Monday, March 30, 2009

pretending to be in the White House
Civil Rights Memorial
the Little Rock Nine statues


I am glad that I went on the Civil Rights Pilgrimage. I enjoy learning about history, and experiencing history in the sites where it actually happened makes the learning that much more powerful. When reflecting back on my goals, I see that I learned things about southern culture as well, not just history. My friends and I tried to get “off the beaten path” while we were on the trip, going to small, family owned restaurants, or spending time talking to the trolley drivers and people on the street. One man that we talked to had his receipt for the poll tax he had to pay before the voting laws were changed. He had it laminated in his wallet so he could show people how things were in the past. In New Orleans I spent a long time talking to a man who lived on the street we were picking up garbage from. He thanked me and my friends for what we were doing. I asked him what it was like after Katrina, and he said it looked like a bomb had blown up in the neighborhood. When the water went down there were dead animals and trash all over the street so it was hard to drive, if you were brave enough to scoop the layers of river sediment off your encrusted car. He talked about how the government and insurance agencies didn’t give him any help. However, he said he was proud of his country, because Hundreds of people had come from all over to help clean up and put the city back in order. He was amazed by the helping spirit, knowing that New Orleans would not be the way it is today without all the volunteers.
Even thought the South has come a long way, there is still a long way to go. Walking around in the towns we were in was a bit shocking sometimes. In Montgomery we went on a tour of the state capital, and then were given free time for lunch. We had been told to go to this specific restaurant by a local person we talked to, so we wandered around to find it. All of a sudden, we crossed from the nice, city-feeling part of the capital where all the buildings were white, to a run down residential street where we were an obvious minority. After crossing one street, it was like we were in a completely different town. I had not experienced that before, and it was a little unnerving to me.
I loved going to the Southern Poverty Law Center and seeing the Civil Rights memorial. It was interesting to see the work they are doing today to end hate in the USA. I am so glad I went on this trip; I learned so much!

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