Day 2: Sunday, June 14 (by Dana Britton)

June 15th, 2015

We have concluded the second day of our tour and there is much to process.

I continue to be amazed at the profound role that children and college students had in the civil rights movement. As our Messiah team stood in front of the monument of the “Greensboro Four” at North Carolina A & T University, I was reminded of the potential that our students, and each of us, have to be agents of change in our broken world.

At the MLK Center in Atlanta today, we had the opportunity to see and hear many of Dr. King’s famous words. I was particularly drawn to:  “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, what are you doing for others.” The depth of conviction that so many individuals had during these tumultuous year of sit-ins and marches, as many risked their lives for dignity and freedom, challenges me to consider whether I am sensitive to injustices around me on a daily basis.

Day 2: Sunday, June 14 (by Allan Mathew)

June 14th, 2015

We started our journey today in South Carolina and made our way down to Atlanta to visit Martin Luther King Jr.’s home, church, and tomb. When I entered the sanctuary where Martin Luther King Sr. & Jr. addressed the congregation, I saw the foundation of civil rights movement: the church. King’s faith was his bedrock, it is what gave him strength, and it is why he succeeded. We overlook his faith commitment because it is easier to see his activism and his passion for social reform. Without his faith, King would not have been King. Without his faith, King’s movement would not have had the faith needed to persevere.

As I sat in the Ebenezer Baptist Church sanctuary, an historic landmark, King’s voice was present through a recording echoing throughout the great hall. “I want to give a voice to the voiceless” rang out and reverberated in my head. His words grabbed my attention and never let go. The weight of his words, the presence he commanded, and the passion heard through his voice is what made him the vibrant and charismatic leader of the civil rights. Whether on that pulpit or in Washington D.C., his faith guided his footsteps and a nation hung on his every word. He was a leader but more importantly he was a man of God. He is a true servant leader who believed in reconciliation.

Ms. Juanita Abernathy, who is the last surviving civil rights leader from the beginning, a dear friend of Martin Luther King Jr.’s, and a zealous pioneer later spoke to our group. There is a lot I could say about Ms. Abernathy, but I believe I could not do her words justice. While Ms. Abernathy was pregnant, her home was bombed, and this story left a significant impact on me. She shared that, once she gave birth, her daughter shook for six months, a side effect of the trauma no doubt caused by the bombing incident. These pioneers of the movement risked their lives for the right to vote, to sit in whatever seat they wanted, and to be served just like the white folk. I am just blessed to have this opportunity to listen, hear, and learn from these pioneers.

I asked Ms. Abernathy about her relationship with Dr. King, and she said, “He was a dear friend, and I called him Martin.” There are not too many people left in this world who can speak so fondly of Dr. King in such a personal way, but I hope we can continue to carry on King’s legacy of nonviolence, faith, and love.

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Day 1: Saturday, June 13 (by Jonathan Bert)

June 13th, 2015

After a long bus ride from Beaver Falls, Pa. to Greensboro, N.C., we had the opportunity to tour the International Civil Rights Center and Museum. After reading about the sit-ins in Greensboro, it was powerful to be able to stand in the Woolworth’s building where history was made. I found myself getting extremely emotional right from the start of the guided tour as we entered “The Hall of Shame” and saw photographs of the extreme brutality that resulted from the senseless hatred that existed a mere half-century ago. This is truly humanity at its very worse. Images of men hanging from trees, of burnt corpses bound to wooden crosses, of people who were beaten and killed for no other reason than the color of their skin. I am crying even as I type this and visualize the exhibits once more.

It is important to see these things. It is important to try to comprehend the injustice. I say “try” because I am fully aware that I could never fully understand the struggle. I am fully aware that as a white male, I live a life of deep privilege. As a white male, it is quite easy to feel a sense of guilt for what was done. However, guilt does not lead to progress. Instead, what I will take away is an understanding of the courage and sacrifice it took for black men and women to stand up for what is right in order to bring about change. It is the way that they fought injustice that is most admirable and remarkable: civil disobedience with a commitment to non-violence. In the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., “Hate begets hate; violence begets violence.” The key leaders of the civil rights movement preached a message of love. The biblical mandate to “love thine enemies” became a daily exercise of faith for these activists and protesters. I have never been faced with such a trial. Even though I identify as a pacifist and remain strongly opposed to violence, I can’t help but wonder if I would have had the strength to maintain that commitment under such extreme conditions.

I know that this trip will bring even more emotions and more questions as we go on. I’m sure, though, that it will also bring more understanding and more hope. Standing by the very lunch counter where those four young men sat gave me chills. It was not the goosebumps that come with fear, but the goosebumps that come with great awe and reverence. I left the museum with mixed emotions and I suspect that will become a common occurrence this week.

We are currently on our way to Greenville, S.C. for the night. Tomorrow we will travel to Atlanta. Our group appreciates your prayers not only as we travel, but also for the processing that we must do along the way.

Participants on the 2015 trip

June 11th, 2015

This year, Messiah College is sending six employees to participate in the “Returning to the Roots of the Civil Rights Bus Tour.”  They are Jonathan Bert, Dana Britton, Allan Mathew, Bill Strausbaugh, Kevin Villegas, and Cynthia Wells. Kim Phipps, President of Messiah College, will also be joining the group for four days while in Montgomery, Selma, and Memphis.

The trip this year runs from June 12–21, 2015, and will visit several historic sites of the civil rights movement in North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee. Part of their time will also be spent meeting with and hearing from various leaders and scholars of the civil rights movement. The participants will post to this blog during their trip, offering insight and reflection on their experience.