Loraine Motel and National Civil Rights Museum

Today, we visited the Loraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. This motel was where Martin Luther King was assassinated April 4, 1968 on the balcony, in front of room 306. Of course, I’ve learned about this event in many times before, but being at the actual place where this event happened was really emotional for me. I actually stood where he stood as when he was shot. Then, we were able to stand where the sniper was and read about the long investigation of his murder. The alleged killers name was James Earl Ray. Being in the museum sort of angered me. I don’t understand how people can just be so cruel and rather live in hatred than in peace.

I think today was the hardest for me. While at the Loraine Motel, everything felt so alive. I could imagine the scene in my head. Dr. King being on the balcony, and seeing his body fall to the ground from the gunshots. He was a man who fought for the rights of all people and was put through the amount of pain, but still remained humble. Dr. King wanted nothing but peace and love. I admire his bravery so much. I’m not sure if I would have been able to tolerate the hate that he received from others. Dr. King was a bold man!

 

--Kori

Religion

By Sofie Rudin, The Park School of Baltimore

I am an adamant skeptic of religion. Usually, I think of religious institutions as divisive social structures. I dropped out of Hebrew school and am firmly nonreligious. 

            On the Sunday before MLK day, we visited Ebenezer Baptist Church, and I initially considered myself a religious tourist, coming to see the church of Martin Luther King Jr.’s childhood, which he later returned to as a preacher. But as soon as the choir began to sing, I was swept up in the sound and knew I was more than simply a spectator; I sang, with the whole congregation, as loudly as I could. And then the pastor began to speak. He spoke of how the Kingdom of Heaven is threatened violence. He spoke of the humiliation of unemployment and the injustice of poverty—of working minimum wage full time and over time and still being unable to afford a two-bedroom apartment. He spoke of prison—how a two-month sentence is, in reality, a life sentence—the war on drugs, and gun legislation. And he spoke about how these forms of violence are affecting our communities today, describing problems with incredible passion and conviction.

            For half an hour, the pastor became the conscience of the community. Not only did he talk about political and social agendas, but he also gave moral advice: he said that if you’ve never had hard times because of what you say, you ought to examine the truth of the gospel you’re preaching. He reminded us that what affects one of us directly affects all of us indirectly, as Dr. King did. He preached these messages with caring force and thoughtful leadership.

            When we sang “We Shall Overcome” at the end of the service, with our arms around one another, I realized that, though I do not believe in God, I believe in the power of religious communities to provide support. The moral and emotional support, provided by both the words of the pastor and the music of the choir, was so clearly enormous.  I understood, for the first time, the importance of the role of religion. I am by no means a convert. The way I felt in the church similar to how I feel standing in the mountains or cooking, eating, and laughing impossibly hard with friends, and, more importantly, I mumbled and averted my eyes when God was mentioned, particularly Jesus. But regardless of the actual religion, I saw for the first time how the support, guidance, and community provided by churches across the South were essential to the civil rights movement. Fear and doubt disappeared during the service, I felt full of hope and was compelled to dedicate myself to making the world better,

            In the aftermath of that experience, doubt has returned, along with my skeptical questions. Firstly, I began to wonder whether the support and guidance were enough to foster a world-changing movement, or whether faith in God, or at the very least some higher power is necessary as well. (I hope not, but I’m not sure.) I also wonder: how united must the values of a community be in order to create this type of sustaining support? And how does this affect people who fall between groups?

            We watched Obama’s (second!) inauguration from the Southern Poverty Law center the following day, which was absolutely incredible, except for  the religious language and content used in the ceremony. The references to Jesus in the final benediction troubled me, and I was disturbed by the words, “one nation under God,” more than usual. But most of all, I was intensely bothered by the fact that both Obama and Biden took their oaths with their hand on a bible. Religion felt like a uniting force in Ebenezer, but suddenly turned sinister in government—an institutionalized form of segregation. Would it be possible for us to elect a Muslim, Jewish, or nonreligious president? If we did, what book would they take their oath of office over?

Parting Advice Part 1

         This past summer, a group of teachers from Park School went on a version of the same Civil Rights Trip that I am experiencing now. Although it was a small group of teachers, from only one school, and although they weren't on the road for as long as we will be, they swore by the trip, saying that it was one of the most meaningful and touching experiences of their lives. They were eager to impart on us so much advice on how to make the most of every moment. 

         The teachers gave us tips on what to look out for and where to find them. They gave us the names of people involved in the movement whose stories had been particularly inspirational. However, it was one piece of advice that stuck out to me, and following it has proved to enhance my trip in immeasurable ways. I have grown to appreciate the overwhelming (in a great way) pool of information that has been placed in front of me in the past four days, in an unexpected and extremely exciting way.

         I was walking in the hallway at school when I was stopped by one of the teachers who had been on the trip. He said I had asked him if he could give us any one piece of advice, what would it be? He said that after having given it some thought, I should focus on the people who were going to be on the trip with me. The prospective relationships with my peers were what could make the trip something truly unique. With this advice in mind, I joined everyone on the bus at City College and we left for North Carolina. 

- Rachel Hettleman

Group Discussions - Kori, Rashard, Chutney, Naomi, Devon, Rebecca

QUESTION: Which is more the underlying education problem in the U.S.--- race or poverty? How do we fix it? Where do we start?

" I think race and poverty fall in the same line. In most cases, private schools tend to have better education because they have more money in the school. Those who don't have the means, or cannot afford private school aren't able to receive that same level of education." - Kori Burston

" I think that race and poverty goes hand and hand." -Chutney Yates

"I think that race sometimes implies the economic status of the people, in which influence the education they have. Something that we can do is to create a equal opportunity for everybody to afford a decide education." -Devon C. Floyd

"I actually do not think either of the two are a problem in education. Some students do well and work hard and others do not, no matter the race or finical status"- Rashard Roles

"I really have issue with saying that race causes problems in education, the way that this question seems to be phrased. Segregation and race does occur in institutions of education but people of all races are equally able to learn. I think that education problems come from economic origins. Schools without funds simply have to struggle more to provide opportunity for the students. By no means am I saying that richer schools provide better educations. But I think that schools that are perceived as poor will get less attention and less money and are valued less in our capitalistic society. In many places poverty falls along racial lines and because public schools that aren't magnet schools are zoned, many schools end up with groups of less well off people that in many cases are the same race, creating segregated schools which are often perceived as not as able as richer schools and get less attention and funds. It's a vicious cycle that might involve both race and poverty, but I think ultimately money is what puts positive focus on a school and, subsequently might lead to a "better" school whether it be private or public or anything in between. But I also acknowledge that I might have a screwed view not living in a city and going to a predominantly white private school. " --Rebecca Schwartz

Making the Civil Rights Trip Mandatory for High-schoolers

           The question should the Civil Rights Trip be made mandatory for high-schoolers was posed to us today. Ultimately, we have decided that the answer is no. The main reason is that if the trip were to be made mandatory, the students participating would not be there by choice - similar to all the young activists who participated in the Civil Rights Movement. This is a crucial factor that unites all of us and allows us to fully appreciate the trip; the speakers, the history and each other. We would not feel quite as comfortable with one another as we do now if the trip were mandatory. Because  every single person decided to take this journey on their own, there are no restrictions on our discussions. Cost is also a huge factor. It would be extremely difficult to raise money for every high-schooler to attend the trip. Of course, there is an argument for yes as well. Students who would not initially think they would benefit from the trip may have some great realization or life changing experience. People who only have learned from books and school would be able to experience knowledge in a different way. In addition, someone who would not make it through the selection process might really gain a lot from the experience. However, by making it mandatory there would be huge numbers of students on the trip who would not be that interested. The nature of the trip would also change. The personal connections made between civil rights activists we spoke to us (such as John Lewis, Clinton Sellers, Lewis Brandon, Catherine Burks-Brooks, Cleo Goree, Willie Rivers, and Dr. Sybil Hampton) would just not be possible with such large and continuous groups. The personal connection to history that we have all created through the course of the trip would also not be as strong. The trip should be open to everyone instead of being mandatory and instead of having an application process. Nevertheless, a commitment to fundraising and the larger group would still be necessary. The goal of the Civil Rights trip is to educate young people and allow them to experience history and the struggle of the "others." This is would not be possible if the trip were to be made mandatory.

- Beth, Jess (Park), Ella, Morgan, Hal (City), and Sam (City Neighbors)

Would you have been brave enough to fight for equal rights in the 1950's and 60's? How about now?

In our group we talked about how it would be terribly hard to deal with the physical, verbal, and psychological abuse that people faced in the time of the movement. After a long duration of continuous abuse, it starts to get to you and you start to believe what people are calling you. The general consensus was that it also would be hard to remain nonviolent. We would have to take classes in remaining nonviolent. A few of us come from families where remaining stoic is the norm, which in one sense would help us in staying nonviolent, but on the other hand it would force us to further internalize the abuse and hardships. One person talked about how it would actually be hard to speak up if they saw abuse going on. The risk that it would bring upon them and their family would be too much and they wouldn't be comfortable.

In today's society, standing up for what we believe in doesn't necessarily risk our lives as it did in the 50's and 60's, so we feel that it's easier. With issues like immigration, marriage equality and others, we feel as if standing up for equality now is a lot easier than it was back then. A few of us do actively stand up for equal rights already, and feel as if because it's not about such radical movements, speaking up for what we believe in isn't as threatening and dangerous. We know that it would be tough and dangerous to stand up but we couldn't sit on the sidelines and watch. It took a while for people to act upon the realization that things need to change. We took that and formed the conclusion that while it may be hard to decide in the beginning, we would definitely stand up in the end.

-Baylor, Nikki, Will A, Will K, Daleth, and Kelsey
-1.24.2013

Does race matter?

Group: Jamani Epps, Kindle Cox, Rachel Hettleman, Lia Adams, Sophie Bauerschmidt Sweeney, Christopher Mergen, Hilde Wulf
Question: Does race matter?

We began our discussion about the difference between whether race should matter and whether it does matter. We decided as a group that it really shouldn’t have to matter, but that it does, given the society we live in, and that its existence in society is beyond the control of any one individual. We discussed how it matters in instances like affirmative action—it wouldn’t be fair for colleges to evaluate a student from Simmons in the same way that they would evaluate a student from Dear Creek, the white private school in the area. We also discussed how race and class are inextricably conjoined, so the question of how race affects people materially is more complicated than just race.

We then went on to discuss whether race should matter given the society that we do have and how the elimination of race would affect African American culture. Because African Americans have no one place of origin within Africa and because there are so many different African cultures, we weren’t sure whether “African American” should be considered a race or an ethnicity. We decided that if it is a race (because it consists of so many varied ethnicities), African American culture could be a positive result of race having mattered in the past. At this point, Stacy joined our conversation and pointed out that African American culture can be very divisive and is therefore not necessarily a good thing. She also made the point that because slaves didn’t know their place of origin, “African American” can in some ways be considered an ethnicity because there often isn’t a cultural link between African Americans and their ancestral places of origin.

Ultimately, we decided that race definitely does matter in our society, but also that the ways in which it can matter—and the ways it can be either good or bad—are much more complicated that a fifteen minute conversation.

The question we (Abi, Beraka, Alex, Megan, Sofie, Nyshai) were given was, "Should we be tolerant of intolerance?" The discussion was phenomenal, but we mostly ended up with more questions.

First, Abi told a story about a man who provided a warm, dry barn (and food and water) to a group of teenage bikers caught in a thunderstorm. The catch? His barn walls were covered with Confederate flags, and huge posters proclaiming racist, pro-Confederate-South messages--the most innocent of which being, "Go home Yankees." Some of the kids were made so uncomfortable by the political messages that they couldn't stay in that room, even though the man had been nothing but openly kind.

Sofie brought up a famous picture of two KKK members tenderly holding their babies. The contrasting images between KKK members as symbols of hatred, and the same men as loving fathers also presented a situation where the actions a person took collided with another aspect of that person. We imagined the same fatherly affection from Emmett Till's killers.

Our new questions:

• Can you tolerate a person, but not his/her actions? Is this separation something to which we should aspire?
• Does a person's actions create assumptions (positive or negative) about their character? Do we have the right to make those assumptions?
• What constitutes tolerance?
• Should we seek to understand hate?
• What conversation would we have with Emmett Till's killers, if we could meet them?
• Hazel and Elizabeth Eckford--can we see past the hate on Hazel's face? (Elizabeth and Hazel were briefly friends.)
• Do you as a person decide what is intolerance? Is there a universal definition? Should there be?
• If two men can come home from being hateful in the extreme and be loving fathers, how do we judge them? Which extreme are they?
• Is it possible to speak out against intolerant actions while being tolerant of the person acting?

The Young & Brave by Kori B.

      On day 5 of our trip, we were able to drive to Little Rock, Arkansas to visit Little Rock Central High School. When we first arrived, the group went downtown to see statues of the 9 students that integrated this school that was made only for white students. After seeing the statues, the group visited the Central High Visitors Center.  At the center, we learned about the very beginning of the United States until present day and important facts and quotes about the nine students. We also watched a film on The Little Rock Nine, their struggle, and the uproar that took place. Because the school was right across the street, we walked over and had a tour of the school. To think about how hard the students had to fight in order to even step foot inside of the school and to see the diversity in the school was heart touching. Their consistency, hard work, pain and tears paid off.
        Being able to stand in the same spot that so much history has taken place is amazing. This trip has humbled me so much. I appreciate everyone that came before me to fight for the rights of all people. I have also realized how much I take for granted. What I have done in the past cannot change, but I will redirect my future.

Beraka Bland

By Beraka Bland '13 Baltimore City College
Today we went to Little Rock AK and went to Little Rock Central High School. I learned a lot from the very knowledgeable tour guide, and also after seeing the school in person i realized how huge it is. I would love to go there if i lived in Little Rock. Also meeting Dr. Sybil Hampton it made me realize that young people can make a big difference.

By Will Krakowiak - City Neighbors High School

I felt like I had a good understanding for the events that took place during the civil rights movement, but now that I've lived it I have a much greater understanding of the movement.

Connection to Civil Rights

by Beraka Bland '13, Baltimore City College 

Sunday the 20th we went to Ebenezer Church in Atlanta and actually got to see Dr.Kings home.When we were allowed to wander the Martin Luther King Historic site I especially was touched by the museum that was own and operated by the King family. Because of the minor details that were in the museum. Like his shoes or his wallet or his suitcase that he used and the clothes that would be in it. To me this was just as powerful as any other type of exhibition because it not just showed the events of the Civil Rights Movement but who he was as a man. And also it gave incite into Coretta's life as well which I really appreciated because we do not see her story often.

When we left, we went to Birmingham, Al we went to the Civil Right Institute which was literally across the street from Kelly Ingram Park and the 16th Baptist Church. The Civil Rights Institute in particular drummed up some intense emotions in me. Anger being the main one, just because the realistic exhibitions in my opinion put you right in the steps of the movement. And highlighted things like the internal struggle of opposition of some friends and family such as the conversation that a man and his wife had about her going to a meeting. Or the bar owner closing his shop to attend. Also the statues that were in the museum had a very heightened sense of realism like the little girl standing ,sadness all across her face outside the soda shop while two white teenagers laughed it up on the inside. This resonated with me and coupled with being in such close proximity to where Project C and the bombing was just made me frustrated to the point of anger that this could happen in the "home of democracy". 

After we left we went to diner with Catherine Burks-Brooks, Barbra Mines, Cleopatra Goree and Mr.Rivers(who i helped to his car and to his positioning for the picture). The stories they shared showed me not just the point of view of the historians telling the facts. It showed me how intense these events were for the people who went through them and even going back to meeting John Lewis and getting a chance to meet Mr. Lewis at North Carolina A&T, i feel these encounters give me the information that textbooks or teachers or documentaries could ever give me. 

Personal Connections

by Rebecca Schwartz '13, The Park School of Baltimore

Yesterday, Monday the 21st, we visited Selma, Alabama where, in 1965, a group of determined people assembled to walk the 54 miles from Selma to Montgomery in the name of voting rights. Following their footsteps, we walked, skipped, and twirled in groups of two, arm in arm across the Edmund Pettus Bridge singing “We Shall Overcome” at the top of our lungs. On the other side, we gathered in a circle and talked. A question was posed: what connections have you made over the course of this trip? Shoulder to shoulder, we went around the circle and shared our connections. With about 15 students and teachers ahead of me, I had time to think about my answer. What personal connections have I made so far on this trip? What has connected me to the movement?

​The first answer that came to mind was from our trip to the Greyhound Bus Station in Montgomery that we had visited earlier that morning. The outside of the station was covered in a huge timeline of the events and people associated with the Freedom Rides. As I moved along the side of the building, reading about the stories of each of the original Freedom riders, the risks that they took, the oppression and opposition that they faced, I came to a simple table that listed the names, ages, races, genders, and hometowns of the riders. The oldest Freedom Rider was 22. The youngest was 18. I’m 17. I am not exactly sure what to say from here because I haven’t finished processing what this means to me. Even more than in learning about the children’s march or the story of the four young girls killed in the bombing of the 16th street Baptist Church I realized how young these brave activists were. And it has made me really question; am I capable of taking such huge risks and measures for something that I care about or that is as important as the movement was to these young people?

​But this is not what I ended up sharing as it reached my turn to speak about my connection. Instead, I decided to talk about my experience with the Wall of Tolerance at the Southern Poverty Law in Montgomery that we visited after the Greyhound Bus station in order to watch the inauguration. The Wall of Tolerance is an electronic wall where you are invited to add your name if you are committed to tolerance. According to the SPLC, “Those who place their names on the wall make a commitment to work in their daily lives for justice, equality and human rights – the ideals for which the civil rights martyrs died.” As I pondered whether or not to add my name I watched the names of previous visitors move up and down. Each name was added by someone in our generation and those previous who have made this pledge and who are working today to honor this commitment. I have honestly never felt more hopeful about what our future will look like. Each person on the wall is tolerant and will spread that tolerance, creating a web of people who will work every day to maintain and work towards justice, equality and human rights. Though the young people who rode the Greyhound buses for freedom are now old, a new generation of tolerance and fighters is rising up and making the pledge, and I want to be a part of that generation, I signed my name on the wall.

Day One- Greensboro, NC

After several hours on the bus and a beautiful sunrise, we made our way to the International Civil Rights Museum. The museum, constructed from the original F.W. Woolworth in which the Greensboro Four conducted their nation changing sit ins, did not allow pictures to be taken.

At the end of the tour, our tour guide left us with some inspirational words: "don't be afraid to make wrong right."

We then traveled to North Carolina A&T University where we had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Lewis A. Brandon, a participant in the Greensboro sit ins. Mr. Brandon was gracious enough to share his personal experiences and answer student questions within a university classroom setting.

Let's get some students on here to share their thoughts now...
- S. Royal

Getting Geared Up

This is the first entry for CNHS civil rights trip! We will be using this blog to keep a journal of what our experiences are. Hope you enjoy!