Day 1: A Coke Machine and John Lewis

Our journey began in Western Pennsylvania, where we zig-zagged across the sprawling green hills of Appalachia to the historic town of Greensboro, North Carolina. There stands the International Civil Rights Museum in what was once the largest Woolworth commercial building where the “A&T Four” held one of the earliest sit-ins that gained traction and sparked widespread peaceful sit-ins throughout the South. An establishment that once facilitated injustice now is the very space dedicated to those who pursued justice.

Throughout the museum, the twisted reality of segregation is displayed. When first walking into the exhibit, there is a Coke machine, with a dispensary on opposite sides, with one side costing only 5¢ and another 10¢. Dr. Allen explained to us that such machines would be placed in walls which separated segregated rooms. On the “White” side of the machine, there would be the cheaper price, while the “Colored” side would carry a heavier cost. This was also true of restaurants in general, where food would be made more expensive for People of Color, even when they were denied the right to sit down and eat within the restaurant and were forced to take out.

In all I have learned of the Jim Crow era, I never learned that restaurants would charge People of Color more. I thought economic oppression came by way of lower wages, less employment opportunities, lower-quality education, and a myriad of other ways, but not outright price changes. I am not surprised though, as something blatant as that seems reflective of the time. Today however, economic oppression cannot be found on a Coke machine. Instead, it is found abundantly in studies, where implicit bias is shown to continue to influence wage pay and employment opportunities. The current practice of tying education to property taxes, in conjunction with the practice of redlining and the gerrymandering of school districts, all results in the de facto segregation of education (School Segregation in Alabama (eji.org)). The economic oppression that exists today remains egregious just as any injustice is egregious. Conceptual difficulty or degrees of separation from such injustice only give an illusion of equality that quells the moderate’s temper without resolving the root causes. While segregated living and local HOA’s may seem a far cry from one another, demographic distribution mappings would disagree.

There are a several other topics that deserve to be discussed, from the disgusting Jim Crow caricatures to the humbling wall of names of those who gave their lives in the Civil Rights Movement, but after the museum we were shown a film that desires to be spoken of as well given its immediate relevance. This film was concerning the late, great John Lewis. The film was made to honor Lewis’s legacy as both a Civil Rights Activist and Legislator. The film drew strongly on how his work as a legislator was integral in continuing the work of social justice. Lewis’s work ensuring every citizen was able to utilize their right to vote, and his life-threatening work in the 60’s and 70’ encouraging and aiding People of Color to register to vote, underlies what he knew to be a primary injustice in society.

But, with the bill which carries his namesake having been harpooned in the Senate by the filibuster, and the recent reveal by Pennsylvania Republicans’ own voting bill in the General Assembly, the pursuit of equality for a fundamental right of democracy is far from finished. The passing of John Lewis marks an end of one chapter, and it will be the responsibility of my generation to carry this mantle onward. This tour I pray will help me to confront the reality of what is necessary to assume this mantle and do my part as an individual within a far greater movement.

Matt Jenkins

Montgomery, AL

Ms. Rutha Harris, an original Freedom Singer shared her story about how she traveled to forty-six states and over 50,000 miles by bus singing as a Freedom Singer during the Civil Rights Movement. She was accompanied by Ms. Eartha Watkins today when we met them both. It was so interesting to hear their stories regarding utilizing music to express emotions or to rally people to join protests or even to participate in the movement. Hearing her sing today helped understand why music played such a significant role in the Civil Rights Movement. She explained that most of the songs they sang in the movement were gospel songs or popular songs people already knew, but they just changed the lyrics to express the message they want to convey. Hearing her sing today was empowering and you could hear how soulful the music was in just her voice. It was so moving to the group of us who attended, so I can only imagine the impact it had when empowering others during the Civil Rights Movement.

Hannah Kuruvilla

Day 3: Creative Community Action

I Corinthians 12:12 says “The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body.”  Using her gift of music and a voice that fills every space with powerful energy and joy, Rutha Harris, one of the original Freedom Singers, continues to inspire, encourage, unite and communicate powerful truth.  Music during the Civil Rights Movements was a medium understood by all and was a vehicle of change and a weapon of righteousness that at times dissolved hatred.

The bus boycotts responding to Rosa Parks courageous stand gave the community an opportunity to creatively spring into action.  Some stayed up all night printing flyers, other distributed them, many walked to work in all kinds of weather, others secretly drove to drive their maids to work, congregations collected money to purchase “Rolling Church” station wagons, others found used bikes for transportation, and people mailed shoes for those who walked so many miles during the boycotts.  It took a community, using their gifts and what they had to plant seeds of freedom, which bore fruit 381 days later!

Linda Poston

Second day- What is your role?

We started the day by going to the MLK center. Here we just took time to explore the whole center which included Ebenezer Baptist Church where Dr. King’s grandfather was a preacher. So was his own father and himself. Down the block is the home where Dr. King was born and grew up at. Right in between the home and the church where both Dr. King and Mrs. King are buried.

When walking through and exploring this center I was marveled at this brilliant idea to bring about this living history in one place but also in a very creative and thoughtful way.

One of the things that I and Dr. King have in common is that the church was a second home to us. Being a preacher’s kid, the church becomes your second home. Likewise, “Sunday school help me to build the capacity for getting along with people. “– Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

I learned some things about his legacy that I never knew. The dream that he wished would be carried till this day. I learned a lot about his six principles of nonviolence. I used to believe that violence sometimes does bring about change, after just being in this center I was challenged to think otherwise.

Side note: The Varsity is probably the best spot we’ve at so far!

We continued with our journey to Georgia State University. Here we have a great time learning more about Civil Rights from Dr. Eskeew, Dr. Grooms, and himself Mr. Charles Person the Freedom Rider. Here we go to learn more about the history of these brave souls (freedom riders) and a more in-depth history of what they did.

Some valuable lessons I got from this lesson were how important the role of young people is more than important in our world. Mr. Person was 18 when he took it upon himself to fight for change. And we are seating here today enjoying this freedom from brave young people like him. As a young leader on campus, I must take it upon myself to fight for what is right. Leave the institution better for other students to come better than when I got there.

These are sacrifices of local people, they made their fight for freedom a story. Hearing these stories should be a testimony to some things that we can start doing as locals.

Nathan Ncube

First Day- Ancient History?

This was a great first day to start the trip. I did not know what to expect but I can say after we went to the school and museum it was a great intro to the trip.

When we watch the documentary about the A&T 4 I was shocked about how young those boys were when they decided to take it upon themselves to do something bigger than them. They had so much to lose just themselves and so much to gain for everybody else.

Stopping by the school to see the statue became real to me, seeing this with my naked eye opened up a whole new world of reality on things that were going during those times.

Going to the museum was even more real. The fact that this isn’t ancient history and you get to see all the heroes that sacrificed their time and well-being to fight for the rights of people shouldn’t have been rocket science. Fun fact, the museum is the same building where the Woolworth restaurant was at. Matter of fact the same tilling that’s on the floor is the same today. This alone was just eye-opening to think that this is not like ancient history. The same seating is still the same in the gallery and since this was the headquarters of the franchise chain it was a big restaurant. Walking through the museum was just a lot to take in. An emotional moment just taking all those things in at once. I was even shocked to see that Coca-Cola participated in the segregation of whites and blacks, making the other side of the vending machine be not only for black people only but more expensive too. Racism is a systematic thing and if it took 300days for the bus services to desegregate I think after the tour I will be able to dedicate my whole life to an agent of change in any way that I can.

I enjoyed the first day so far, and I am anticipating all that I will learn tomorrow.

Nathan Ncube

Day 3: Freedom Singers

“Wade in the water
Wade in the water
Wade in the water, children
God’s gonna trouble these waters…”

This is how Freedom Singer Ms. Rutha Harris opened her session with us this morning.

The Freedom Singers toured the U.S. raising money for SNCC and telling people about their work for human rights for al. They toured 46 states, travelling tens of thousands of miles in 9 months. They sang at the March on Washington and at institutions like Carnegie Hall. At times they were arrested and once in Alabama they were shot at but all survived.

Ms. Harris enthralled us with her incredibly beautiful and powerful voice. She and her friend, Ms. Eartha Watkins (Professor of Music), performed for us and allowed us the privilege of singing freedom songs with them.

It was a moving, beautiful, and humbling experience that I will never forget. The experience of the Freedom Singers serves as a reminder of the power of songs and music to inspire, uplift, and strengthen. Without it, and the literal voices of Ms. Rutha and others, the Civil Rights movement might not have sustained momentum in the way that it did.

Sarah P. Myers

Day 2: The Necessity of Youth

Today was spent primarily in Atlanta. Today was a day of confronting the future and the first step in my journey of understanding how to go about carrying the mantle of civil rights activism. After a morning spent listening to a sermon by Martin Luther King Jr. and visiting the King Center next to the Ebenezer Baptist Church where Martin Luther King, his father, and his grandfather preached, we continued to Georgia State University where we had three speakers. Glenn Eskew, a history professor at Georgia State; Tony Groom, a creative writing and literature professor at Kennesaw University; and Charles Person, the youngest Freedom Rider and a Vietnam veteran, were the three speakers to bless us today. Each gave me a different takeaway as to how to go about continuing the actualization of equality. All three emphasized the importance of youth involvement in the Civil Rights Movement and the importance that youth must play today.

I simply cannot transcribe all of these speaker’s lectures in one post, so I will just focus on each of their takeaways.

Dr. Eskew spoke of the historical background of the Civil Rights Movement and the role of students in it. In conversation afterward, Dr. Eskew made it clear what he saw as one tool to overcome the sustained struggles of the world. He pointed at each of us who gathered to speak to him and asked us the same two questions in his thick Southern accent: “Are you registered to vote? And do you go and vote?”

Prof. Grooms shared of his experience discussing with his wife’s family from Birmingham their experiences living in the segregated South, which inspired his historical novel “Bombingham”. In his research for his historical novel, Prof. Grooms sat down with an activist to discuss her past as a young activist marching on the streets of Birmingham. She did not remember what they marched for, when they marched, who marched, or anything else. All she remembered was that she marched because she “was so damn mad.” Emotions, Prof. Grooms said, are what motivate us. They are what stick around, even decades later when all the other details fade.

And lastly, Mr. Person spoke to us of the horrors he experienced on the Freedom Ride and the reality of the brutality that the Ku Klux Klan committed against those who sought to act according to the law of the land and utilize the legally integrated bus system. The savage beating he endured was juxtaposed by the heroism of him and the others who faced the Ku Klux Klan members. Dr. Allen was nice enough to offer the students on the tour a copy of Mr. Person’s memoir Buses Are a Comin’, which we were fortunate enough to get signed. In it, he wrote “For Matt, you have the potential to change the world.” Mr. Person brushed with death on the Freedom Ride at just 18, three years younger than I am now.

Mr. Person sincerely believes in the power of youth engagement, because he was a youth who was engaged in changing the society he lived in. Dr. Eskew reinforced that power, not just in the power of non-violent protest, but also at the poll box. And Prof. Grooms shared that one cannot act on sheer intellect alone, but there must be an emotional fire burning.

I pray today to have at least a fraction of the fire that burned in the hearts of those like Mr. Person. For their passion reshaped the world we live in dramatically, and it burned with a great abundance. That passion must extend in the poll boxes and when dialogue presents the opportunity. And youth is not a sign of inexperience, nor is it a weakness to experience intense emotions, for emotion requires no experience and the greater it burns, the more agency for change one has.

Matt Jenkins

Start Close

The change in Selma is not completed. The wounds of the racial struggle in this world still remain, but in Selma they visibly remain in the torn up streets, the white houses vs. black houses, etc. A common theme that I have seen across all kinds of people fighting for change is the investment in their community.

Though change is needed everywhere, there is no better place to begin than your own hometown. In the places we call home, we have bonds we already can rely on, and areas we know we should focus on. Change in our home begins with finding a way to grow the community as you change it for the better. There is always something we can reform at home. Because it is our home, no one knows it like we do. We see the crack in the wall that no one else observes. And we know what will uniquely be the best treatment for it.

Jon Sison

Day 2 – Nonviolence or Nonexistence

As I stepped off the bus at the MLK Center this morning, I was greeted by black tiles in the stone sidewalk that read “Nonviolence or Nonexistence.” Continuing up the stairs, I arrived at a wall in which the six principles of nonviolence, as defined by Dr. King in his book Stride Toward Freedom, were carved. One principle that particularly stuck out to me was that “nonviolence seeks to win friendship and understanding.” The purpose of this, according to Dr. King, was to create a Beloved Community. The success of these nonviolent protests is a testament to the immense power of forgiveness. These protestors endured countless abhorrent insults, beatings, burnings, bombs, gases, …the list goes on. Yet, they remained steadfast in their commitment to nonviolence. Violence only turns others away. Refusing to act violently opens doors. If I was in the shoes of these black individuals receiving this terrible treatment, I would very much want to lash out at the white offenders. However, these protestors truly understood the power of nonviolence and, rather than using it to make enemies, sought to make friends with their oppressors. Mr. Charles Person echoed this idea in his chat with us today, emphasizing the importance of having civil discourse with our brothers and sisters of differing viewpoints and establishing them as allies. This Christlike approach to addressing injustice is a model I continue to strive for daily.

Jane Mylin

Day 2: Freedom Riders

Histories are rarely neat, tidy, progressive stories. They are messy and complicated. Take the larger history of the 1950s-1960s Civil Rights Movement for example. As a historian, I often hear interpretations of the movement as a progressive and triumphant narrative of moving from segregation to integration as a result of the efforts of activists. That the nonviolent protests they organized directly and immediately resulted in integration and legislation that ultimately gave black Americans full equality. While some of this is accurate, there were many setbacks rather than a linear progression forward and people committed murder in the name of resisting integration. The fight for human rights and equality for black Americans is a continuous struggle with resistance from white Americans that continues to this day. Furthermore, those protests were hard fought with lasting repercussions for the activists, their families, and their communities.

Today we heard Freedom Rider (and Vietnam veteran) Mr. Charles Person speak on his experiences in 1961 riding a bus to Alabama. His story is illustrative of how instead of an easy and triumphant story, the integration of the bus systems in southern states was hard won. Mr. Person reminded us that the Freedom Riders were not participating in acts of civil disobedience, but rather were simply following the law.

Some of the details of his experiences remind us of the personal sacrifices so many activists made during this era:
-Black doctors in Alabama where the Freedom Riders got off the bus refused to treat the Riders’ injuries for fear of losing their medical licenses.
-The Freedom Riders experienced lifelong injuries and also death.
-Deacons from a local church armed themselves in order to protect the Freedom Riders while they slept overnight.
-Locals called in bomb threats to the airport to keep the Freedom Riders from being able to fly home.

Sarah P. Myers