Social Stratification in the Deep South

Inspiring Talk by Ms. Heidi and the Shore Sisters

This is my first trip to the Deep South and I wasn’t sure what to expect. I really didn’t have any preconception of what Birmingham would look like and had only a vague notion of the major turmoil that took place here. It was helpful to see the film and hear students’ reports on Friday as it set up some context for me.

As I am sure is the case with many others, our meeting with Ms. Heidi, Judge Helen Shores Lees and Barbara Shore was the highlight of my day. It’s one thing to read about the bombings and racial divides in an abstract way. Hearing about it on a personal level from people who lived through it was powerful.

I haven’t had much experience hearing people admit to their prejudices in a public forum. If they’ve worked through it, I assumed they did so quietly, as it’s nothing to brag about. I admire Ms. Heidi’s willingness to lay it out there for us. It really helped me to understand the issues better.

Mrs. B’s served up another great southern eating experience (once I got past the fly strips hanging over the serving area). But don’t try the bean pie, it was nasty. DreamLand’s banana pudding more than made up for it though, it was some of the best I ever ate!

DreamLand BBQ

Ready to Roll

At 8 am this morning, everyone had loaded their luggage and was ready to start our 15 day adventure. This is my first experience in a WFU “classroom” outside of the library, so I’ve been very curious about how this will all work! Before we were off-campus, Marcus Ingram began the trip by reading a passage to set the stage for the trip.

Early on, class started as we rolled along the Interstate. Discussions were held about stratification theories. Students had already been given reading assignments and four of them gave oral reports on topics pertinent to our Birmingham destinations tomorrow. I was impressed with how easily they handled what I would see as a major stress on the first day. We also watched a documentary on The Children’s March….all of this before lunch!

I was more than ready for lunch, which we had when we almost reached Atlanta. We stopped at a local spot, Varsity, that boasted great hot dogs - they were…..

After lunch we all talked about whether we see ourselves as Southerners and discussed common assumptions and observations about the South. The last part of the bus ride was spent watching Fried Green Tomatoes, since we planned to dine in the restaurant that inspired the WhistleStop Cafe in the book/movie. It is the Irondale Cafe and was cafeteria style with all the vegetables I love. I went with carrot salad, black-eyed peas, stewed okra and tomatoes, fried green tomatoes (not the best I’ve ever had) and topped it all off with bread pudding. Good initial southern meal, I think.

First Night’s Dining Experience

The promised free wireless in our rooms at the Comfort Inn work for some folks, but not for most of us on the 2nd floor. This is a bit of an issue as the students have daily online assignments. But they promise that the breakfast room has good reception. I’ll see early tomorrow as I’m giving a technology refresher class after breakfast.

As we travel over the next few weeks, friends and family will be able to see where we are going or have been. This Google Map will pinpoint our progress:

South Trip Begins at WFU

Click on the map icons to see further information and/or images that we take along the way. You can use the navigation on the upper left corner to zoom in and out. You can click to move the map left/right/up/down.

This journal area will be used by students in the Summer 2007 Social Stratification in the Deep South. At the end of each day, students will enter daily reflections on their experiences and impressions.