Today we traveled through Selma, Alabama and half-way to Montgomery to an interpretive center. The center highlighted certain aspects of the march from Selma to Montgomery. I was under the impression that we were going to have a picnic since it was Memorial Day weekend and nothing was really open. This was not a bad idea to me because I thought of it as a “break” from the emotion that I had felt the previous days. Things did not quite go as I expected, because the interpretive center was full of information and the film we watched was by far the best that we had seen.

On a happier note I met some of the workers from the center, and learned from them that the childhood home of Ben Wallace, an NBA All-Star, was located 100 feet from where I was standing. This was very thrilling considering that he is one of my favorite NBA players. We then grilled hamburgers and hotdogs, ate watermelon, and carried on conversation with each other to end the perfect Memorial Day.

After arriving back to the hotel we walked as a class through historic downtown Montgomery. We saw the Slave trade market, and I learned an interesting fact about them. I was very unaware of how the market was organized or how slaves were chosen. My guess before reading more about this was that it was similar to the movie “Gladiator,” where the gladiators were caged and inspected by potential buyers. Those thought to be more helpful with labor were the more expensive slaves.

We walked to the state capital and I noticed that at the very front there was a large statue of Jefferson Davis, and a monument dedicated to the history of the Confederacy. There were other statues on the ground, but I had never heard of them and found it hard to understand why they had statues of them and not one of Dr. Martin Luther King, who was the pastor at a church one block down for six year.

Day 4, Memorial Day, it felt very awkward spending my memorial day with teachers and students on a bus in Alabama then spending it with my mom, dad, sister, brother and family members. But overall the day was beautiful, we learn more about the Selma to Montgomery march. The most interesting thing I learned about the march was that it was both black and whites were marching together to Montgomery. After watching it, it made me think again about our history, and a question came to mind after watching the documentary and it was ” Were all whites the same?”. The march to Montgomery was diverse and that really showed me that even though history shows blacks getting brutally beat by whites, it was not all whites that were doing the crimes. Oh yea and we saw the home of Ben Wallace, that was interesting also.

Again I’m posting this a few days late…I’ll catch up soon.
What to say about today? Well its Memorial Day so the majority of places we would have gone were closed, like the Rosa Parks Museum. We ended up having a great day though. We went to a place called the Interpretive Learning Center. It is located on Highway 80, which is where people marched from Selma, AL to Montgomery to fight for voter registration rights. There was an exhibit inside the building, as well as surrounding the building telling stories of the march. We also watched a video that gave different people’s perspectives of the march. When I say different perspectives I mean even white supremacists who felt that the black people injured or killed deserved it. It was really powerful to watch the video and see the different opinions and to learn more about the march. I think I take for granted the right to vote, because it is something I’ve been exposed to all my life and looking forward to for just as long.

I remember a time when I was younger, maybe 4 or 5 years old, I remember an adult in my life telling me that because we live in a free country she could say that she hates the president without getting in trouble. In addition she had the ability to vote for who she wanted and had some impact (even if it is minimal) on the outcome of an election. The right to vote, the ability to register to vote and the actual process of voting are something I never really considered. It became a second nature thought. My point in talking about that is that I never considered the idea of needing to fight for the right to register to vote. It was never an experience I had to deal with or encountered the thought of it on a very personal level. It was something we talked about in history class a couple times, but I wasn’t aware of the circumstances of it or the consequences. Going to the Interpretive Center forced me to recognize some of those things.

Later in the day, following reflections (which were interesting to say the least) we walked to the Dexter Ave Baptist Church where Martin Luther King Jr. had served as pastor for numerous years and to the capitol building. One of the monuments on the property of the capitol building was thoroughly disturbing to me. It was a monument commemorating the Confederate soldiers and the righteousness of the South. I think my favorite quote from the monument was this: “The knightliest of the knightly race who since the days of old, have kept the lamp of chivalry alight in hearts of gold.” Another good one came from around the corner on the monument. It read: “Fame’s temple boasts no higher name, no king is grander on his throne; no glory shines with brighter gleam, the name of ‘patriot’ stands alone.” Surrounded by the lovely monument were 4 versions of the Confederate flag, with plaques underneath them that alluded to the purity of the South in their fight for freedom. I can’t say that sat very well with me; especially with it sitting right next to the building for the capitol of Alabama.

As I mentioned previously reflections for the day were interesting. We discussed a piece entitled “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” by Peggy McIntosh. It’s basically a list of daily things that whites tend to have more privilege in, but may go unrecognized by them. There was a long period of time during the reflection time when I was unable to talk, because Marcus asked that only the African-American students speak. It was really frustrating because there were so many times when I had something to say. Not that I could necessarily relate to things they said, but because I wanted to stand up for myself. I felt like some people were making huge generalizations and it was upsetting. I know that happens all the time and to all people. I don’t really want to go into that though.

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…

Tuesday May 29, 2007

Today was an enjoyable day with early start. We started the day by walking down to the in Downtown Montgomery. The day started by going to the Civil Rights Movement Memorial. The Memorial has a great monument out front with a beautiful quote by Martin Luther King, Jr. The memorial is the only one in the nation devoted to the actual movement itself, and not one specific person involved in the movement. Our guide, Andrew was very helpful and lead a great discussion of some of the pressing issues on the importance of the memorial and how it’s important to learn about all of the people that died for the cause. The origin behind why the memorial was built is very interesting. It was sparked because of an innocent nineteen year old Black male, Micheal Donald was murdered by Klansmen in Alabama. Andrew brought up a very interesting discussion on current hate groups that exist in the Southern states across the US. We examined the prevalence of groups like, The League of the South in states like North Carolina.

After we left the memorial center, we headed for Selma, Alabama. It was a great experience to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge, the same Bridge where the marches were held from Selma to Montgomery. I felt really powerful being able to have that experience of crossing such an infamous bridge. It if weren’t for the tragic events that Blacks and Whites endured that year then there wouldn’t have been a Voting Rights Act of 1965. The experience was memorable and I will never forget it. Also, in Selma we were in the historic area which includes the George Washington Carver Housing Project. Walking through the housing project, I wanted to be able to change the conditions myself. I do not understand why government housing known as Projects are always in such bad conditions. I can definitely see organizations like the Southern Poverty Law Center stepping in to revamp housing projects of the deep South. It was also just such a pleasure to walk down the sidewalk in Selma, Alabama, a very historical city that I have wanted to visit for years.

The ride to Bay St. Louis today was filled with student reports and films. I really enjoyed learning the statistics of Birmingham, Montgomery, and Selma especially about the racial compositions of the cities. Spike Lee does great work and I enjoyed watching his documentary, Four Little Girls. The documentary included information that I had learned from previous student reports. But, I thought that the documentary did a great job of presenting the feelings and concerns of family members of the four young women killed because of hate and racism. We also watched a story presented by CNN on the damaging effects Katrina had on Bay St. Louis, MS. I was astounded to hear the facts about insurance companies and there distinctive differences between flood and wind damage. I also felt very uneducated in that I didn’t know the impact Katrina made on areas like Bay St. Louis in Mississippi.

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 …..

Over the past few days, we have had limited access to internet in the hotel we stayed in so I am now covering our last day in Birmingham, as well as our time in Montgomery and Selma.

Before we left Birmingham on Sunday, we had the privilege of attending a church service at the 16^th Street Baptist Church where the four children were killed while attending a youth event by members of white supremacist organizations. I thoroughly enjoyed my time at this service, probably more so than others on the trip, partially because I had never been to a service like this, and also because it kind of spoke to me in a way that I’ve never really felt from a church service. The loudness, vivaciousness, and contemporary nature of the opening songs and others throughout was done in such a way that I literally felt the music, something I can’t say is true of any song at my Methodist church, or any other more traditional service I have been to. Though these are two very different styles, and neither one is more right or wrong, I can honestly say there was much more spirit, depth, and a much more powerful message in this service than I have ever derived from the more traditional services. I don’t know that the style is something I would necessarily feel comfortable in all the time, or that I could make this church my home, but it definitely was a rejuvenating and enlightening experience of faith. I was impressed with how much time everyone in this church put in to the service, and how they truly seemed to not only pay attention, but appeared to have connected with God in the service based on their responses and loud praise during song. At times, I was struck by the more fire and brimstone approach, trying to figure out whether I liked it better or not than what was used to. I feel there truly are positives and negatives to both my type of church and the 16^th Street Baptist Church, but neither one is more proper or correct in how they conduct themselves. I feel I developed a much bigger respect for this style of church and worship from my experience today, and was able to draw many parallels between the church I have been brought up in and this. I would be interested to go to this style church in another area to see how the messages and feelings differ. I feel that the more verbal style of worshipping of this African American church and longer length of their service than usual shows the central importance of religion in their lifestyle and culture. I am impressed with the amount of effort that seems to be put into each individual service at this particular church.

By the next morning we had checked in to our hotel in Montgomery. I went for a run around the abandoned downtown area where all the government buildings were. I marveled at the fountain in the town center, only to learn that it was the old slave trade market. I also ran up the steps of the capital building, and was stunned when I watched the movie on the bus, showing those same steps filled with the people who had made the march from Selma to Montgomery to protest African Americans being denied the right to vote. On a later trip to the capital building with the group, I was shown a monument I had failed to notice in my earlier trip: a monument to the confederacy and its leaders. I am appalled that this monument was allowed to have been constructed at all, much less next to the capital building, and containing all the flags of the confederacy and with very white supremacist quotes adorning the walls. This was a powerful message to me, showing that this is just one way in which racism continues to exist even today. More refreshing was the fountain monument to Martin Luther King Jr. in front of the Southern Poverty Law Center. It was such a place of peace with the slow flowing water, which seems to symbolize to me the nonviolence and slow progressing civil rights movement, but that the people kept fighting, despite obstacles, just like the water never ceased to move.

During the day, we went to the Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail center, where we toured and had a cookout. It was nice to have a little time to explore and process all that we have been taking in over the past few days. The displays in the Center, as well as the very provocative memory they showed struck me very firmly. Each day of the trip has seemed to loosen me up a little bit, and hit into me a little harder as the information begins to accumulate and conceptualize itself. Though I first learned about the differences in ethnicities and the civil rights movement when I was young, I don’t think the depth of it has really come full circle to me until this trip. Each day serves as a stepping stone for me in my understanding and identifying with the discrimination that African Americans have faced ever since they came to America, and continue to face even today.

On Tuesday morning, after checking out of the hotel and loading the bus for Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, we walked to the Southern Poverty Law Center. This by far has been the most touching part of the trip so far for me. I can’t tell you exactly why, though the movie, discussion, and stories all depicted brutal stories and thoughts, but something about today just hit me. Seeing the faces of these poor victims, both African American and white, who died at the hands of organizations such as the KKK and the Night Riders, and the sheer number of people we know about, let alone the ones we don’t, just overtook me. Sitting in the movie and seeing the number of white power organizations still in power, combined with the horrific story of Michael Donald’s lynching, were enough to just kind of push me over the edge, though in a good way. Maybe another reason this day impacted me so much was because of my passion for justice, and continued interest in the law profession. Over the past few years, I have gone back and forth as to what career I want to pursue; after today, I think my choice to go to law school has been cemented. I could totally see myself doing the type of law that Morris Dees of the Southern Poverty Law Center does. I have struggled with how to combine my want to genuinely help people who are in the most dire need of help with my passion for justice and other skills in that area. I bought a book on how Dees came to be what he is today, and hope it will continue to lead me down a path towards what I want to be in the future. I’ve always heard that you can tell which lawyers are in their field because of passion, and which are there for money, and the ones who do it because they are truly driven to help, stand out among the crowd. This is what I would like to become.

The experience of walking across the same bridge that the people who marched from Selma to Montgomery did was one of great importance. This in particular really put us in the mindset of what it was like to walk right down into the police officers with their clubs and dogs, and how intense the walk they made must have been even beyond any concept we could ever have of it. Following, going to the George Washington Carver Projects was a little bit of a different experience for me. I couldn’t help feeling like we were being somewhat invasive into the homes of people, and felt like I wanted to hide my camera to avoid being rude. I began to feel somewhat uncomfortable and unwelcome in the neighborhood due to some of the looks and yells we got from some of the residents. It still was definitely important to see to give us an idea of where the march actually began, and how little the area seems to have changed since the march took place many years ago.

Day 3

Today was a very interesting day that was completely different from the first two days of the trip. We went to the Sunday morning service at the 16^th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham. I was really looking forward to going to this Church because of the history behind it, and also because I knew that it would be a completely different worship experience from what I am used to. The service definitely did not disappoint. Almost everything about the service was different from the Catholic masses I am used to attending, and I knew I was in for quite a treat when two of the choir members warmed up the crowd with an enthusiastic rendition of “God is Awesome.” The singing and music during were very upbeat, with the congregation standing up, clapping, dancing, and singing along to it. This was one of the more enjoyable aspects of church, and while I am not particularly expressive like that, I found myself clapping along a little bit, and know that I would certainly be more involved if I had been raised in a similar church. The lady sitting next to me was particularly enthusiastic and vocal throughout the service, not hesitating to proclaim “yes, yes!” whenever she agreed with the preacher. This was mostly entertaining to me, but it was also nice to see someone who was so expressive with their spirituality. The final aspect of the service that was extremely different from what I’m used to was the sermon. The preacher spoke very passionately for what was a rather long sermon, I would guess around 30 minutes, but it may have been longer. When I say that he was passionate, I mean that he was yelling at points, waiving his arms, and sweating a lot. I felt like I could really identify with and understand most of his message, as it could be preached to most Christians; it was just the delivery of the message that was rather different. The whole experience was a lot of fun, and it is definitely something I would do again.

After church we said goodbye to Birmingham and drove to Montgomery, where we got settled into out hotel and ready for the next day. It was really nice to have some downtime to enjoy happy hour and swim in the pool. Tomorrow should be another interesting day in our newest city.

Day 4

Today was an incredible day that really surprised me in many ways. Because it is Memorial Day and not much was expected to be open, we decided to go to a park between Montgomery and Selma and then have a cookout. I’m not sure anybody really knew what to expect when we got this “park,” but it ended up basically being a museum dedicated to the march from Selma to Montgomery for voting rights in 1965. I did not know anything about this march until we arrived in Montgomery and started hearing about it in presentations, and still can’t believe that so many people walked 50 miles from one city to the next. The museum dedicated to this and other aspects of the civil rights movement was absolutely beautiful and very moving. We started out by watching a short film about the event and the brutality and force that police exerted on the marchers in order to halt their movement. People were killed while participating in a peaceful protest and trying to ensure a right that I was given the second I turned 18. This thought really hit me hard because at the end of the video they showed a statistic about the small percentage of 18-24 year olds who voted in the last election, and I am sorry to say that I was not included in that percentage. I just registered to vote a couple of months ago and am planning to vote in the next election, but it was always something that I just didn’t really pay attention to. I have never been so ashamed to have been given something like the right to vote and completely ignored it. Knowing that people died so that they could have what I was given and have not used puts a completely different perspective on things. It just goes to prove once again that you shouldn’t take anything for granted. Voting is a part of being American. It is a constitutional right that was unjustly denied to so many people, and I need to realize how easy I have it and important it is that I vote. Even if I never become truly interested in politics, I will always vote in the future because what I learned today made it have importance on a personal level, regardless of political interest.

After that heavy portion of the afternoon spent inside we all went outside to a picnic area and had a great cookout. Ronnie made hamburgers and hot dogs while we were pursuing our academic endeavors, and we all returned to a lovely picnic complete with watermelon for dessert. One more thing about the picnic and walking around outside: it was HOT.

The day was completed by a powerful group reflection and then the class walked around and explored the historic district of Montgomery. We walked around the place where the slave market used to be, explored the outside of the state house, passed Martin Luther King Jr.’s church, and stopped by the Civil Rights Memorial. It was nice to walk around the city, but was strange because it was completely deserted. It seemed we were the only people out there. The whole state house area was very interesting because there was a demonstrated appreciation for the confederacy. There were statues of Jefferson Davis, the president of the confederacy, as well as a monument displaying all the flags of the confederacy that had a quote about the “knightliest race.” It is clear that Alabama is not willing to forget its past, and seems to be quite proud of it. This is particularly interesting when considering the fact that we went immediately from the state house to the civil rights memorial. It is easy to see how so much tension existed in a city and state that was so divided and still bears the marks from this division.

As previously mentioned, we had a group reflection before we walked around the city, and I just wanted to talk about the reflection a little bit. These are quickly becoming one of my favorite parts of the day, as it is just a time to think about the day and discuss various issues we encountered. These sessions really make me think, and I can only begin to put down some of the thought that I have resulting from them here, but there is one thing I wanted to mention. First of all, our group dynamic is very interesting because it is very racially diverse, and especially because there are no white males on the trip. I think this diversity is invaluable during our reflection time, especially because we talk a lot about race during this time. The specific thing we addressed tonight was white privilege, and I cannot even begin to describe my feelings here, but it is so frustrating to see how unfair this world is. My final thought is that I really believe that the biggest white privilege of them all is that most white people don’t even realize they have a white privilege because they do not have to deal with racism on a daily basis.

Today was a very moving day. Throughout my life I had often seen documentaries on the history channels or been shown a film in a class in school but today I was able to see a real life replica of the images I saw through the television. Coming into today, I had no idea what to expect, because I did not know much about the National Park we were visiting. Upon arrival I had the thought of “What are we doing here? Why do I just see picnic tables and open fields?” I had no idea what the Park had in store for us.

After briefly walking into the building, we watched a very moving film about the legendary march form Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. The images of government officials advocating the brutality of African Americans, crazed police dogs ripping clothes of demonstrators, policemen beating people forcefully with Billy-clubs dad not need words to signify their intensity. It was hard to watch and hear some of the scenes shown in the film; because it made me feel a sense of anger against those who inflicted such pain on innocent African Americans.

Following the film, I walked around the museum only to see other disturbing images and displays of hatred and hardships placed on African Americans Displays such as ‘tent city’ really moved me as well. The thought that white land owners had the heart to move full families with children off of their land, out of their homes, forcing them to live in inhumane housing made me very angry as well. I can’t even fathom how it must have been to be forced out of your home and live in an Army tent for the duration those families did.

Upon returning to the hotel, we had a very interesting reflection session. It was unique in how we discussed issues because for a little portion of the session only African American students were allowed to respond in order to let the Caucasian students in the class hear how the black in our group felt about certain issues. This was a nice way to see that even though we are encountering civil rights issues in a non-personal level per say, fellow classmates are victims of similar hatred and discrimination nowadays.

Walking to the Capitol building downtown after reflections was a moving experience for me. It was just amazing to me to think that I was walking in the exact footsteps of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with thousands of followers for such a great cause closely following behind him. Taking pictures of the neighboring church adjacent to the Capital building that strongly believed in segregation was astonishing. I would not have thought that the two totally different historical places would be so close in relation to each other. Seeing the Capital building & Confederate Memorial sitting at the top of the hill overlooking the city gave me a sense that those discriminatory beliefs overshadowed every piece of the city and surrounding areas.

During our second day in Montgomery, our visit to the Selma to Montgomery Interpretive center was incredibly moving to me through the film that we watched as well as the way that our group met the gentleman whose picture was in the museum from where he participated in the march to Montgomery was another moment in our trip that really touched me emotionally through his testimony about what he personally risked his life to obtain.

While the museum was incredibly moving, I found myself incredibly distracted by Dr. Smith’s testimony about his experience in the Vietnam War, where he and his comrades were fighting for their country, but denied the right to vote. There is a Langston Hughes poem entitled “Will V-Day Be Me-Day Too?”, which kept running through my mind as I listened to what Dr. Smith had to say about this experience. I’m going to attach a copy of this when we get to where I can post it with my post.

The walking tour downtown to the original slave market from Montgomery’s early days as well as to the Dexter Street Baptist Church, which Dr. Martin Luther King was the pastor at and the Alabama state capital building was an amazing experience, which brought many controversial items, such as the Confederate memorial and the statue of
Jefferson Davis, to the attention of our group, as well as many interesting conversations, which I will allow my peers to bring up if they wish to because I do not feel comfortable discussing some of their discussions.

Will V-Day be Me Day too? written by Langston Hughes

Over There,
World War II.

Dear Fellow Americans,
I write this letter
Hoping times will be better
When this war
Is through.
I’m a Tan-skinned Yank
Driving a tank.
I ask, WILL V-DAY
BE ME-DAY, TOO?

I wear a U. S. uniform.
I’ve done the enemy much harm,
I’ve driven back
The Germans and the Japs,
From Burma to the Rhine.
On every battle line,
I’ve dropped defeat
Into the Fascists’ laps.

I am a Negro American
Out to defend my land
Army, Navy, Air Corps–
I am there.
I take munitions through,
I fight–or stevedore, too.
I face death the same as you do
Everywhere.

I’ve seen my buddy lying
Where he fell.
I’ve watched him dying
I promised him that I would try
To make our land a land
Where his son could be a man–
And there’d be no Jim Crow birds
Left in our sky.

So this is what I want to know:
When we see Victory’s glow,
Will you still let old Jim Crow
Hold me back?
When all those foreign folks who’ve waited–
Italians, Chinese, Danes–are liberated.
Will I still be ill-fated
Because I’m black?

Here in my own, my native land,
Will the Jim Crow laws still stand?
Will Dixie lynch me still
When I return?
Or will you comrades in arms
From the factories and the farms,
Have learned what this war
Was fought for us to learn?

When I take off my uniform,
Will I be safe from harm–
Or will you do me
As the Germans did the Jews?
When I’ve helped this world to save,
Shall I still be color’s slave?
Or will Victory change
Your antiquated views?

You can’t say I didn’t fight
To smash the Fascists’ might.
You can’t say I wasn’t with you
in each battle.
As a soldier, and a friend.
When this war comes to an end,
Will you herd me in a Jim Crow car
Like cattle?

Or will you stand up like a man
At home and take your stand
For Democracy?
That’s all I ask of you.
When we lay the guns away
To celebrate
Our Victory Day
WILL V-DAY BE ME-DAY, TOO?
That’s what I want to know.

Sincerely,
GI Joe.