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.

This is my first post in a while as I have had a rough couple of days, emotionally speaking. At the church this morning, I thought again of something that has bothered me off and on throughout the trip and hit home most especially in Hancock County.

Primum non nocere means “First, do no harm.” Sociology involves the science of observing people and then analyzing how and why they behave the way they do. I am not a sociologist, but the techniques of observation and analysis are familiar to me from my doctoral work. What has bothered me is the risk we take in harming the people that we study through the very act of observation. I was uncomfortable at both the George Washington Carver homes and the Lower 9th Ward because it seemed we were close to the line, if not crossing it, of gawking at the residents of the neighborhood and causing them discomfort. A 45′ bus is not an easy thing to disguise and neither is a multicultural group of 23 people with cameras. A number of participants have already blogged guiltily about the hand-lettered sign on a falling-down house in the 9th ward reminding us that “1600 people died 4 u 2 take this picture.”

In Hancock County, students had the additional complication of carrying out a service project while at the same time being trained to observe social stratification issues around them. These blogs are wonderful tools for collaborative work but they are also a public display of research in progress. In the 72 hours we stayed in Hancock County, views of the community matured rapidly among many participants. Surface observations at the beginning of the trip often did not hold up to be valid. The consensus at the end was that this was a strong, closely knit community trying its best to recover from a storm of unnatural ferocity and restore the community to all its residents. We went to help, I only hope that we did no harm.

Though it has been a couple of days since we did our walking tour of the George Washington Carver Homes-a housing project in Selma, AL-for me this is one of the most important and profound parts of this class.

The GWC Homes was the staging area for the Selma-Montgomery Voting Rights March of 1965. There were several reasons for this. First, its physical proximity to the Edmund Pettis Bridge…it is only 6 blocks away. Second, there are three churches in the GWC Homes which were natural gathering places for marchers who were led by the preaching of Martin Luther King, Jr. (he preached in at least two of the churches rallying the marchers). And, third, the people living in the GWC Homes were precisely the people that the march was designed to liberate: the vulnerable: they were African American and poor.

Walking through the GWC Homes I saw children playing, I saw mothers hanging out laundry, and I saw young, African American men who should have been at school or work simply “hanging out”. Walking through the GWC Homes in 2007 reminds me of the writings of sociologists like Elijah Anderson, William J. Wilson, and Erik O. Wright. All three describe the outcomes of cordoning off a class of people, the underclass, into ghettos that leave them cut-off and isolated from the economic, political, and social life of society.

The sociologist William J. Wilson in his book on “Work” speaking to the issue of joblessness puts it this way:

For the first time in the twentieth century most adults in many inner-city ghetto neighborhoods are not working in a typical week. The disappearance of work had adversely affected not only individuals, families, and neighborhoods, but the social life of the city at large as well. Inner-city joblessness is a severe problem that is often overlooked or obscured when the focus is placed mainly on poverty and its consequences. (Wilson, 1996:xiii)

The terrible irony of the GWC Homes is that the people who live there now are the very people, or look like the very people, who the marchers intended to liberate: the GWC Homes is still a ghetto in which to cordon-off poor African American men, women, and children. The second irony is that they are named for a many who worked so hard to liberate this group: George Washington Carver: scientist, inventor, and leader of Tuskegee University.

Later that same day we traveled on the bus to the gulf coast of Mississippi, to Bay St. Louis-Waveland. The closer we got to the coast the more we could see the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina. Katrina came on shore at on the outskirts of Waveland. 80-90% of the housing in these communities was destroyed. Thousands and thousands of people were displaced and left homeless. Nearly two years later Bay St. Louis still has no grocery store. Most people still do not have mail delivery to their homes (if they have moved back in) or their FEMA trailers. I assume this is because mailboxes are technically federal property and the federal government has to re-establish mail service.

Though the communities are starting to rebuild, in many ways the area looks the same as it did in the days and weeks after the Hurricane hit. It is hard to imagine the devastation until you see it first hand.

As the people we met her talked with sheer joy about the day the Bay Bridge re-opened (it re-opened last week nearly 22 months after the Hurricane), I didn’t quite grasp the importance of this bridge. As I listened more and asked questions I learned that when the bridge was closed the city of Bay St. Louis was essentially cut off from the economic, political, and social life of society. Citizens of Bay St. Louis were cut off from the only hospital that had re-opened, from the only grocery store that had re-opened, from the only place their mail would be delivered. They were cut off from their jobs. And, though their cordoning-off was perhaps not as severe as it is for those living in the George Washington Carver Homes, they could get to a grocery store or a hospital, they were cut off symbolically and their lives were significantly impacted. What had been a 10 minute drive to work or the local hospital for an emergency became a 40 or 50 minute drive. Yes, they could get to the hospital, but that distance would make survival in an emergency (a heart attack or stroke) significantly less likely. Though they could drive to a grocery store they might have trouble getting there during the limited hours the store operated after the Hurricane (or the “storm” as they refer to it), making it more difficult to keep a refrigerator full of nutritious food.

This experience, while different, can be compared to that of the citizens of the GWC Homes who had Louis’s store, a 100 square foot building with no air conditioning, in the middle of the project, where they could by Vienna Sausages or Three Musketeer’s bar, but where they could not buy fresh fruits and vegetables or lean meats….the ingredients necessary for a healthy, nutritious diet.

Cordoning-off and isolation happen in many different ways and to many different people. These last two days have shown me that though different in scale, the experience of being cordoned off is devastating, no matter what the cause or the magnitude.

Hey Emma: Congrats on passing the Algebra EOC J

Hey Trav: Good luck as you prepare for your finals!

Love you both…mom

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!!

This morning we got off to an early start. We began with a visit to the Civil Rights Memorial that was coordinated by the Southern Law Poverty Center. We learned the story of Michael Donald; whose story inspired the development of the center.

The following is a direct quote from a plaque that appear at the internal entrance to tell the story of Michael Donald.

“A landmark lawsuit prompted by the Southern Poverty Law Center to build a memorial to commemorate those who died during the Civil Rights Movement.

Michael Donald was walking to a store in Mobile, Alabama, in 1981 when two Klansmen abducted him. They beat him, cut his throat and hung his body from a tree. He was only 19.

In a groundbreaking lawsuit, the Center proved that the United Klans of America was responsible for Donald’s death. This same organization committed some of the worst hate violence during the civil rights era, including the church bombing that killed four girls in Birmingham in 1963 and the slaying of Viola Liuzzo during the Selma-to-Montgomery voting rights march in 1965.

In 1987, an all-white jury awarded Donald’s mother $7 million. The historic verdict put the United Klans out of business and forced the group to turn over the headquarters to Beulah Mae Donald, the victim’s mother.”

Morris Dees, the chief trial counsel of the Center was inspired to build the Memorial after he realized how many young people enjoy the benefits of the Civil Rights Movement; but lack the historical background knowledge.

I am unable to articulate how much this trip to the Memorial turned out to mean to me. I’m forever changed! I did not realize the extent of the issues that the Southern Law Poverty Center addresses each day. It is truly amazing. In fact, so amazing ………… that I may consider doing an internship at the center.

After our visit to the center, we drove to the Edmund Pettis Bridge in Selma. This is the bridge that countless marchers crossed as they marched from Salem to Montgomery to demand the right to vote.

Before, I precede any further I should say that one of my worst fears is bridges… and this experience was difficult. Especially, considering the fact that, we ended up walking across the bridge. {BTW: Pictures of this experience may be out there}

Our final destination today is Hancock County. And, we will begin our sociological experiences here bright and early Wednesday morning.

To be continued …..

Southern Poverty Law Center: I was very impressed with the work they do at the Southern Poverty Law Center. Who knew? I didn’t even know there was a Civil Rights Memorial anywhere. The memorial is very well done, the work of Maya Lin, architect of the Vietnam Memorial.

This inscription is very special to me, as Dr. King included it in every one of his speeches and I have learned to listen for it. (Confession: while we were in church Sunday, I spent some time looking up the original verse in Amos 4:24)

If I had my life to live over again, I would go to law school instead of library school and work at a place such as this, with the ultimate goal of becoming a Supreme Court justice. Too late for me, but maybe not for my son Alexander who is a rising senior philosophy major at the University of Michigan.

Selma: very sad, very poor, seemingly unchanged. I was among those who were very uncomfortable walking the streets in the George Washington Carver district. I wasn’t afraid, but I felt embarrassed that our group was so intrusive in the lives of the people there. Dr. Hattery warned us not to look at them like we were at the zoo, but it was not possible to look like anything other than we were, rich American tourists with bling bling and cameras around our necks, gawking at the sites.

The long ride to Mississippi was over before we knew it and we faced the ironic contrast of the desolate hurricane-damaged landscape with the glitz of the newly rebuilt Hollywood Casino. A sociologist would perhaps have something to say about the fact that there is always money in America to rebuild casinos while the people of the town are still waiting for FEMA trailers and insurance settlements.

The surprise of the trip occurred after we checked into the hotel and I went with Ronnie, our driver, to scope out the location of the library and the places we would visit tomorrow. We drove along the Beach Road, looking like the surface of the moon almost two years after Katrina. In the course of the trip, Ronnie opened up to share his political views, predicting that history would be made in the next election when the first woman would be elected President of the United States. And further, he would help work for Hillary to make it so. Go Ronnie!

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!

This morning we went to the Civil Rights Memorial which is attached to the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery. We watched a movie on the purpose of the SPLC and walked around the museum. This is the only museum/memorial honoring the Civil Rights Movement in the entire country! I read over several stories about people who had been killed for deeds such as encouraging blacks to register to vote, but what stunned me was when I read about 5 individuals who have been killed in the last 10 years due to hate crimes. One man was killed after the September 11 attacks because he was wearing a turbin and “looked” like a terrorist. Another man was shot because of his sexual orientation. One young girl was killed because of her skin color and since she was MMR, she was an “easy target.” The SPLC addresses all of these issues and more; I had no idea how powerful it is. For example, the organization sued the United Klansmen of America a few years back and as a result, they had to give up their organization to the mother of a young African-American who was murdered. I would love to work for an organization so committed to social equity and the erasure of discrimination.

Afterwards, we drove an hour to Selma to see the bridge and the church where the famous walk began. The walk from Selma to Montgomery began at a church that MLK preached at, right beside the Carter Housing Projects. The area was obviously very poor and it was difficult for me to imagine living in that town today. Just at a glance, the town appeared to be exactly the same as it had been fifty years ago! We heard some stats on the bus, and proportionately this town has more crime and unemployment than even Montgomery and Birmingham, which are already way above the national average. This would make sense because crime seems to rise with poverty, and the town’s economy does not seem to be booming. The man at the SPLC said that these towns could make a lot of money in tourism if they made more memorials. I wonder if they are resisting that because of continuing racism or denial?

The last two days have my brain on overdrive. I have become in the last two days even more appreciative of the sacrifices people before me made so that I could attend an integrated public school system and have access to the higher educational institutions of my choice. I think about all of the things I take for granted in life, such as anytime I walk into a public restroom only checking to make sure I’ve got the sign designating the right gender, not concerning myself with a “Whites Only” marker. These things should not be considered as “taken for granted” since it is a basic human right but people before faced brutal consequences for much smaller than using the “wrong facility” that make me appreciate the peace of mind they have given me.

From walking around downtown Montgomery, I grappled with the juxtaposition of moving from a former Slave Market to Dexter Ave King Memorial Baptist Church up to the State House where on one side of the grounds sat a very large monument honoring the Confederate soldiers (and more so the Confederate cause, whether deemed historical or current) and then onto the Civil Rights Memorial Institute. Over and over, I kept asking myself how can the policy makers in the State House look at the window to see such a large Confederate Monument and truly implement and/or enforce policies and laws that had the best of ALL people in mind.

As I walked through the George Washington Carver Homes, thinking about the Confederate monument the lawmakers in Montgomery look out their window to see, I could still see Jim Crow hard at work. I do not want to make the assumption that the residents do not enjoy their life there, but I can’t help but feel their access to resources is limited. And then after hearing the low high school graduation rates and high poverty rates in Selma, it put into context what truly is happening today in this type of community. After walking across the Edmund Pettus Bridge which symbolizes so much of the fight for freedom and equal opportunity, I wonder if the people in the Housing Projects feel like they have the opportunity (though they live in such a historical community) to be doctors, lawyers, farmers or whatever else they may want to be?

And then to hear the low numbers of Black students attending the flagship University of Alabama, it paints such a sad picture after seeing the places where so many people’s blood was shed just for such freedoms. Institutionalized racism is alive and well and the problem is many of us (of all races) don’t even know it.