This morning we went to Sunday services at 16^th Street Baptist.  I’ve never been to an African American Baptist Church before, so I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect.  Given the history of the church and it’s involvement in the Civil Rights Movement, I expected to find a traditional Baptist Church with a large choir and a stereotypical Baptist preacher.  I certainly got the stereotypical preacher part right, however the choir and music was much more contemporary than I expected.  At the beginning of the service I really enjoyed just sitting back and watching the church goers worship.  Similar to the experiences I’ve had in South American and Caribbean churches, the people worshiped with a refreshing purity of faith.  The love for God that these people exhibit reminds me of the way that I should practice my own faith.  They have unfailing devotion and seem to be able to pour their whole selves into their Savior to let Him be the guiding light of their lives.  They had no regard for those sitting around them and what they might think of them for how they worshiped.  They considered only that God deserved the very best of their worship, the loudest of their praise.  This spirit was exemplified by one of the songs we sang.  One of the lines talked about dancing like David danced.  Another talked about singing like David sang.  Just watching them actually do this filled my heart with so much joy.

The sermon the pastor gave was very interesting.  He was the spitting image of the fire and brimstone Baptist preachers in movies and tv shows.  I love to experience all different types of worship and preaching, so I’m glad that this was the case.  It was most definitely an entirely different experience than I’ve had at Hyde Park UMC in Tampa or Athens First UMC or Centenary UMC in Winston.  The sermon was about not losing heart.  He talked at length about the ministry, speaking some powerful truth about our role.  He said that we should have intensity of spirit for the ministry because of the mercy of God.  He continued onward about how sometimes God gives us great blessings but he also gives us pain so that we remember our humble insufficiency.  This will force us to be dependent on Him and in relationship with Him.  Additionally, this will allow Him to form us into the people He would have us be.

While I did take many great things from his sermon, in the middle there was a section that was alarming to me.  Seemingly out of nowhere, the preacher gave his personal views on homosexuality and “shacking up.”  The comment had little to no connection to the sermon and caught me totally off guard.  It was incredibly concerning to me that he would be so vocal about this in the middle of a sermon.  As I have expressed to many of you probably reading this, it breaks my heart to hear pastors speak so openly and judgmentally about their views on this…especially when they are not going to talk about the Biblical basis for these views.  The preacher mentioned that there was Biblical background for these views, yet did give it.  He simply stated how he felt and dove back into his sermon.  Every time I encounter a situation like this, I am concerned for the future of the Church.  Yes, every person is entitled to their own views.  Yes, the Bible does speak about homosexuality.  My concern is the huge concentration that is placed on this issue, given the amount of time it is focused on in the Bible.  The Bible mentions homosexuality very few times, yet it speaks on love and acceptance at length.  Unfortunately, many Christians and churches seem to have forgotten this.  The idea of Christianity is to love and accept everyone, so that they many see the love of Jesus through your love.  If they feel judged from the moment they walk in the door, that does not facilitate an inviting environment.  I recall my preacher at Hyde Park often saying, “I’m in sales, not in management.”  By this he meant that it was his job to get people to believe in God, i.e. sales, and let God be concerned about the management of sins.  I do concede that legally the Church is entitled to hold whatever views it chooses.  This is not my level of concern.  My concern comes from the perspective of a Christian who desires for everyone she knows to experience the love and fulfillment she found in her Savior.

After church, we had a lively discussion on the bus.  Many people echoed views similar to those I expressed above.  The one differing opinion was the one Jamie presented, which was something I had not thought about before.  She said that the Black Church holds a special responsibility in the Black community to do its part to protect its members against things like HIV and AIDS.  We didn’t talk about it at length, but it definitely gave me something to think about.

This afternoon, we drove to Montgomery.  To all of the student’s delight, we had the afternoon and evening to spend how we chose.  We just hung out and went to the pool, which was an appreciated break.

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.

Today we spent the day visiting some historic civil rights places in Birmingham. Going into the day, I didn’t really have any great expectations. I thought that it would be a lot of stuff that would be interesting to see and learn about, but I didn’t really expect to be emotionally impacted by what I saw and learned.

We went to the part of Birmingham where the dividing line for the white and black parts of town was located. In this part of downtown, there are many churches and there is a park in the middle. 16^th Street Baptist Church is on one side of the park and various white churches are on the other side. The park in the middle was the place where many civil rights rallies, sit-ins and battles were fought. One of the most important of these events was the Children’s March that I talked a bit about yesterday. Standing in the park today, I was overwhelmed with feelings of guilt. All I could see are these poor, unassuming African American children who just wanted the same rights and privileges as their white counterparts. As a result, police blasted them with fire hoses and let dogs loose to attack them. Over and over I saw images of these children in my head, rolling down the street as a result of the force of the water and running in fear from the dogs that chased after them. It makes me embarrassed to be white and to be from the south.

After lunch, we got to talk with Judge Shores Lee and her sister, both of whom grew up on dynamite hill in Birmingham during the height of the civil rights movement. It was so fascinating to hear them talk about it all, especially because they experienced it all first hand. Judge Shores told us a story about how, when she was young, a park opened up near her house called Kiddie Land. She often drove past with her family, and once expressed to her father that she “just wished she could be white so I could do the same things as the other kids.” Her father responded to her, “you don’t wish you were white, you just wish you could go.” This was so powerful to me. At this point, and later that night in discussion groups, I had to stop and think about what why this affected me so much. It jarred me to think about not bring able to do something based on the color of my skin. It also upset me to think that a child would wish they were a different race than they are, in order to receive the same rights as any other person.

It reminded me of a time this fall in Dr. Hattery’s class when she asked us to think about being privileged. We had a discussion about having to think about our race, gender and sexual orientation. As it did during our class, it left me unsure of how to process the information given. We talked about how those in a situation of privilege don’t have to think about that fact. In fact, they don’t even really have to think about that component of their lives. Men don’t wake up in the morning and think about having to deal with being a man that day. Whites don’t have to wake up in the morning and think about having to deal with being white that day. On the flip side, women have to get up and think about the discrimination and other things they’re going to have to deal with due to their gender that day. African Americans have to get up and think about the injustice that will perpetrated against them because of their skin color. While, as a woman, I’ve gotten a small taste of what this would be like, I haven’t really experienced severe oppression because of it. I mean, I have to worry about things like having to work harder to prove myself and not wanting to walk places at night alone, however I don’t have to worry about being profiled every time I walk into a store. Listening to the emotions others in the class have expressed about the reality of their situations has saddened me and really kind of angered me about the kind of world in which we live. There is no reason for the stories that the boys tell to be the norm. Unfortunately, they are.

The knowledge of the liberties I have has reminded me of how lucky I am. But this hardly seems fair. I have done nothing to deserve that privilege. It was given to me by the luck of the draw, which makes our current world situation all the more ridiculous. We have no control over the color of skin our parents have, and thus, the color of skin we have. Yet we make all sorts of judgments and assumptions about someone on the basis of this attribute. Regardless, I know that I am fortunate in many ways. I could just sit back and be content and fulfilled by that fact…but if you know me even a little bit, you know that I won’t. These past two days have, if nothing else, reminded me of the importance of one of my favorite sayings: “with great privilege comes great responsibility.” I don’t know exactly what this will mean for my life yet. Somewhere I have a sneaking suspicion that this entire experience is going to lead to a desire to act and a calling for a lifetime of work to change.

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.

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

We spent two incredible days in Birmingham. For me, as always, one of the highlights of the visit was seeing friends…”old” friends like Cameron Cole, WFU ‘02 and “new” friends like Mrs. Heidi, Judge Shores Lee and Barbara Lee. That they took time out of their Memorial Day weekend to spend with us was so generous…and their messages so profound. THANK YOU!

Attending services at 16th St. Baptist was amazing, controversial, and generated much discussion. Glad we were able to join in their worship.

Internet access is limited in Montgomery so I’ll close with a hi to Trav & Em, mom & dad…will try to call today. love Angie

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….