Civil Rights Immersion

Tuesday, May 8, 2012: Travel Day

Arrive at Resurrection Catholic Mission  

Wednesday, May 9, 2012: Birmingham, Alabama

Birmingham Civil Rights Institute 

Lunch: Kelly Ingram Park

16th Street Baptist Church

                                                                  

Thursday, May 10, 2012: Montgomery, Alabama

Dexter Parsonage Museum

Dexter Avenue Church             

Rosa Parks Museum

Return to Resurrection Catholic Missions

Friday, May 11: Montgomery, Alabama

Southern Poverty Law Center

Saturday, May 12: Tuskegee, Alabama        

George Washington Carver Museum 

Tuskegee Human and Civil Rights Multicultural Center

Tuskegee Airmen Museum

Return to Resurrection Catholic Missions (1 hour drive)

Sunday, May 13: Mass at Resurrection Parish

             

Monday, May 14: Selma, Alabama

Walking Tour of Selma with Dr. Fitts (2 hour tour)

National Voting Rights Museum and Institute

Tuesday, May 15, 2012: Montgomery, AL

Volunteer at Resurrection 

Wednesday, May 16, 2012: Travel Day

Drive to Koinoia Farm

                           

Thursday, May 17, 2012: Americus, Georgia

Global Village

Cafe Campesino 

             

Friday, May 18, 2012: Travel Day

Drive to New Orleans

Staying at Camp Hope 

Saturday, May 19, 2012: New Orleans, Louisiana

Sunday, May 20, 2012: New Orleans, Louisiana

Monday, May 21, 2012: New Orleans, Louisiana

Dillard University-Deep South Center for Environmental Justice

Tour of New Orleans

Tuesday, May 22, 2012: New Orleans, Louisiana

Habitat For Humanity build

Wednesday, May 23, 2012: New Orleans, Louisiana

Habitat For Humanity build

Thursday, May 24, 2012: New Orleans, Louisiana

Habitat For Humanity build

Friday, May 25, 2012: New Orleans, Louisiana

Habitat For Humanity build

Saturday, May 26, 2012: New Orleans, Louisiana

PM Habitat For Humanity build

Sunday, May 27, 2012: Travel Day

Departing New Orleans and returning home

First Blog Entry:

            Despite having spent about two and a half hours at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, time seemed to pass by so quickly. We arrive, most of us in shorts, unprepared by the irony of the rainy weather that seemed to follow us from Portland. Once greeted by the tour guides, we watch a short introductory video, and as the screen is pulled up to reveal the walk-through interactive section, you hear “oohs” and “ahhhs.” There were so many things to take in: a replica of a white and black classroom, pictures of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, copies of county ordinances legalizing segregation in youth sports, audio recordings of Martin Luther King Junior’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail, a life-like statue of Rosa Parks on a makeshift bus, news broadcasts of the Freedom Rides televised on vintage TV sets, newspaper clippings of the 16^th Street Baptist Church bombings, a room with pictures and information about the first African-American mayor, a Klu Klux Klan robe; the list could go on and on.

            Our tour guide made his rounds and asked if we had any questions. I caught up to him around several twists and turns later, wanting to know how things have changed since the Civil Rights movement, there in Birmingham. He began to explain how the amount of segregation there was just the same and no different than any other “northern U.S. city” today. It is only when you venture out an hour or two into the surrounding area that one may encounter subtle discrimination, perpetuated by a history of cultural norms and practices. He told me of his visit to a public library to work on his taxes. Hours into the process, he went up to the librarian and asked where the nearest restroom was. She proceeded to tell him there was no restroom. This was a public library: despite the fact that this inquiry was asked about 50 years after desegregation, racism and discrimination was still subtly and discretely encountered just outside the hub of what once was “the epicenter of political unrest and upheaval”, as described by Eleanor Johnson.

            He also proceeded to inform me of a trip he took down to the stockyards. While both whites and blacks were allowed to eat there, only whites sat down to eat, and when he realized he was the only black man sitting down at the tables, he quickly came to the conclusion that he had broken some unspoken practice.

            It is strange to think that we have come so far (both literally and historically) and yet inequities like this occur everyday, in small, oftentimes unnoticed ways. Reading about this movement in a book and standing two feet away from where the bomb that killed four young girls in the 16^th Street Baptist Church are two very different things. It has only been one day but we have already been exposed to the raw complexities and intricacies of a movement that changed our history forever. The emotion becomes more transparent, the stories become more palpable, and all the while we have come closer to learning more about our past while learning more about one another. We are like cameras, and our lenses have been set on a long exposure setting that allows us to soak in all the light and vibrant colors this trip has to offer. It will take time for our pictures to develop. Hopefully this can be an intentional dark room for us to share our thoughts and reflections with you. Welcome to the Civil Right’s Immersion 2012 journey.

Until next time,

Aurora