Today is our last and final day in Montgomery and we went to the bridge that the black people tried to cross to get there voting rights and they were attacked by the police. The tradition name for that day is “Bloody Sunday.” We crossed that bridge and went into the town of Selma Alabama and it is a predominately black town.

Most of the people that were involved in the march that was from Carver housing and we went there today to find that they had historical things that Martin Luther King spoke on and the churches that he spoke at all on the same street. The people of Selma are low income

Today opened my eyes to a lot of things that I take for granted or the things that I am just naive to. What I did not know was that a lot of people lost their life to grant me the voting privilege. From here on I vow to myself to vote and not just to vote for the justice of myself but because of the people that sacrificed their life to give me that privilege to vote. I was down most of the day but I still seemed to mingle with my peers.

Today we went to Selma, Alabama and walked the “Edmund Pettis Bridge.” I really was not able to take in the entire experience because I was to worried about not looking at the water that flowed below me, but at the same time it was a very powerful walk. After reaching the end I learned about the many problems present in Selma, Alabama from Dr. Hattery. We then walked through the George Washington Carver housing projects, where the march began. This was a great experience, because we had seen footage of every place that we had visited in previous days.

After walking the street we loaded the bus grabbed some lunch to go and headed to Mississippi. We watched Spike Lee’s “4 Little Girls,” which is a historical documentary film about the 1963 16^th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham. Although I’ve never heard of the film it was well done. It was interesting to get a different perspective because the documentary went more into the thoughts of the actual family members of the victims.

The fountain memorial outside the Southern Poverty Law Center in downtown Montgomery was really interesting. We were all kind of just drawn to it and to play with the water and once we got to it were able to read the important dates including all of the demonstrations we have learned about on the trip so far. Reading all the plaques on the wall inside the center commemorating 40 various people who died during the struggle emphasized how many people were innocently killed who were not even protesting. There were stories of high school kids getting shot on their way home from school or to basketball practice and even a young man shot and killed who was only dancing at a club The wall includes white and black people that were murdered and in the next room of the center there is an interactive wall of peace for people to sign and pledge tolerance. It was exciting to see all of our names being added and scrolled down the wall along with others such as Morris Dees. We were also shown the locations of several hate groups that exist today in each state of the US such as neo Nazis and neo confederates. After hearing about court cases and law suites to finally dissemble the United Klansmen of America and then seeing how many other groups that continue to exist reiterates the goal of this course-to learn the history and the progression but also be mindful of what still needs to be done in this country to ensure equality.

Stopping in Selma to walk the Edmund Pettis Bridge was fun because we got to walk in a group exactly where the march had taken place just in the opposite direction. The bridge is rounded so much that when you are walking you cannot see the other end until you get to the middle which is when the marchers caught sight of the massive amounts of police officers blocking the exit. As a couple people in our group were scared to walk the bridge from fear of heights we can only imagine what it must have been like to be walking in the heat and so motivated to march for voting rights only to be suddenly stopped without a safe getaway. After our short bridge stop in Selma we got some food and headed to Bay St. Louis on a long bus ride that was entirely dedicated to class time, Spike Lee’s movie about the 16^th Street Baptist church bombing, and a CNN coverage on the affects of Katrina in our destination town but no nap time!

Today we went to the Southern Poverty Law Center. It was my favorite thing we’ve done so far on the trip. I have loved learning about all the Civil Rights history, and this event combined learning more stuff with more of a way to combat current problems…or at least a knowledge of the current issues and an awareness that someone is doing something about it. We talked at length about the hate groups that are currently in existence. The SPL Center’s map of Active U.S. Hate Groups allows you to click on your state and see the hate groups in each city. It also has descriptions of all of them. It’s really informative and interesting.

I was shocked to see that Florida has the third highest number of groups. This is incredibly alarming to me. I thought for sure that there would be more groups from the deep south. It just really gave me a stomach ache to think that a place that I love so much can hold within it so much hatred.

After the presentation, a few of us stood around and talked to the man who gave the presentation. It was really cool to hear him talk about all the things that the law center does. I’ve really been feeling lately that I want to work in the non-profit sector. I just love the idea of making helping others my life’s work. And this place seems like an ideal place to do so. It combines my love for politics and my passion for social justice in a way that directly impacts the lives of those who desperately need the assistance. He said that they hire interns every summer, which would be such an amazing opportunity.

After this, we drove to Selma to walk across the Edmund Pettis Bridge. It was powerful beyond what words could describe to stand at the top and know that the marchers stood there with no clue what waited them on the other side. Because of the way that the bridge arches, you cannot see the bottom from the top. I don’t think that, even in their worst nightmares they imagined that they would be met with billy clubs and tear gas. I certainly would not have thought that. As I talked about yesterday, the atrocities of the event are shocking to me. I will never be able to comprehend what went through the minds of the white police officers, government officials, and intolerant citizens during all these years.

Today was a very long day filled with a few different activities. We woke up bright and early this morning to check out of our hotel and walk to the Southern Poverty Law Center where we had an appointment at 9:00am. We actually went into the Civil Rights Memorial Center, which is across the street from the Southern Poverty Law Center, but associated with it. This gave yet another perspective on the civil rights movement, and gave more faces and names to those who were killed for fighting for their beliefs and freedom. While we have heard many stories from this movement, they never cease to amaze me and sadden me. My favorite part of the exhibit was the Wall of Tolerance. This wall records the names of people who have made a commitment to work in their daily lives for justice, equality and human rights. The wall is digital, and we were all able to put our names on the wall. It was really neat to see my name and the names of my classmates up there along with the names of many others who have dedicated their lives to this cause.

After the museum we got back on the bus and left Montgomery. We stopped in Selma, Alabama to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge and to walk through the George Washington Carver Projects. The bridge that we walked across was the bridge that the marchers crossed during their walk to Montgomery, but it was also the bridge that they were violently attacked on by police on March 7^th, 1965, also known as Bloody Sunday. It was incredible to trace these people’s steps as they began their journey, and it was also interesting to be on the bridge and realize that the marchers could have had no idea what brutality was awaiting them on the other side because you cannot see down to where the police were waiting for them. The George Washington Carter Housing Project was very interesting for a number of reasons. First of all, I had never been very close to any projects, and it was eye-opening to see the way the housing these people lived in. There was one little store within the projects that was completely different from anything I was expecting. Aside from the tiny size of the store, I was shocked to walk in and see that the person working the store and all the merchandise were behind bars. I had never seen a store with that type of security, and was very surprised at it. The other thing we saw that was probably the reason for the visit to the housing project was the Baptist church where the marchers congregated before beginning their journey to Montgomery. This church is located in the middle of the project, and has a famous monument to Martin Luther King Jr. with the words “I had a dream.” It was very strange to see this famous saying put in the past tense.

Following our visit to Selma, we drove to Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. The drive was kind of long, but not as bad as I thought it would be. We are staying in a casino/hotel for the next three nights, so I am anticipating a fun time. Of course, the main reason for our visit to this area is to work with the Hancock county library and to help these people record their Hurricane Katrina stories. We will meet with them tomorrow, which should be very different from all the other things we have done so far on this trip. Ok, off to the casino for me!!

Today was a busy one. After spending the holiday in a Montgomery ghost town, this morning we all trekked up to the Southern Poverty Law Center. We started out spending some time in the Civil Rights Memorial Center, reading individual stories about those who had lost their lives in relation to the Civil Rights Movement. It was sobering to see the names of over 120 people who had died as a result of hate, both directed and random. Our guide, Andrew, spent an hour with us talking about the work of the SPLC. I was not familiar with this organization prior to this trip, then assumed that they had a narrow focus on racial civil rights issues. However, they are active in several areas. Andrew told us about a current project to address the problems with immigrants who suffer abuse through the guest worker program. He told us of workers who are promised good wages only to find that to make the wage they have to plant 2000 trees per day! Of course, that doesn’t happen. They get deeper into debt that they will never be able to repay, ending up modern-day slaves. He also showed us the Hate Map that the SPLC maintains. It was disturbing to see a group based in Clemmons (not to mention 3 in good old Winston-Salem.

After saying goodby to Montgomery (after returning briefly to our hotel for a pillow retrieval mission by David, and a bank run by Antonio), we headed to Selma to walk the Edmund Pettus Bridge and visit the George Washington Carver Homes. These were both important sites/landmarks in the March. The bridge walk was great, but I admit I felt vaguely uncomfortable walking down the street in the GWC Home area. I felt like I stood out like a sore thumb. It’s not that I felt unsafe, just uneasy. It also was sobering to visit the interior of the only neighborhood store. The clerk and the goods were located behind metal screening.

A librarian aside: Lynn and I noticed athletic shoes hanging over telephone wires in a few spots. When we pondered what the reason was, our students told us it indicates that drugs are sold there. Not doubting their explanation, but seeking more details, I Googled it this evening and found this interesting article on it from Snopes titled The Secret Language of Sneakers.

After a lovely Taco Bell lunch on the bus, we headed down into Mississippi to Bay St. Louis, where we are rooming at the Hollywood Casino. There’s fairly good Internet connectivity, tons of slot machines, no exercise room. But the good news is that Lynn and I found out we are eligible for tomorrow’s half price Senior Buffet. That’s good stuff!