Returning to the Roots of Civil Rights 2011

Day Three

Day Three of the tour left me in awe yet again.  This morning we went to the Charles Sherrod Civil Rights Park in Albany, GA.

We then had a tour of the Albany Civil Rights Institute. Here we viewed amazing photos and we experienced what a jail cell would have been like for civil rights activists in the 1960’s. I am continually struck by the non-violence that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. advocated for. We also had the gift of hearing from Ms. Rutha Harris, a Freedom Singer and Civil Rights Activist. In the 1960’s Rutha led the singing before Dr. Martin Luther King Junior would speak.

Ms. Rutha Harris, Freedom Singer and Civil Rights Activist

Today, she not only sang for us, she also taught us some freedom songs. She spoke about how during the marches, the songs gave the protesters courage. Rutha performs all over the country and the world. She recently performed at the White House.

After Albany, we traveled to Montgomery, Alabama where we visited the Civil Rights Park and Memorial Center and the Southern Poverty Law Center.  Here we heard stories of those who lost their lives during the Civil Rights Movement. There were so many heart-wrenching stories.  I was especially struck by the story of Mrs. Viola Gregg Liuzzo, a white woman, who was watching the 11 o’clock news in Detroit when she saw coverage of State Troopers attacking Selma, AL marchers at the Edmund Pettis Bridge. She was so overcome that she left her children and husband at home and drove to AL shuttling marchers back and forth between Montgomery and Selma. She was murdered by the KKK as she was driving one evening.

We also saw the Civil Rights Memorial where names of the martyrs are listed on a circular memorial as water gently flows over them. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s quote behind the memorial paraphrases Amos 5:24 “We will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

Southern Poverty Law Center

Civil Rights Memorial - Messiah colleagues and alums

Today we traveled to the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site in Atlanta administered by the National Park Service. This site contains the Ebenezer Baptist Church (where King pastored), the MLK Jr. Visitor Center, and the King Center (where King and his wife Coretta Scott King are buried). King’s connection with India was strikingly revealed in the statue of Gandhi placed in an open plaza along with his notations in E. Stanley Jones Gandhi: An Interpretation. Jones was an American missionary who worked in India and whose writings on Gandhi inspired King. After a quick lunch at a local favorite called The Varsity (where orders are taken with gusto prefaced by a “What’ll ya have?”) we traveled to the University of Georgia where historian Dr. Glen Eskew gave us a succinct overview of the Civil Right Movement. The highlight of the day was a meeting with Juanita Abernathy wife of the late Rev. Ralph David Abernathy (1926-1990) a prominent Civil Rights activist and close friend of Martin Luther King Jr. Juanita Abernathy spoke eloquently with wit, and with a passion that was hard to resist. The courage, sacrifice and persistence she and many other like her displayed was what was inspirational. The courage of ordinary civil rights activists, in the face of impossible and unpredictable odds, and even death is something that is sobering and certainly needs to be remembered.

In the bus we heard a sermon by Martin Luther King Jr from a collection of his sermons titled Knock at Midnight. The sermon touched on many themes, including the “midnight” (King’s dark night??) that King saw pervading the social, psychological, and moral order. It is clear that his involvement in the civil rights movement did weigh on him, but he left his audience with three loaves—faith, hope, and love. A History Channel documentary called King gave us another glimpse of the life and work of King. Finally, a movie on the Rev. Vernon Johns (1892-1965)
gave a poignant insight of the daily grind of racism in the south, especially in Montgomery, Alabama that African-Americans endured, long after the Civil War had ended. John’s suggested long before Martin Luther King Jr and others, the possibility of a mass bus boycott to make a dent in the system of segregation in Alabama.

We ended the day in a hotel in Albany, GA and tomorrow we will move to Montgomery, AL.

Ebenezer Baptist Church, Atlanta

Mohandas Karamchand "Mahatma" Gandhi in Atlanta!

E. Stanley's Jone's "Gandhi: An Interpretation." King had noted in the margins that Chapter 8 (on Gandhi's ideas on non-violent struggle) was important.

Juanita Abernathy's captivating presentation

Today we hit one of the locations that I had been looking forward to the most on this trip: the MLK Center in Atlanta, Georgia.  It was an honor to be able to visit the location where he grew up and was ultimately laid to rest, along with his wife Coretta Scott King.

Arriving at the King Center in Atlanta, GA

By the way, in case you haven’t made your way over there, you can check

out the “links” page for the links to most of the spots we’re stopping at.

This has been a public service announcement.  🙂

Much of what I know of Dr. King is limited to what’s in your basic history books and classes, and my exposure to his speeches and sermons have been mostly limited to the big ones that everyone is familiar with.  The more I hear him speak and the more I learn, the more impressed I become with him.  His ability to command the attention of a room or a crowd without having to sugarcoat the message was/is astounding.

During our driving time today we listened to one of Dr. King’s sermons, “A Knock at Midnight”, and watched the History Channel documentary “King”.  Myself and Bernardo were discussing that one of the things that stood out to both of us that we had never been aware of was an image and a mention in the documentary about Dr. King playing pool with people in the various areas he would go to.  We both felt that this is one of the many reasons that he was such a driving force; by spending time building these relationships with people where others may have seen it as a waste of time, he was able to reach and inspire people who might not have moved otherwise.

Having recently celebrated my 26th birthday, I was also interested to learn that he took over the pulpit over the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church when he was 26 years old and shortly thereafter became the leader of the Civil Rights Movement.  There is no way I could ever conceive of doing something like that and yet he handled it like a champ and was obviously blessed with remarkable results.

The sanctuary of Ebenezer Baptist Church, where MLK co-pastored with his father

To sum it all up (well, the first half of the day anyway), I thoroughly enjoyed this stop but unfortunately didn’t come close to seeing all there is to see.  If you happen to be planning a trip, I would suggest taking it all in over a couple of days…it is well-worth it!

Lunchtime…

“What’ll ya have, what’ll ya have, what’ll ya have!!!”

For lunch we stopped at The Varsity, which I had not heard of prior to today but which is apparently a pretty big draw and is firmly embedded in the fabric of the local culture.  I was told that it’s been featured on TV (I forget which channel) and that if you’re in Atlanta you’re pretty much required to stop there.  I will say that it is definitely the most impressive fast food spot I’ve ever seen, and if I were a local I’d probably be in there every day ’cause the atmosphere was awesome! 🙂

Bernardo gettin' his chat on with Dr. Eskew

From there we proceeded to Georgia State University to hear from two speakers.  The first was Dr. Glenn Eskew, author of the book “But for Birmingham”, and the second was Mrs. Juanita Abernathy, wife of Dr. Ralph David Abernathy.  Both were excellent speakers and being able to interact with Mrs. Abernathy was a priceless experience.  Most if not all of the stories we ever hear are from text books or documentaries, but she was there and served on the front line doing what had to be done to secure the rights and privileges that I enjoy today.  Safe to say that it was a pretty amazing day!

The Blount family with Mrs. Juanita Abernathy

The actual tour got started today with a lengthy trip to Greensboro, NC.  It has been interesting observing our group and seeing everyone get warmed up to each other.  I consider myself a people person and one of the things I enjoy the most is hearing the stories that so many different people have, or just the different perspectives that people have on the same events (i.e. the Civil Rights Movement).  I think that’s one of the things I’ve enjoyed most so far, and look forward to: soaking up the thoughts, reactions, and reflections that my fellow tour members share.  Speaking of fellow tour members, allow me to introduce our trip leader, Todd, and our awesome driver, Ron:

Along the way we viewed a couple of DVD’s, the first being a documentary about the music of the movement and how it helped to drive the people and give them hope.  The second was about the Greensboro Four (Joseph McNeil, Franklin McCain, David Richmond, and Ezell Blair Jr.) and the sit-in movement that they helped to initiate.  It helped to set the stage for our first couple of stops, the monument for the Four at North Carolina A&T and the International Civil Rights Center & Museum, located at the same F.W. Woolworth store that the Four went to.

Bernardo and the Four at A&T

Overall it was a long but interesting day.  The DVD’s and the museum definitely brought things into focus.  The “Hall of Shame” exhibit and the remembrance wall made the sacrifices extremely vivid and stirred some thought.  One entry on the wall mentioned a man who was shot and killed because the shooters mistook him for another man who was dating a white woman.  A decade or two removed and that could have been my parents instead of someone else’s story I was looking at.

As I said before, stories like these are one of the reasons I believe this is going to be an excellent trip.  There are only so many things that we learn in school or through the TV specials…dates, the usual leaders (who obviously have great significance), locations, etc.  But getting a look at some of the people who were not in the spotlight but were just “normal” people helps to enhance my understanding and appreciation of the sacrifices that have been made.

-V

We left for Beaver Falls after an overnight stay at the Chapel Valley Estate bed and breakfast in New Oldfield. The Bus left at 6.00am with a group of nearly 30 persons and headed out to Greensboro, South Carolina. Dr. Todd Allen of Geneva College has been leading this group for 10 years (http://www.geneva.edu/object/faculty_todd_allen). The nearly eight hour journey was punctuated by a documentary on the music of the Civil Rights movement showcasing songs like “wade in the water,” “which side are you on,” and “we shall overcome.” Another documentary charted the course of the civil rights sit-ins at the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University at Greensboro. Both videos revealed the broad popular base of the Civil Rights movement and how spontaneous acts of everyday resistance triggered wider movements across the country. The sit-ins by 4 North Carolina A&T University’s freshmen in 1960 at Woolworth’s store broke the practice of segregation at food establishments and sparked off similar protests across the south. Today that Woolworth’s store is the site of the recently built International Civil Rights Center and Museum in Greensboro (http://www.sitinmovement.org/). It has a fascinating collection of artifacts representing various aspects of the African American experience under segregation, the struggle for civil rights, and recognition of civil rights movements around the world. It was sobering to get a brief glimpse into the struggles of various racial groups in the United States, the contradictions between the ideals and the lived realities of everyday life for African Americans, Native Americans, and women.

Perhaps, traveling on a civil rights tour is in many ways a pilgrimage—to visit the past of the United States, discern it promise, its brokenness, and hopes for the future. As the 21st century advances and the living record embodied in the participants of the Civil Rights movement dwindle in number all we will have left are memories enshrined in our minds, in artifacts, and images. I suppose, that is what makes a popular movements like the Civil Rights so important and of continual relevance to human beings long after the participants have passed on. Perhaps it will become part of an unfolding global story of human struggle, endeavor, sacrifice, faith in action, and hope for a better future.

Statue at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University commemorating "The Greensboro 4" who sparked off sit ins across the south.

The Woolworths in Greensboro, now the site for the International Civil Rights Center & Museum

I can hardly believe this day has come. I have looked forward to the “Returning to the Roots of Civil Rights Bus Tour” since the day I heard that such a tour existed and was invited to be a part of it. I feel so incredibly fortunate to learn and take part in this journey. It is only day one of the tour and already, there is so much to assimilate. Our leader, Dr. Todd Allen has put together an amazing itinerary.

Today we left at 6 a.m. from Beaver Falls, Pa, just outside of Pittsburgh on a tour bus. My fellow tour-mates are from many different walks of life, varying races and ethnicities and from a number of different states. I am excited to get to know them.

The journey really started for me yesterday, Friday. My 11 year old daughter gave me the book “Leon’s story” to read. It is a true story about the African-American son of sharecroppers who experienced segregation, who walked to school while the white children took the bus, was spat upon, called names, and regularly beaten by white children. He lost his father to a group of drunk, white, boys who hit his father with their car and then ran him over multiple times to ensure that he was dead. Leon’s father did nothing to these boys, these boys were taught that African-American people did not feel. They preyed upon African-Americans for sport. The boys were never prosecuted. Leon’s story is a quick-read that gives readers the opportunity to enter into the struggles and the fear that African-American people faced on a daily basis as they navigated their lives in the South.

Our first official stop was in Greensboro, NC where today we had the opportunity to see North Carolina A and T. This university is where 4 first year students planned, in their door room, the sit- in at the lunch counter at the downtown Greensboro F. W. Woolworth on February 1, 1960. On the campus, there is a statue of these incredibly courageous young men who risked their lives to challenge segregation and started the sit-in movement in the South. We then visited the International Civil Rights Center and Museum(www.sitinmovement.org). This museum is on the actual site of F.W. Woolworth with original lunch counter still in place.

As we travel, I continue to think about the 4 African-American girls who died from a KKK bomb, the young African-American man who only either whistled at or said “Bye Baby” to a white young woman and was beaten to death by angry white people, the African-American children who were sprayed with a fire hose so powerful that it could tear bark off of a tree.

One of my fellow travelers, told me how difficult it is to view/experience this part of history. She told me “As an African-American woman who lived through this, it is just so hard…even now to see all of this.” My only response was “I can’t even begin to imagine how you must feel.”

“So it begins”…“Here’s the first pitch/tip-off/kick-off/etc”…”They’re off!”…however you want to say it, we’re underway.  We peaced outta Grantham around 3:15pm today with a nice waving send-off from the Michael family.  After an uneventful four-ish hour trip we made it to Chapel Valley Estate in Ellwood City, PA.

Sha-weeeeet!

That’s all I really need to say about this bed & breakfast.   It certainly doesn’t hurt that the surroundings here are picturesque..there were some definite “ooh-aah” moments driving up the hill to get here.

As far as the establishment, if you check out the website I’ll tell you that yes, it’s as nice as it looks. I’m sharing “The Loft Room” with Bernardo and we’re both pretty impressed with it.  I’m actually chillin’ in the loft section of the room as I write this, so again, if you look at the site and see the picture of the loft just picture me there and try not to be too jealous.  😉  That being said if you should ever happen to be in the area I’d encourage you to check it out.

After we got settled we went about a mile up the road and had dinner at a castle…

Yeah, that would be Shakespeare’s Restaurant & Pub, which was pretty expensive (well, for a dollar-menu junkie like myself anyway) but they definitely don’t skimp on the servings…I think everyone would agree that we all left completely satisfied!

So yeah, I’ma call it a day and try to get some sleep ’cause we got breakfast @ 5am tomorrow. Peace.

-V

Yeeeeeeeah, I’ve never really done the whole blogging thing so this should be kinda interesting.  This being my first post I guess I’ll start with the intro.  I’m Valerian Curd (more commonly known as “V”) and I work with the Department of Safety here at Messiah.  For those of you who might be wondering why you haven’t seen me around campus, I work in the evening so it’s usually a good thing if we haven’t crossed paths. 😉  If you have any more questions feel free to comment or something and we’ll work on that.  I’m also on facebook.

Moving on though…

…this blog is about the trip and not me.  And a good place to start with could be the tentative schedule, which looks like this:

June 10, 2011 – Friday

– Our crew leaves Grantham and heads to Beaver Falls, PA, where we will meet up with Todd Allen and the rest of the group going on the bus trip tomorrow.

June 11, 2011 – Saturday

– The bus leaves Beaver Falls at 6am for Greensboro, North Carolina…on the agenda for the day:

• International Civil Rights Center & Museum
• North Carolina A&T

June 12, 2011 – Sunday

– At 8am we depart for Atlanta, Georgia with the following stops:

• MLK Center
• Speaker: Dr. Glenn Eskew
• Speaker: Mrs. Juanita Abernathy

– We then head for Albany, GA to spend the night.

June 13, 2011 – Monday

– Leave the hotel to check out Albany:

• Charles Sherrod Civil Rights Park
• Albany Civil Rights Institute

– Hit the road again, this time heading for Montgomery, Alabama:

• Civil Rights Memorial & Visitor’s Center

June 14, 2011 – Tuesday

– Leave at 8am for Selma, Alabama to check out the area:

• Lowndes County Interpretive Center
• Speaker: Rev. Frederick Reese
• Tour with Ms. Joanne Bland (Journeys For The Soul)

– Head to Marion, Alabama to visit:

• Zion United Methodist Church
• Perry County Jail
• Jimmie Lee Jackson Gravesite
• National Voting Rights Museum & Institute

– Backtrack to Montgomery:

• Edmund Pettus Bridge
• Viola Liuzzo Memorial
• Dinner with Mr. Arlam Carr

June 15, 2011 – Wednesday

– Check out some more Montgomery spots:

• Carr Home
• Dexter Parsonage
• Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church
• Holt Street Baptist Church
• First Baptist Church
• Rosa Parks Museum

– We then leave for Birmingham, Alabama:

• Birmingham Civil Rights Institute
• Meet Mr. Chris McNair at McNair Studios

June 16, 2011 – Thursday

– Leave at 8am for Memphis, Tennessee for the following destinations:

• Stax Museum of American Soul Music
• National Civil Rights Museum
• Speaker: Rev. Samuel “Billy” Kyles
• Mason Temple

June 17, 2011 – Friday

– Next up: Little Rock, Arkansas:

• Little Rock 9 Visitor’s Center

– Head to Nashville, Tennessee for the night

June 18, 2011 – Saturday

– Tour Nashville:

• Meet Mr. Rip Patton at the Civil Rights Room/Nashville Public Library
• Speaker: Mr. Kwame Lillard
• Freedom Riders Celebration at the Nashville Public Library

– Hit the road and spend the night in Cincinnati, Ohio

June 19, 2011 – Sunday

– Head for Canton, Ohio:

• Lunch with Dr. Renee Powell

– Wrap up by leaving for and arriving in Beaver Falls, PA around 4:30pm

Yeah, so that was a little longer than I was thinking, but now ya got it.  I’m looking forward to it…should be a pretty rich experience.  I’ll catch y’all later!

-V