by Maxime Munyeshyaka
For our third day in Alabama, a city rich in civil rights history, we spent most of the day walking in our most comfortable shoes. It was extremely hot outside on average of 65 degrees Fahrenheit which is better than the cold Minnesota. While on the way to the Legacy Museum, most of students were reflecting on their networking experiences with Carleton Alumni at Rob’s house in Atlanta and were worried about how they will be walking all day to different places, waiting to return to the bus at 4:30PM. At the beginning of the tour, a staff member informed us that the Legacy museum is located on the site of a former warehouse where black people were enslaved in Montgomery. Everything else was self-guided and we were NOT allowed to take pictures and videos. Through visuals and data-rich exhibits, the museum gave us the opportunity to learn about the tragic history of African Americans and racial oppression they face(d) throughout their journey to equality. The museum immersed us in the sights and sounds of the slave trade, racial terrorism, and the Jim Crow laws through use of interactive media, sculpture, videography and exhibits. There was a room showing slaves in jail cells who were each telling their stories. On next exhibit, I was shocked to find out that the wall displaying the treatment slaves during the domestic slave trade showed a picture of imprisoned men in Maula prison. The prison is located in Malawi where I grew up and forced its prisoners to sleep like the enslaved of the Middle Passage. Besides that, there was also another wall filled with jars contains soil particles displaying names of the lynching victims for remembrance. However, not all jars had names of them. In addition to that, the museum also showed the 21th century victims of injustice which mainly included letters of prisoners’ cases requesting for justice. It is not fair to say equality has been achieved in this country due to the injustice towards African American and other minority groups.
After spending two hours at the museum, we took a bus shuttle to the National Memorial for Peace and Justice. The memorial is a six-acre site which recognizes the victims of racial terror lynching. Before being allowed in by the security guard, Declan and I had to call Dean Livingston for the guard to verify that we were indeed part of the Carleton College group, since we were the last individuals remaining. The memorial had a good amount of suspending metal blocks which showed names of lynching victims including their counties and states. Even though all metal blocks displayed the victim’s information, it was noted that not all lynching victims have been identified suggesting more unknown extreme damage was made to the African-American community. It took me about 40 minutes to finish exploring the lynching memorial. After that, I went to the memorial gift shop and bought a book, two t-shirts and a sweatshirt to remembrance. One of the t-shirts has an important quote saying “The opposite of poverty is not wealth. The opposite of poverty is justice” by Bryan Stevenson.
Later on, we had lunch at Chris’ Hot Dogs. Chris’ Hot dogs has been operating since 1917 on Dexter Avenue which is the same street where Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat. Martin Luther King Jr. would also swing by Chris’ Hot dog to say hello and pick up his morning paper before the Montgomery Bus Boycott. In brief, the hot dog joint was one of the few eateries to ignore segregation laws and feed all its hungry customers equally. While we walking to the restaurant from the lynching museum, we went in a wrong direction due to the difficulties of using google maps and lack of familiarity of the place. At the restaurant, I ordered two special hamburgers and they were amazing; probably one of few best burgers I have ever had. I also had a pecan pie, surprisingly I only ate a small portion of it because other students really wanted to taste the very same pie. I wish they could not have asked for the pie because I was craving to finish it by myself. Lunch took 1 hour 30 minutes and we walk to the Rosa Parks museum located in Troy University.
The museum honors Rosa Parks legacy by entailing her life and lessons during civil rights movement, and also honors the Montgomery Bus boycott. Like at other previous museum we visited, the tour was self-guided but we all started by watching a video in a dark room about Rosa Parks. I liked the fact the video emphasized that she was not the first woman to not give up and due to her dignity, she became the prominent figure up to the point we call her, the mother of civil rights movement. We continued the tour by watching an illustration of her arrest in a room via bus widows. The museum did a wonderful job by show most of the bus boycott significant moments including leaders such as MLK who were involved. We then went to the Civil rights Memorial Center.
Outside the Civil rights Memorial center, a circular black granite table records the names of the martyrs and chronicles the history of the civil rights movement in lines that radiate like the hands of a clock. unlike a waterfall, water emerges from the table’s center and flows across the top. We were allowed to touch the engraved names. Behind the table, there was a curved black granite wall engraved with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s well-known paraphrase of Amos 5:24- We will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream. Inside the building, the civil rights movement is remembered by honoring those killed during the struggle thriving for equality. While touring, I was reflecting as to where we are in history today and remembering that where we are going is far away from where we are coming from.
After spending most of the day walking and getting the steps in, we departed for dinner at Martha’s Place. I had beef ribs which were so good; much better than LDC/Burton dining hall. Most people including me were exhausted after the meal. Luckily, we had a chance to stop at Walmart store where my friends and I bought ice cream after days craving for it. I took a nap on the back to the hotel and later I realized that I had to write this blog which was due in two hours.