On Sunday we went to 16^th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham for the 11am service. As we are a large group, it was difficult to blend in with the crowd; but there were other outsiders at the service, including an ambassador from Hungary and some Germans making a film. The service was exactly as I had expected it to be; full of energy and enthusiasm, filled with vibrant music, and very long. The two-hour service began with three women who led the song “Our God is an Awesome God,” followed by other songs and a sermon led by the most enthusiastic minister I have ever seen. He was yelling at the top of his lungs at some points, and I found myself a bit startled and overwhelmed by such a different service compared to what I am used to. I am thankful we were able to experience the typical Sunday worhship service for so many Christians in the South, although I am not sure if I felt so moved to become part of the church.
After the service we went to Montgomery, Alabama and I was shocked at how southern this place feels. It is much smaller and more abandoned than Birmingham, and the downtown area has some noteworthy characteristics. There are murals on some of the buildings that depict Christians who are fighting and presenting the holy cross; one wall also displays several bible verses. I was surprised to find this imagery in the middle of the city, let alone the capital of the state. There is also a monument in memory of the Confederate Army that stands directly to the side of the State Capital building. I could barely comprehend its geography and I wonder if its erection sparked controversy.

This morning we took a drive to the former location of “Tent City.” In the early 1960s, barely any blacks were registered to vote, and to gain access to such an important aspect of American citizenry thousands of people marched from Selma, 50 miles to Montgomery. While this movement worked on the third attempt (the first led to Bloody Sunday),  once these citizens were granted the right to vote, many were kicked off their land and left homeless. This is how Tent City was formed; all those homeless from the whites’ reaction to the new voting rights stayed in this area for two and a half years! This area was incredibly powerful; it was difficult to imagine walking for fifty miles, having no idea whether this move would spark any change, and then once gaining this simple privilege, being kicked out of your home. This area is still known as the “Black Belt,” whose 30% of the population is below the poverty line. The surrounding counties are among the very poorest in Alabama. Driving around this area made me feel very sad because I feel that change still needs to continue. Yes, certain rights that were not previously available have been granted, but when almost one-third of a population does not even hit the poverty line, there are still many issues to be addressed. I wonder what would be most helpful in an area like that, in order to give everyone opportunities equal to more fortunate American citizens for their future. I also wonder if people who grew up in this area ever move away.

Daily Journal/ 16^th Street Baptist Church:

Sixteenth Street Baptist Church of Birmingham, Alabama is a very historical church that I was able to attend. I truly enjoyed services this morning and I was used to the atmosphere of the church. I was raised and still attend a Black Baptist Church that is very similar to the 16^th Street Baptist Church. One of the most interesting aspects of the Church to me was the dynamics of the congregation. I expected a larger congregation but I think that the Church has probably been through a lot of changes within the past few years. The discussion that we had on the bus and in the smaller group in the restaurant was really insightful and interesting. I think the part of discussion that hit me the most was the points that people made about how the pastor addressed certain issues during the service. I find it interesting how the Black Baptist Church has such an important role in the community, with more than the religious aspect but also fighting against social injustices. The experience of going to such a historical church itself was really an amazing moment and I am glad we were able to attend their Sunday morning service.

Today, we drove to Montgomery, Alabama which is not very far from Birmingham. Going to the Wal Mart in Montgomery was interesting because it represented a central point in the city. I was also able to explore downtown Montgomery this evening with Kendra Stewart and Benny. We were able to see the point where the slave market was located in Montgomery, which is now very historical with markers and a beautiful fountain. The downtown Montgomery area seemed very abandoned and there was not a lot of commercial business. It was great seeing the historical, Dexter Baptist Church where Dr. King preached and has strong connections to the community. One of the more disturbing parts of the city’s historical and governmental areas was going to the state grounds and seeing the courtyard dedicated to the different Confederate flags. In the same area, there was the first White House for the Confederacy and a Civil Rights Memorial, with a beautiful monument based on a quote by Martin Luther King, Jr. Overall, I enjoyed walking through downtown Montgomery and seeing all of the important institutions and how they relate to one another. I enjoyed my experiences in Montgomery today and I am looking forward to spending more time in the capital city of Alabama.

The time we spent in the 16th Street Baptist Church on Sunday was a very powerful experience.  The inside of the church and the stained glass windows were absolutely beautiful, but I feel that I was distracted from the content of the worship service because of the historical aura (for lack of a better word) of the church.  The people who we met at the church were very friendly and seemed very open to our group’s presence in Birmingham.

(there will be more added to this later today, I’m just beyond ADD right now with trying to gather my thoughts)

Looking at the itinerary for today, Sunday, I was really excited to attend a church service at the legendary 16^th Street Baptist that we briefly got to visit yesterday. Coming into the day I had learned a lot about the history encircling the historic church and to finally having the opportunity to attend and actually listen to a sermon and interact maybe with those who were member of the civil rights movement had me eager to arrive at the church. Visiting this church service was more than just a different experience because it was a new place geographically but in the aspect of religion. I grew up in an African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church (AME Zion) in the south, but had never been a part of a congregation of a Baptist based church. I was very eager to see the differences between what is taught as well as the atmosphere of the church in itself.

Finally arriving at the church I was not surprised to hear the Gospel Choir singing very lively songs and the congregation being majority African American; this is something I am very accustomed to. One thing that was different was that the pastor did not wear a traditional robe, mainly traditionally worn in Methodist affiliated churches. The hospitality from the members of the church was nothing less than what I expected. I had a feeling that the members would be very accepting to our traveling group and even the Pastor made a point acknowledge that we were there to the congregation. As far as the sermon itself, I was very intrigued by what the Pastor had to say but more importantly, the delivery. I grew up in a church where a similar style of preaching was present, but being absent from service at my church recently made me forget a little about how it felt to be empowered by such strong speaker. The Gospel choir selections throughout the service were a very entertaining part of the morning. I love hearing traditional songs sung with a lot of passion such as the member displayed today in their performances.

After experiencing the 16^th Street Baptist church in person made me really understand how powerful and valuable that particular church was in the civil rights movements. Listening to the Pastor preach the word and seeing the response he received made it very evident that their church was a very important element of the community members’ lives. I feel that the church is still important to many that were in attendance, but I feel that back when issues such as civil rights we present the church, with a much larger following, the members felt an even closer connection to the church and made it easier to bond together to fight the greater evil outside the church walls.

Before going into downtown Birmingham today, I was very excited to be able to visit the 16^th 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 16^th 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.

In preparing for our trip to Montgomery we attended the 10:45am service at the historic 16th Street Baptist Church.

The audience, service, signing, the band and, of course, the Preacher were terrific.

Many in our group are not Baptist and when we talked about the service on the bus it became apparent this was the case.

Since sociology is about observation, the two hour service was incredible.

The sermon was about “not quitting.” It started very low key, the preacher talked about Paul, and ended talking about the sins of homosexuality, poverty, unhealthy marriages and not skipping church for Memorial Day BBQ.

Because of some very heavy eating for the last two days, we decided to pick up food and simply eat in. Ronnie stopped at Wal*Mart (which caused some concern for those who do not shop at Wal*Mart).

The evening at the Embassy Suites was LOUD (mostly our students).

Today (Memorial Day) we dive into some demographics of Birmingham and Montgomery. We will examine contemporary issues related to poverty, access to health care, schooling in todays society in these important cities.

This is where we part from the history perspective/discipline. The students will have assignments that they will then discuss & post to the WIKI. We want our students to engage history but move forward to what is happening today and then ask questions about “SOCIAL PROGRESS.”

We are off to visit the Selma to Montgomery Trail and afterwards we will have a BBQ, a reflection to remember the troops and get to work on the assignments.

ES

Today we attended services in the 16th Street Baptist Church - quite an experience to say the least.

I was raised Lutheran, Missouri Synod Lutheran to be exact, and turned Episcopalian only after I could no longer stand the social conservatism of my home church. Those white Protestant services are about as far from the black Baptist church as you can get. I got a taste of the black church experience when I lived in Detroit, however, and would attend the funerals of my Wayne State co-workers’ families. 16th Street Baptist did not disappoint: fabulous choir and jazz-band music, brow-mopping preacher, waving, swaying parishioners, and sinners coming down from the aisles to be saved.

What was most interesting was the “reflection” time in the bus following the church service. To some of the students, this kind of church was normal; to others it was other-worldly. I found my own reaction was closest to Ricky’s because as I watched the rapture on the faces of the choir members and the intense preaching of the pastor, I was reminded of what my friend from yesterday in the park said, “God is all the blacks ever had and all they will have. In the days of despair, they clung to his promises and in the days of deliverance they still look to him.” As Ricky pointed out, this kind of fatalism can lead to apathy or at least acceptance of one’s low condition and continues the cycle of poverty. Another saying came to mind as I sat in church, thoroughly enjoying the gospel music - that of Karl Marx calling religion the opium of the people. It keeps them occupied and keeps them down. And yet the joy on the faces in that church was real. Hmmmm…

My other experience of the day was when we drove 20 miles to a WalMart bypassing at least one Wynn-Dixie on the way, burning $3.25 a gallon gas at an alarming rate in our huge bus to get groceries for dinner. I didn’t know we were headed to a WalMart until we pulled into the parking lot.

Without thinking, I blurted out, “WalMart? I’ve never been in a WalMart in my life and I’m not about to start now!” So while everyone else went in to buy their groceries, I waited out in the bus. Later, Tania asked me what I had against WalMart and I told her the many reasons: how it is the worst example of capitalism in this country, keeping the obscenely high level of profits in the hands of the family while refusing to pay workers a living wage, how the company pays no health care benefits so the taxpayers of the state have to pick up those costs in Medicaid, how they keep women out of management levels, how their own research study showed the depressing effect on the local economy when WalMart moves in, how they arrange for outside contractors to hire illegal immigrants to clean their stores so they don’t even have to pay minimum wage for those services, and if that weren’t enough, I am from Detroit, home to K-Mart, where WalMart is to K-Mart what Toyota is to Ford and GM. They don’t pay a living wage or health care costs so it is impossible to compete with their low prices. That’s why I don’t shop at WalMart.

Our main event today was to attend Sunday services at the 16th Street Baptist Church. Since it was closed yesterday, today was the only opportunity we had to see the interior of this building. The services were quite different from anything I had experienced in the past. I was raised an Episcopalian, which had a very formal church environment. Today the music, singing, preaching and participation from the congregation kept all my senses hopping (for TWO hours). When no sermon had happened by the last third of the program (and nothing was listed on the program as a “sermon”), I mistakenly thought that maybe it was being skipped because of the holiday! Then the Rev. Arthur Price got up and launched into what I would classify a performance. It was very easy to get into the rhythm of his words and have their meaning take a back seat to how he was delivering them. However, there were things he said that jumped out. I don’t think I was the only one to be dismayed when he spoke against homosexuality. But I did agree with his take on the importance of integrity: what you do when nobody is looking. Afterwards, as we rode to Montgomery, Marcus led the daily reflections, which focused on everyone’s reactions to the church service. Some astute observations were made by all the students; it was a lively exchange of ideas. You’ll hear about these from many of the students, so I’ll leave that to them!

Here in Montgomery, we are at a lovely Embassy Suites for two nights. But it’s Memorial Day weekend. Many places are closed and there weren’t many dining options, so we all piled into the bus for a trip to the grocery store. Lynn’s post will describe that experience….

Today we traveled to downtown Birmingham. As I got off the bus, I went directly to the group of people at Kelly Ingram Park where there was some sort of rally being held. As I sat down to listen to the program, I engaged in conversation with an older man who had a lot to say about the government and the state of young blacks in Birmingham and around the country. One of the most interesting points the man made when we spoke was about how many of the whites who previously lived in Birmingham had moved into a neighboring county. He went on to talk about how a majority of those white people who moved to the neighboring county would commute to work in Birmingham in county official and public office positions. Aside from the obvious problems with this, there are inherent obstacles that arise from misplaced representation controlling what goes on in a particular region.

I feel like a lot of the problems with the flawed conditions of the Deep South lie in the fact that although things may seem better on the surface, the true problems of inequalities have been ignored and disregarded because now, whites have the option of moving away, no longer forced to coexist with blacks in the South. The rally appeared to have low attendance in general and of those people present, there may have been two or three whites total. I think that the obvious issues of white flight, in Birmingham especially, may only help to facilitate racist beliefs while allowing people to escape actual confrontation. There is no longer the same sense of struggle or urgency for change because the battle has developed into a much more subliminal one.

Looking back on the discussion we had with the Shores sisters and Peggy Heidi, I really appreciate their point of view and perspectives on the Deep South. I was impressed with the Honorable Judge’s comments. It seems that she has had a fiery spirit for most of her life. These sisters lived through attempted kidnappings, attempted murders, and general acts of terrorism all because of their father’s position in the community and his legislation to end segregation. The circumstances in Birmingham gave these sisters and their entire family so many reasons to carry hate in their hearts. Even though certain instances in their lives may have caused them to act out in anger, the sisters seemed to channel most of that negative energy into motivation to make their lives better and learn how to combat oppression. I think that speaking with them was very valuable in gaining a better understanding of the way things were during the movement.

Today, we got up extremely early for a technology session that was very

The first assignment by “The Distinguished Sergeant Hattery,” was for the class to visit the 16^th St. Baptist Church, The Civil Rights Museum, and Kelly Ingram Park by 12pm. The bad news is I only had time to explore the park thoroughly. However, the good news is that the park was booming with excitement. In fact, today several organizations, government officials, and citizens came together for a “Stop the Violence Peace Rally.” I believe that this rally was very important because of its primary purpose; as well as its indirect purpose to bring together individuals of various ages to interact in a historical setting to gain valuable knowledge. (BTW1: I met this girl in the park named Stephanie Keahey.) (BTW2: I stepped across the street to the Civil Rights Museum for a few minutes and met a Tulane student, Alessandra)

I was really moved to know that the grounds on which I stood paved the way for me to attend Wake Forest University; to have the opportunity achieve the “American Dream”; and to have hope that my children would also enjoy the same privilege. It was in this very park that countless children sacrificed themselves; as they fled out of the 16^th St. Baptist Church into the park to be met with ragging dogs and highly pressurized water; and hauled off to local jails and fairground animal cages. The tangible sites were moving beyond what any collaboration of words could attempt to describe. I can truly say I was truly changed. I have always harbored a deep desire to serve the community because of the obstacles that I have overcome; but today taught me that the obligation to give back to the community and to raise awareness about ongoing issues in society run deeper than any pain that I have ever personally experienced in life.

Up to this point, the food has been phenomenal. And, today’s lunch was no exception. We stopped in at “Mrs. B’s.” The soul food that this restaurant served up was “finger lickin’ good.”

After lunch, we had the distinct privilege of meeting with Peggy Heidi, Barbara Shores, and the Honorable Judge Helen Shores Lee in the Civil Rights Museum. They told us stories of their childhood living on Center Street Hill (Dynamite Hill); which was divided into two sections for Caucasians (West Side) and African Americans (East Side). The Shores’ father was the attorney for the NAACP; which afforded them the opportunity to have many historical figures into their home such as Supreme Court Justice Marshall. (BTW3: Judge Shores Lee rode Justice Marshall’s back as a kid)

It was both funny and disturbing to hear the stories about how Judge Shores Lee, at a very early age, fought against segregation. She told us how she once moved the whites only board so that her and her mom could have a seat. Also, how she drunk from a whites only fountain. Despite the fact that these stories were funny the disturbing part was that these ladies and the kids in Kelly Ingram Park sacrificed their lives to fight against segregation, yet, today young people aren’t willing to engage in safe demonstrations against injustices that still persist.

I was captivated by the comments that were made by the ladies in regard to the work that is left to be done, and how they believe that society currently lacks “real leaders” that are committed to change. Nevertheless, the comment that I loved the most was concerning the church. Judge Shores Lee said the church can make an impact; but what she see’s is a church that is more concerned with making profits; as opposed to making a difference. This was very important to me because I firmly believe that Americans need to stand back and critically examine the role that we think the church should fulfill, and what is actually being done. 

We ended the day by meeting Cameron Cole for dinner at DreamLand BBQ.

To be continued …………………