This journey continues to intensify and at times it is a struggle to adequately express what we are seeing and hearing as we travel through the Deep South. Today we were in Selma and in Marion, Alabama. We saw photos and heard story upon story from actual participants in the Civil Rights Movement .
The folks that shared their stories today made history come alive. The journey through this time in America’s history is horrifying however it also shows the strength of the human spirit grounded in faith. Some of the stories we heard today were that of unadulterated evil committed against African-American’s striving for their Right to Vote. Following is a brief list of words that detail the sheer evilness of this time in our history:
Electric Cattle Prod
Murder
Billy Club
Hate
White Supremacy
Fear
Graves
Tragedy
Inhumane
Segregation
Ambush
Cowards
Madness
Scared
Crazy
Tear gas
Violent
Alabama State Police
Governor Wallace
Corrupt
Death
Gear worn by the Alabama State Police when they ambushed the peaceful march of the Edmund Pettus Bridge
Also today we heard stories of hard fought justice and success and of faith and of life. Some words that describe this are:
Registered Voters
Equality
Success
Marching Shoes
Courage
Justice
Prayer
Faith
Young and Old
Black and White
Non-violence
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Rev. Abernathy
Ms. Viola Liuzzo
Ms. Joann Bland
Church
Freedom Songs
Resilience
Strength
Rev. Reese
Human spirit
I am so thankful for the people that shared with us today, for Rev. Reese and for Ms.Joann Bland. This is an education and journey that I will never forget.
Rev. Reese marched with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. amazing man of faith
Marchers including Viola Liuzzo white woman from Detroit murdered by the KKK for helping her African American brothers and sisters in the fight for civil rights