My favorite thing about our trip so far is going to the Ebenezer Baptist church this morning. It was such a fun experience, which is completely unlike any church experience up north. Everyone looked so happy singing and clapping to the music, and everyone was so welcoming. If I lived in the south, I would definitely be an avid Baptist church goer...even though I'm not religious!

After visiting the Birmingham, AL Civil Rights Institute, I had a lot of questions about how the severe treatment of black people could have gone unnoticed for so long. It seemed that once people from the South traveled up to the Washington Monument, that is when people realized the severity of the issue. Also, I was angry when I learned that there were laws passed to desegregate schools, and allow black people to vote... yet, the Southern state governments still found ways around that law to oppress the black citizens even longer. I don't even understand how the black population could have been so patient for all those years. I personally would have moved up North right away! But the fact that they stood their ground and fought for their rights through non-violent forms of expression was really impressive.