Silence
“In the end, we will not remember the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends” MLK
Have you wondered how neighbors could turn their Jewish friends away when they needed a place to hide, or how high school teenagers could look on when their classmates terrorized the Little Rock Nine? Sadly, oppression and injustice are all still all around us. What are we doing now?
This trip has been impactful not for the museums, but to hear stories from those who lived it, and to process it with those traveling with me.
These past 2 days, we had the honor of hearing stories from 4 amazing women. Rutha Harris (original Freedom Singer), Eartha Watkins (current Freedom Singer), Minnijean Brown Trickey (member of the Little Rock Nine), and Lynda Lowery (at age 15, the youngest to march from Selma to Montgomery for the right to vote). Their stories show how children and women can do great things. Even today, they all continue to act rather than being silent.
Minnijean talked about 3 groups of students at Little Rock. The 200 that verbally, physically, and emotionally abused her daily for months, the 20 that were kind, and the 900+ that were silent. Not acting is choosing a side.
All the women challenged us not to be silent. Just take a step and act.
Jackie
Filed under Uncategorized | Comment (0)Ordinary people doing extraordinary things
Last night we had the opportunity to hear the story of one of the Little Rock nine, Minijean Brown. It has been a blessing to have her sharing her experience and traveling with us on this tour. Minijean endured hardships that we only seek to understand. She explained that the end result of the Little Rock desegregation actually hurt both black and white students. Schools were closed and education was denied to all students just to keep the black students out of the schools in defiance of the federal order. Her encouragement to us was that “children can make presidents act.” This was exemplified by President Eisenhower sending federal troops to protect the Little Rock nine. She encouraged us by saying we all can be ordinary people doing extraordinary things. I am learning so much on this trip and having my eyes opened to the real struggles that happened in our nation’s history and that continue to happen today. I hope to see where I can use this experience to make a difference.
Bill
Filed under Uncategorized | Comment (1)Understanding and Inspiration
The Civil Rights Tour, so far, has been full of gaining knowledge of the ‘real history’, meeting inspirational people and making me think differently. These incredible people I met grew up in a time of intense struggle for basic rights to live life that I took for granted. I had no idea when I was growing up in the sixties and early seventies the intense division between people across the South and throughout America.
I am learning so much more about Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, the Little Rock Nine, Freedom Singers, segregation and desegregation and human rights injustices. I met and talked with two people that captured my head and heart and opened my eyes.
Minniejean Brown, who was one of the Little Rock Nine and attended Little Rock Central High School. The abuse (physical and emotional) that she put up with as a teenager was so incredible and inspiring. Hearing her stories firsthand made my heart hurt. The empathy and admiration that I have for her is difficult to put into words.
Another awe inspiring person is Rutha Harris, one of the Freedom Singers. She taught me how she demonstrated non-violence by singing. She shared songs and I sang along, but it wasn’t until near the end that I realized if my skin was a different color I would have struggled to survive this time period. Rutha’s. strong faith in God and her community helped her live the worst of the Civil Rights period.
My eyes and heart have been opened and I have only been with this Tour for about 2 days. How can this not change a person, but most importantly how can it not change a Christian? It’s hard to believe that we are still not treating others the way we want to be treated, but it’s true. We see it in the media every day. Aren’t we supposed to love one another? How or why is this still a problem? Perhaps we all need a trip like the Civil Rights Tour or some type of journey to re-examine ourselves and how our faith fits into the real world.
I am thankful for this opportunity to grow!
Cathy Poiesz
Filed under Uncategorized | Comment (0)Treasured or Abandoned
Two churches stand out in my mind from our explorations today, Old Mount Zion Baptist Church in Albany, GA and the Holt Street Baptist Church in Montgomery, AL.
Mt. Zion is connected to the Albany Civil Rights Movement Museum. It is beautifully restored and hosts the Freedom Singers weekly, led by Rutha Mae Harris, one of the original Freedom Singers. Ms Rutha and a friend joined our tour today to teach us songs that inspired and encouraged not just our group but many activists historically and currently.
The Holt Street Baptist Church, on the other hand, is abandoned. The congregation is still active, but is now worshiping at another location. This historic building is in desperate need of repair. It has broken and boarded windows. We were only able to view it from the exterior and reflect upon the beauty and utility that once was.
Both of these building witnessed important events of the Civil Rights era, yet one is treasured and one abandoned. This is a little like the way we treat the events. Some of us have great respect for the people and the sacrifices. Others do not understand the importance, or worse, have chosen to work toward the dismantling of the very rights these citizens worked so hard to gain. Segregation, in another form, is still a reality today. Many citizens of the United States have had their voting privileges blocked and there are some who are working hard to manipulate the vote in their favor.
I love beautiful churches. They draw me closer to Christ. It is sad to see us abandon not just the buildings, but the values that the Church is called to uphold.
Neryamn
Filed under Uncategorized | Comment (0)Today, day 3, of the Civil Rights bus tour, brought us to Albany, Georgia and Montgomery, Alabama. In Albany we got the chance to visit and tour the Albany Civil Rights Museum, and worship with Rutha Harris at the Old Mount Zion Baptist church. Rutha was a freedom rider who traveled over 50,000 miles through 46 states. Her voice touched my soul today. It was beauty, hope, power and worship.
After driving to Montgomery and visiting the sites, we got to hear from our fellow traveler, Minnijean Brown-Trickey. After Brown vs. the Board of Education, nine students, including Minnijean, attended Central High School in an effort to integrate in September 1957. They experienced name-calling, bullying, threats, and hatred. I cannot even imagine. Through all of it, Minnijean’s smile was her protection. They gave out awfulness and the worst they could offer and she met it with her smile. (If you look at photos, she is always smiling.) She has spent her life teaching non-violence to children all over the world.
I was blessed today by these two amazing women. I will take what they offered and carry it with me, letting it sink in and shaping my thoughts and actions.
Filed under Uncategorized | Comment (0)Be the change you want to see
The Civil Rights Bus Tour is a wonderful, inspirational learning experience full of so many thought provoking words, images and people. Even though I have previously been exposed to many of these stories, this trip is deepening my knowledge and challenging me to greater participation. I spent two days mulling over the lack of dynamic leaders today as were active in the 1960’s. One of our fellow travelers is Minnijean Brown-Tricky, one of the Little Rock Nine. She helped me to understand that we are the change agents needed in our world. On February 1, 1960 in Greensboro, North Carolina at the Woolworth lunch counter, four college students sat hoping to be served. They knew it was a long shot. After all, the privilege of eating a meal at that restaurant was reserved for whites only. They were black. These four young men started a movement that inspired young people in their city and across several states to challenge segregation by staging similar sit-ins. If they could do this, then why not me? Why not you?
Neryamn
Filed under Uncategorized | Comment (0)Empathy
Our first stop on the Civil Right bus tour was the International Rights Center and Museum in Greensboro, North Carolina. The museum is in the Woolworth building where the Greensboro four – David Richmond, Franklin McCain, Ezell Blair Jr. and Joseph McNeil – sat at the lunch counter on February 1, 1960. They were students at a nearby university, and they were tired of being treated as second-class citizens, so they decided to sit down and order instead of buying their food at the counter and taking it with them out of the store. The store would not serve them, and they sat there until the store closed. Then they came back the next day with other students. The sit-in continued until July when the lunch counter was integrated. This brave act inspired many others to protest against racial injustices.
When we were in the “Wall of Shame” exhibit, my eyes filled with tears as I looked at photos of lynchings, a little girl whose eyes were burned away, Emmitt Till’s body… I began to be overcome. Our tour guide let us take in the photos, but ended by saying we don’t have time for guilt and shame, we need empathy.
I recently heard a nurse describe the difference between sympathy and empathy. If someone is stuck in a hole in the ground, sympathy leads you to climb into the hole to be with the person, but empathy leads you to go get a ladder and get them out of the hole.
One thing I hope to get out of this experience is how I can move past sympathy to empathy. What can be done to change injustice instead of just acknowledging it, sitting next to it, and wishing it would go away. I look forward to seeing ways I can work toward change.
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