Previously to today, May 31, 2007, I had always thought that I look at the world in a fair, understanding and though to had a great ability to make correct assumptions on subjects/experiences I encountered. Today, I found out in a very hard way that I the way I view certain things may be a little skewed and misinterpreted. After entering the devastated yet loving and strong community of Hancock County and interacting with its wonderful residents, I had a perception to how things were done and assumptions that challenged the correct idea/sense of community of those in the tightly-knit community surrounding the Bay St. Louis. This is hard to explain for me, and I’m sure that what I am saying might be tend to look a little confusing once transcribed into a typed word document, but I will attempt to explain my transformation of thinking within a 24 hour span.

After hearing an abbreviated account of what happened in Hancock County and listen to how the community responded in the face of such tragedy, I developed such a sense of respect and sympathy for those that endured such hardships. I asked myself questions, questioning intentions while challenging those who possessed privilege to explain why certain actions where taken and if those actions were only present because of that idea of privilege.

Following the hearing of personal accounts of what community citizens experienced my previous perceptions of the word community and those of privilege disappear. They more or less did not seem just. Coming into the interviews I expected that what I would hear would be very disturbing and shocking, but I had no idea that I would be moved in the way that I was. I remember catching myself from shedding a tear when hearing about the personal experiences of devastation. I noticed that the storm did not hold back from releasing wrath on certain individuals just because they possessed certain privileges, everyone was set back in ways I can only imagine.

Rebuilding a community with such history and tradition in the speediness and readiness in which the town is doing is so remarkable. Regardless of the differing socioeconomic status of those that inhabit the neighborhoods, hard work along with genuine kindness goes unparallel. I must admit I viewed the rebuilding stage in a very cruel and suspect way largely because of anger. Anger towards the situations Katrina put innocent people into, and seeing the various levels of struggle of those in different social classes.

I felt that I connected with the person in which I interviewed, not in the aspect of losing something of the magnitude they did, but in a sense that humans a sympathetic to those who struggle. I have never experienced anything resembling what happened with Katrina, but hearing of a story from someone that escaped the storm by taking refuge in areas surrounding my hometown. It made me connect with the person in a more personal way. I was knowledgeable of some of the hardships of those on the Gulf Coast but felt that I was detached from the situation because I did not think that affects of the storm were so widespread. After hearing such brutal stories, I have changed my outlook on how people use resources in the face of disaster. Even though they might possess those resources because of factors related socioeconomic status or society based privilege, how they used those resources to help others less fortunate is so remarkable and I thank them for doing so without thought.

Today was an awesome day that warrants a lot of reflection. We began our day early at the local ACORN chapter. This experience was priceless. During this meeting we were informed by ACORN of some of the problems that the residents of the lower 9^th ward are dealing with, and how ACORN is working with the citizens to deal with these problems.

I was reminded of a very valuable lesson today that I learned during my trip to the region two years ago. The lesson is that in order to see change you must move past your tears and pity for the people to analyzation and/or action. Your tears are useless if they aren’t coupled with analyzation and/or action.

Today as I listened to the ACORN representative tell stories of how the people of the lower 9^th ward were treated after Katrina, and the conditions that some are still living under two years after the storm, I was deeply saddened. We were told of people that are currently living in FEMA houses, gutted houses, and tents, as they struggle to rebuild their homes. The ACORN representative also told of how the amount of police brutality has increased since the storm. In fact, the New Mexico has refused to work with the New Orleans police because of how they have seen them treat the people.

We were told of other ways that insurance companies have not worked in the best interest of their clients; in lieu of failing to recognize liability. For example, instead of forwarding insurance checks to their clients they forwarded them to the mortgage companies. I am blown away to know that there are people still paying their mortgage; despite the fact that they have lost everything and are displaced. During our tour of the lower 9^th ward after the visit to the ACORN office, we met a lady who said that she knows someone who had been paying insurance for 40 years and all that she received from the insurance company was $1,000 to rebuild.

It is important to note some of the ways in which the most vulnerable people of the New Orleans population were put at risk before the storm. For example, we were told how the height of the levees was significantly higher in the more affluent wards/districts of the city. This is vital to consider because after Katrina the shorter levees in the lower 9^th ward could not even withstand the rain that accompanied Hurricane Rita; which resulted in additional damages.

ACORN officials and others around the globe believe that the privileged people of New Orleans wanted to purge the city of the low 9^th ward residents; which were predominantly African American. The ACORN representative gave various examples of tactics that were employed to attempt to accomplish this goal. But before I lay out some of those examples, I feel it is important to write about a brief conversation that Mayor Nagin had with a citizen.

According to the ACORN official, one of the wealthiest men in the city went to the Mayor and told him that something would have to change about the demographics of the city or he would have to leave the city. She further reported that Nagin responded by rejecting the proposition; but he put this man on his board that will set the vision for the city’s future.

There were many other ways in which residents in the lower 9^th ward were treated differently than other more affluent regions. For example, the ACORN official told us of people who were out walking, and how they were scooped up by authorities, their animals abandoned, and taken to other states and countries, without consenting. Resident’s of the lower 9^th ward were also prevented from returning to their homes as quickly as other areas. This is important because these people were unable to return to open windows and begin to minimize their overall loses; this allowed the damages to compound. We were also told about sit-in that ACORN officials organized to demand that officials let residents return to the lower 9^th ward.

Two other issues that ACORN is fighting alongside the residents are eminent domain and voting. According to ACORN officials are trying to take people’s property in order to transfer control of the ward from their residents to the government. This is an extremely important issue considering the fact that many people are uneducated about their rights in this complex process. Voting is another issue that ACORN is working diligently with in order to ensure that the citizens of the lower 9^th ward have a voice in the upcoming elections, despite their current location. ACORN also told us of how they pulled together resources to bus voters into the city to vote during the last election

I would be remised if I failed to discuss the effect of privilege after the storm and how artificial tensions work to oppress people. Many people have been quoted as saying that Katrina was the great equalizer that put every-one of the same level; at least temporarily. However, if you listen to ACORN describe what happened in New Orleans, it is clear that this was not the case. For example, privileged individuals were able to call and reroute trailers that were headed to underprivileged areas, simply because of their various forms of capital.

Many tensions have been created and perpetuated after Katrina. For example, you have people in Bay St. Louis and Pearlington, MS arguing that New Orleans, LA is receiving all of the attention; which has created a tension. Then you have an antagonistic relationship that has been created between the resident African Americans and the influx of immigrant workers that have come to the area to assist with rebuilding projects. And, the thing to consider is that when you have these tensions at the micro level it shields those that are in power from being subjected to a high level of strict scrutiny and allows exploitation to persist. One of the goals of sociologist is to expose structural problems by revealing how tension and writing problems off as isolated or individual problems allows exploitation to continue.

Once, we got back to the hotel from our excursion, I immediately sought out some food. I ended up having some Louisiana Catfish and Jambalaya. Afterwards, I took a quick nap and now I’m up doing some reading.

I’m looking forward to tomorrow. We will be joining Bishop Paul Morton for services. Below you will find some important questions that I have been grappling with today.

Some Questions to Ponder:

1. Was Katrina the great equalizer?
2. The waters that crushed structures in New Orleans came very rapidly. In fact, the lower 9th ward had 6 foot of water in 15 minutes. So, the question that the lady at ACORN encouraged students to think about is, what would you do with your 15 minutes? What decisions would you make? Where would you go?
3. Several thousand people have not returned to New Orleans. The devastation and health hazards are still vast; despite the fact that it has been more than two years. Many of these areas were not in good condition before the storm; especially in the lower 9^th ward, which is one of the most impoverished areas in the nation. So, one question that I’m grappling with is whether or not I would return, to make a “chocolate city.”
4. Does this desired “chocolate city,” by some say something about a super structure that seeks to keep Whites superior to Blacks, considering the social elements that are at play within a chocolate city?
5. Was the city looking out for the best interest of the citizens by not allowing them to return?
6. In regards to real estate; the location of one’s property plays a vital role in determining the property value. So, I’m forced to ask the question of whether a house that cost $150,000 to build in both an impoverished community and a privileged community; should become less valued in the impoverished community simply based on the location?
7. Has New Orleans gotten too much attention or simply not enough?
8. Who is benefiting by what happened as a result of Hurricane Katrina?

To be Continued ……………..

The photo below, from the lower 9th ward is profound. I encourage you to think about this. BTW: The death count is probably higher.

We got to New Orleans yesterday afternoon after our drive from Bay St. Louis. I’ve never been to New Orleans so I didn’t know what to expect, especially after seeing the destruction of the hurricane in Bay St. Louis. I may be completely ignorant, but I didn’t know that most of the damage in New Orleans came from the levies breaking as opposed the hurricane itself. Anyway today was sort of a weird day for me. We explored some of the city last night and by that I mean we went to Bourbon St. We had a great time. Certainly a different experience from the incredible bar scene of Winston-Salem, NC. Today I started to feel really guilty though. There are many aspects of this trip that are disparate in nature and I’m not sure how to react to it. I mean here we are hanging out having a blast on Bourbon St. and then today we go to the Lower 9^th ward which was obliterated by the massive rush of water from the levies breaking. I don’t know how to take that in. My mom made the point that in order to rebuild the economy of New Orleans people need to visit here and go out, because that will bring money to the city. I just don’t know how much of that money is going places it NEEDS to go. I don’t know what to think. I really don’t.

This post is going to cover the span of a few days. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and reflecting, and I think I have a better idea of how I feel about the experience in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi now. I know it may have been a good idea to express some emotions as I went along, but they were too raw and I hadn’t really processed anything well enough to articulate them. So here we go…

We arrived in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi on Tuesday, after traveling from Montgomery/Selma, Alabama (which I still need to reflect on a bit and get a journal written about that!). It was a fairly long trip, but nothing compared to the first day. Towards the end of the drive we watched a video from a news story produced by CNN about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in Bay St. Louis. It was narrated by a CNN correspondent who is actually from Bay St. Louis and the first time she was seeing the destruction from the hurricane was on camera. As we were watching the video it showed the wreckage of the houses caused by the insanely high winds and the water which rose to levels of 30 to 40 feet. Then I looked out the window and realized that everything I was seeing on the video screen was right outside. Very little has changed in the last 2 years and it seems that not a lot is being done to rebuild the city. I don’t mean that nothing is being done in the sense that people aren’t working towards it, but it is hard to see the progress. Most of that has to do with the fact that people are still dealing with insurance companies and trying to get settlements that compensate for a reasonable amount of the damage (although it seems that isn’t usually the case). With all that said, I was shocked. This may sound completely ignorant, but I expected a lot more progress to have been made in a nearly 2 year time frame. A person I encountered while in Bay St. Louis made the comment that people have forgotten about the Mississippi Gulf Coast and have the ability to ignore the damage that was done by the hurricane. I was one of those people. I just figured, ok its been 2 years they have to be rebuilding and people lives are basically back to normal. I guess there were many components that I had not taken into account and my perception of time and the ability to rebuild were very skewed.

Just as a little side note before I get into some pretty heavy things, we stayed at a hotel with a casino while in Bay St. Louis. I can see how people get addicted to gambling. I did win quite a bit of money overall though.

So onto some things with a bit more substance… The morning after we arrived, we went to Hancock County Library to begin our service learning there. The first day we were introduced to the people we would be working with. We were given a bus tour of Bay St. Louis and Waveland. It was really hard to see the destruction of the storm, especially because earlier in the day we heard some stories and saw pictures. It was a very different experience to see the houses, or lack thereof, and trailers on properties where homes used to be. I think the thing that stood out to me the most was the story we heard from the retired director of the Hancock County libraries. Afterwards I felt a little bit resentful towards her, because its hard to hear someone talk about losing boats when you know other people lost everything. My opinion was completely changed the a couple days later when I had the chance to interview her. I realize it must have been hard to know what part of her story to tell when she was talking to the entire group. I can’t imagine reliving it over and over. I’m not sure I’m going to be able to explain myself very well with what I want to say. I guess I’ll preface myself by saying first impressions are not always what they seem. You have to dig deeper to find out more about a person. If you’re not willing to dig deeper then you may completely misjudge someone or not understand their perspective.

We spent all day Thursday doing oral histories of library employees and doing research of historical landmarks in the area that were destroyed by the hurricane. The two interviews I help conduct that day were interesting, but not emotionally moving in the way I expected. I was actually a little disappointed when I didn’t get something jucier. I know that sounds weird, but thinking about it later I hope the people won’t regret that they didn’t take advantage of the experience. The final day at the library a group of us were given the opportunity to interview the retired director. It was a completely opposite experience from the first day we listened to her speak to us. It was a more intimate setting, so she must’ve felt more comfortable to be open. I sat there as she spoke to us and I kept thinking to myself I wish everyone else could be here to listen to this. I know that wasn’t an option. I walked out of the interview incredibly drained, because I had judged her so wrongly before. She has been through so many things that I couldn’t even comprehend dealing with. Yeah she had significant advantage over other people in the community because of the connections she has to local government agencies, but she made a great point. No one in the community would be able to progress if people who have privilege don’t take advantage of it. (I may have completely butchered her words, but it was something along those lines). It is necessary for some people to progress so they can help others. I really don’t even know how to explain how I felt after listening to her story. I felt a little guilty, but at the same time I’m so glad I was able to talk to her. She is a really amazing lady. I’m not sure what else to say about that right now.

Yesterday, when we heard about the storm from the librarians, I had a difficult time conceptualizing the situation for all of Bay St. Louis. We heard very valuable stories from these kind people, but when we drove around to tour the city, the properties were huge and right on the coast; I figured that either the town is predominantly wealthy or we had not seen the whole picture. I became slightly concerned for those “invicible voices,” whose stories I could not hear, and I wondered what was going on beyond the library and beach front properties. Luckily, today, the entire class was able to better understand Bay St. Louis and the larger community.

It all started with my first interviewee, who at the end of his interview began to talk about the town. His story and his feelings regarding this town made me realize that there were many layers to the area that had been missed the day before. I began to see that this library represents the entire Bay St. Louis community, and that although not all its members were able to stay in the area, those still around need a form of reliability in their lives. The second person who I interviewed added to this experience, as she talked about living as a middle class citizen her entire life and repeatedly remarked about how thankful she is that her family survived the storm. For her, as for most survivors, the destruction of her home was nothing compared to her gratitude for the health of her family. I heard many people today say that their pictures were the hardest material possession to let go of, losing catalysts for memories into the past. I also learned that many of those in low-income housing have not been able to return to the area because many housing projects will not be rebuilt. I heard many people say that Hurricane Katrina was an equalizer: the storm left everyone in the same situation with the same problems to confront. This was an interesting comment to hear from so many different people, and I agree that it was initially an equalizer, but it seems that that moment has changed and now the towns devastated by the hurricane are more heavily populated by those with more money. This can also be confirmed with the situation in New Orleans, a subject I will address later.

On the bus we talked about priviledge and how there are many aspects of one’s life that contribute or detract from priviledge. Among those are race, class, sexual orientation, religion, sex/gender, etc. We talked about how sometimes those with high priviledge feel guilty when so many people do not have priviledge, but that it is important for those who are able to speak up for others who can’t. After spending so much time at the library in Bay St. Louis, I feel like it has done just that. As Dr. Hattery said, those with priviledge can’t give it to others, they can only help others out; the Bay St. Louis library served and continues to serve it’s community in more ways than books. We went to a film festival tonight and many people showed up; clearly, the community supports the library and depends on it too.

Bay St. Louis is a fascinating town with a rich history, and I am sad to hear that a selective group of people can no longer enjoy what it has to offer. If the projects are not going to be rebuilt, then I do not believe these people will be able to move back. It is interesting how certain events, such as natural disasters, reveal the stratification in society. I am glad to hear that many members of Hancock County with priviledge are doing what they can to help others.

Today was another long day of activities and traveling, but it was definitely a memorable one. In the morning I found out that I would be one of the four people conducting our last interview and oral history, so we did that while the rest of the class got breakfast. I am so glad that I was lucky enough to partake in this interview, as it was incredible and one of the highlights of the trip thus far. I got to hear the story of someone whose home was completely destroyed during the hurricane, and how she and the community persevered. It was both touching and difficult to hear this story, which similar to some others, was told differently. This interview really put everything in perspective for me, and I was greatly affected by it. I’m not even entirely sure what it was, but something about this interview was very powerful to me.

After the oral history we met up with the rest of the class and went to the Laundromat where I washed some clothes. Once again this showed me how good I really have it, and made me appreciate not having to pay every time I do my laundry. It was also interesting to note that I was doing laundry beside other members of the community who were affected by Katrina. When we were all finished with out laundry we got back on the bus and drove over to New Orleans. The ride was short (about an hour), and we had some good class time and discussion during it. We checked into our hotel near the French quarter, and had some free time to go out and explore. I think almost everybody headed out to Bourbon Street, where we were able to take in the sights and experience sensation behind Mardi Gras. All of the girls ate dinner at a Cajun restaurant on Bourbon Street, and I am very proud to say that I tried the blackened catfish. I’m not really much of a fish fan, but figured I had to try it since it is one of the specialties down here, and I am very glad I did because it was delicious. Hopefully we can continue to take in the culture in New Orleans, and learn more about the affects of Katrina on the city tomorrow.

In many ways my favorite part of every visit to New Orleans (NOLA) is the early morning walk through the French Quarter. This walk always offers an opportunity to observe the activities of the night before. This morning we saw a police officer negotiating a small fender bender. The “offender” was pulling hundred dollar bills out of his wallet attempting to pay off the man whose car he had bumped. There were the usual folks stumbling drunk down the street trying to figure out where their hotels were. And, more than one man trying desperately to get money out of an ATM while his “escort” from the evening waited for her payment. We saw one young man who had simply passed out in a door way. Meanwhile all around the street cleaners and shop and bar owners power wash the street after a busy night…I’m sure they are hoping for another night just like last. [Note: the last time we were in New Orleans we watched a woman wrapped entirely in cellophane being arrested.]

After the traditional breakfast of grits and eggs at Mothers (a New Orleans staple for the locals and tourists alike) we were walking back to meet the bus when we saw the flashing lights that signal an emergency. As we approached we saw in the intersection a car that was “totaled.” Off to the side was a truck that was upside down, the rescue workers had broken out the back window in order to extract the driver. A group of distraught women, the passengers of the car, sat in their maids’ uniforms giving details to the police officers. It’s a wonder they walked away from the accident. Though I guess being in New Orleans one realizes that anything is possible.

As we approached the hotel, we noticed two Indian women wringing their hands as they stood next to the car they had just attempted to parallel park in front of the Subway restaurant where they work. Even my newly licensed 16 year-old son Travis could have done a better job! So, in his usual fashion, Dr. Smith told the woman that he would park her car for her. She gave him the keys (he considered driving away J) and proceeded to park her car. He had indeed completed his good deed for the day.

All of this before 9 AM. We are off to ACORN and a tour of the devastation in New Orleans. More later.

Today was our big day of service at the Hancock County library. There were two parts to the day; the first part for my group was doing some organization for scrap booking. The library has had so many things to do since Katrina, and is therefore a little bit behind in maintaining things like scrapbooks which essentially record its history. Our task was to sort out a huge amount of newspaper articles about the library that have been saved over the years. At first it seemed like a daunting task, but once we got our system of organization into place, it went relatively quickly. It was continually expressed that this work was necessary, and while it did not seem like a huge thing, it was really helpful to the library because it helped them catch up on something that preserved their history. After spending three hours sorting through articles, we were given historical postcards of Bay St. Louis, and did some research on the buildings featured in them. I looked through a history book about Hancock County, and wrote up a little blurb about the construction of the First Baptist Church. It was really neat to look through this book and see some of the history of this community.

After our morning activities, my group and I conducted two interviews for oral histories. Both of our interviews were in front of the camera, and were really meant as a way to preserve the memories and hurricane experiences of the library staff. Both of our interviews lasted about 45 minutes long, and were completely different. One person experienced Katrina, and the other moved to Bay St. Louis after the storm, so they offered very different perspectives. It is difficult to articulate how grateful I am to have had the opportunity to hear these stories in-depth. I know that I will never truly know what it was like to go through everything this community has gone through, but I now have a greater understanding of what it was like. I do not really want to go into detail about the interviews here, but I just want to say that it was truly eye-opening and moving beyond belief.

It has been a very draining day in many ways, but I think this is what this trip is all about. I am really excited to head back to the library tomorrow morning to finish up our work and say goodbye, and then head on to our next destination.

             Today was one of the most powerful days that we’ve had throughout this trip so far. We had so many great moments that really showed the power of allowing people to tell their stories.  I went into the experience of giving an interview not really knowing what to expect. This was truly a gift to be able to share in the experience of growth and allow people whose lives were completely turned upside down by Hurricane Katrina to tell their stories.

I am glad that I was in a group with my peers to interview three people with three different stories. Each person really had a way of connecting me to a part of their lives that they probably don’t get to talk about a lot. I think that one of the most powerful feelings expressed through one of the interviews today was the point that one woman believed that God had allowed her to get through the storm. I think that her strong beliefs in Christianity and her courage really made me feel as if I could persevere if my community were to be hit by a hurricane. People like her give me the strength to be strong and keep a positive attitude towards such a devastating event. During the interviews, there were moments of silence that would build up and that aspect of the interview was really powerful and captivating. I do not think that I would be able to relive the days leading up to the hurricane, the day of the hurricane and the days immediately following the hurricane the way that our interviewees did today. In all three of the interviews we conducted today family seemed to be a major part of recovery. If it weren’t for family, the people of this community would probably have not held on as long as many of them have. Two women today said that they were survivors, and that made me think of the wonder of strength and capabilities to persevere.

Also, today I was able to assist with preserving older documents from the library’s record. Things like newspaper articles are really important because many of the articles went back to the 1930’s and went up to the 1990’s.

Today being Memorial Day, nearly everything in Montgomery was closed. This gave the city a really interesting feel, especially considering it’s the capital. But I guess that’s why the effect was so strong. We’re staying close to downtown, so all the federal buildings down there were closed and not too many people were around.

This morning we went to the Interpretive Center on the Selma-Montgomery Trail. We watched a really great film on the Selma-Montgomery March. I find that a lot of films of this nature lose my attention, but this one didn’t. As could be expected, I was again appalled at what I learned. My roommates and I had to do some research on the event last night, so it wasn’t all new information, but we got to see film of the original event, which gave it a new perspective. On the first attempt of the march, often called Bloody Sunday, the marchers were only able to get six blocks, to the Edmund Pettis Bridge. When the crossed over the bridge, they were attacked with tear gas and billy clubs. The images of this were heartbreaking. I can’t imagine what it must have been like to go through that. It’s so hard to see all these images and to think that people legitimately thought it was acceptable to treat others in that manner. There is simply no justification or excuse for these actions.

After we finished the movie, we were walking through the rest of the mini museum. While we were doing so, this man came in and started talking to us. He was a resident of the area who was just driving past and saw the bus, so he came in to talk to whoever was touring. He walked around with us for a bit, and when we got to an enlarged picture of five men from the day of the march, he told us about how he was one of them, the one on the end. Susan took a picture of him next to the life-size picture of him from so many years ago. It was so nice of him to come and talk to us. There was no reason for him to come in, yet he did.

The land where this memorial site is constructed is the place were displaced sharecroppers lived. When the civil rights movement started, white landowners kicked the African Americans who worked for them (and lived off their land) out, giving them nowhere to live. This area between Selma and Montgomery was one of a few “tent towns” that were constructed. Families lived in tents, some for a few years, in all sorts of weather. It made me think back to the night I spent camping in the snow over Easter Break. We spent one night in it and all thought we were dying. It was easily one of the most intense experiences of many of our lives. None of us slept a wink. Now place that as a common occurrence during the winter months. I don’t think it probably snows really frequently in Alabama, but it certainly gets much colder than would be comfortable. The sacrifices these people made are astounding. Moreover, the fact that it was a necessary step angers me. I just wish everyone could really believe and accept that all men were created equal…and start treating people that way. It is 2007, after all.

When we got back to Montgomery, we had a very interesting reflection time. Marcus had us read this article that had statements pointing out instances of white privilege. There were a lot of really obvious ones, such as “I can if I wish arrange to be in the company of people of my race most of the time.” On the other hand, there were tons that I had never really thought about, or at least not thought about at length. Some examples are: “I do not have to educate my children to be aware of systematic racism for their own daily physical protection…I can do well in a challenging situation without being called a credit to my race…I can choose blemish color or bandages in “flesh” color and have them more or less match my skin.” These were all things I’d honestly never considered. The idea of training your children to deal with racism makes me so sad. I can’t believe we have to raise children in a society where that must be done. And there’s little being done to change that fact. During our discussion, Marcus had only the African Americans talk, so as to let them comfortably voice their personal experiences. I was upset to hear every one of them tell multiple stories of daily racist encounters. It really is true, what Dr. Hattery had us discuss last semester…those in privilege never have to think about their privileges. Those who are underprivileged constantly have to consider it. While I think this will always be the case for most people, I am so glad that I came on this trip because it is opening my eyes to so many things that I’d never once considered, leaving me more aware of how the smallest things that I, or other people, do can have terrible emotional effects on others.

After this, we walked down to the downtown area. We walked down Commerce street to the area where the old slave trade auction block was located. Now an elaborate fountain stands in its place. We all thought it was quite interesting that the name of the street where the trading block used to sit was Commerce…and really rather appalling. After this we walked to Martin Luther King, Jr.’s old church. It’s so exciting to walk past so many areas with such rich history. After that we continued to the capitol building. This building was the original white house and capital of the confederacy, before it moved to Richmond. There are monuments of all sort of historic Alabamians around the building. In addition there is an atrocious confederate monument that seemed almost as tall as the building. It had sayings on there about the “knightliest of the knightly race” and “the great fight” and talked about the white in the confederate flag as being symbolic for purity. It was all I could do not to throw up. It was the most disgusting display of southern backwardness and intolerance that I have ever seen. It was all I could do not to cry at the sight of it, for I knew how much it hurt the people I was with and how much it would continue to hurt others who saw it later. Once again I was unable to understand how someone could think that it is okay to construct such a thing, no less something of the size that is was and next to the capitol building. Clearly Alabama has progressed by leaps and bounds since the end of the Civil War…and the Civil Rights Movement. Or maybe not…