Selma, June 25th

June 25th

Going to the Southern Poverty Law Center was my favorite museum that we went to. The group learned about the 40 martyrs that left a huge impact during the civil rights movement. Although the whole exhibit was relatively short, it was extremely informative and left a stronger feeling. After leaving a room with all the martyrs and their stories, the group watched a short film that was also really well done and told a couple of the stories in greater detail. Once the film ended, there was this room where you have the opportunity to take a pledge to stand up against discrimination. This was my favorite part because you type your name out on an electric scroll that shows all the names of the people who took this pledge. Another amazing part of the Southern Poverty Law Center was the fountain that stood outside with all 40 names carved into it. It was a privilege to stand and touch the names in the fountain where many others have also touched like Rosa Parks. Overall, the experience from the Southern Poverty Law Center gave me the strongest impact and I hope to visit in the future to see my name still appearing on the scroll!

-Jamie

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On Thursday we went to the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Alabama. As we drove by the entrance I saw a beautiful water sculpture with a quote from Martin Luther King Jr.. Although I immediately recognized the beauty of the sculpture, it wasn't until after we went through the museum that I was able to understand its immense significance.
Our tour guide first told us that they had created the memorial for 40 martyrs of the Civil Rights Movement. It was created by the same person who made the Vietnam memorial in D.C.. As we walked into the first room we were told that there was a timeline of the deaths stretching across the wall and that there was a plaque with a picture of each person and a summarized story explaining who he/she was and why he/she was killed. One story that struck me was that of a man who was killed because he stood in the way of a bulldozer as he was fighting for justice. Another story was about a man who was shot because he went to a school to meet his mom, but when he arived he saw a civil rights protest, so he decided to stop and watch, but was then shot by the oppressors. I thought it was really cool that we got to learn about the 40 people that lost their lives in the movement because sometimes we only hear about the extremely famous people and I'm glad that the other important people were recognized at the memorial.
We then watched a movie that provided details about some of the stories. After the video that was very well done we walked through a hall way with current stories of injustice and hatred. I really enjoyed this because it showed that injustice didn't end in 1968 when MLK was murdered, bu still exists in our world today. Once we walked through this hall way we walked into a room with a large wall that had the names of thousands of people. The guide told us that these were the names of people who had sworn to fight against injustice and hatred and stand up for civil liberties. We then were given the option to add our name to the wall. I think that adding my name to that wall was probably one of the coolest things that I have done in my entire life and I felt like it underscored the meaning of this trip for me. As we watched the names appear and slide down the screen I felt like anything was possible and that we can make a change in this world.
Finally, we walked outside to see the famous water sculptures. I was able to touch the names of the 40 martyrs who were killed in the Civil Rights Movement. Then, I ran my fingers through MLK's name and it felt really good and inspired me. We took a group picture in front of the wall with MLK's quote and I was glad because I thought it was one of the most important and cool museums we went to on the entire trip.

-Leah