they grew up in. This informal class format is a nice change of pace from some of the more rigid structures I had the past semester. One reason I feel this course is so valuable is the ability for students, teachers, and faculty to relate outside of the classroom and actually get to know each other, something there is not always time for in a class during the regular school year. It helps for all of us to see that we are all human and can enjoy many of the same activities despite our differences in age, race, sex, etc. I feel this class will really help to open everyone to get more of a perspective of possible prejudices and injustices others face that they may never have thought of, and what implications that may have on each other’s lives and interactions.

I was pleasantly surprised that all of our food choices, even ones that were quick while on the road to another destinaton, like the Varsity, all were chosen to represent the community we were in, rather than going to a national chain. One thing I have always thoroughly enjoyed when traveling is experiencing the food that the locals eat; it has always been my method of choice to kind of discover another’s culture. So I very much enjoyed going to Fried Green Tomatoes, a movie I have loved for many years, and the Varsity as well.

In reflection tonight, it is clear that many of us are anxious as to racism and prejudice we might encounter as we progress on the trip. I am very interested to see how this may or may not manifest itself in our group dynamic. One reason I wanted to go on this trip is to try to gain a better perspective, because I will never be able to first hand feel, what discrimination towards African Americans will ever really feel like. But I truly want to comprehend this and get a grip on it as much as possible. I feel it is important for everyone to try to put themselves in someone of another class, race, or sex’s place in order to try to empathize with the challenges they face. This is one of the best ways we can end the segregation, discrimination, and exploitation present in society today. I think this group already has meshed together very well, and I look forward to the experiences we will share that undoubtedly will bring us all very close together.