We’ve been talking a lot on our journey about the timeline for the civil rights movement and where it began. Did it begin with Plessy v Ferguson in the 1890s when Homer Plessy dared to defy, and lose the challenge against Louisiana’s segregation law? Did it begin with Brown v the Board of Education in 1954? Or, did it begin where we started the day, on a bus in Montgomery, AL with Rosa Parks and the boycott that followed. Our first stop laid out what happened on that bus, the boycott that followed, and the case of Browder v Gayle which ended with a victory for human rights deeming segregation on buses as unconstitutional. The boycott did not start with the intention of ending segregation, but simply humane treatment. As the boycott extended and tensions mounted, it became national news and the call for justice only increased. In the end, it highlights more than just Rosa Parks and her role, but the women who led the organization and the “foot soldiers” that walked to freedom. Where the true beginning of the civil rights’ timeline begins is still up for debate, it is certain that the timeline still continues.
On our second stop, we learned more about the impact of narrative in our history where the story that is told the most, is not a true reflection of the past. At the More Up Campus we learned how Michelle Browder, niece of Aurelia Browder (Browder v Gayle), found her own way to continue to fight for truth in the fight for human dignity. As an artist, she was influenced by a painting by Robert Thom that depicts J. Marion Sims as a hero of modern gynecology. In researching him, and his experimentation on unwilling black woman victims she felt the need to rewrite the narrative. She purchased the hospital in which Sims did his work with the purpose of restoring the building to utilize midwives and doulas while also making it a space for learning for medical students. She goes further to honor the women who made unwilling sacrifices “in the name of science” by Dr. Sims by using her artistic talents to honor Anarcha, Lucy, and Betsy in a beautiful display of welded-metal artwork. Through the Mothers of Gynecology, Ms. Browder also serves the still underserved medical community with a mobile clinic. Most of all, she continues to challenge the false narratives throughout our history. As educators, it’s important to show the narrative through the lens of truth, even if it’s through the lenses on a pair of red-framed glasses.
As we continued the day, we entered a new setting in the American Civil Rights Movement, Birmingham, AL. As the setting changed, so did the emotions of the movement felt in this particular place. We first visited the 16th Street Baptist Church along with Kelly Ingram Park. In the park, we talked how Birmingham was consider the “Pretoria of the South” (a nod to apartheid in South Africa) and would be a proving ground for the movement. In continuing the economic pressure following the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a boycott against local businesses under the name of Project C was carried out. This movement was bolstered by the training of adolescents to work on the front lines of the protest. Despite the violence enacted upon the protesters through the use of dogs and water cannons, the protesters broke the local business owners through their perseverance, and scored a victory for the movement. Unfortunately, the victory was bittersweet. As a response, local Klan members bombed the 16th Street Baptist Church killing four children and making it feel like no place is sacred or safe. The emotions and tensions became a call for more action, but the cost was high.
Religious institutions have always been places of learning and reflection. The next stop on our journey today, Temple Beth-El, allowed us to do both. We looked into where the Jewish community in Birmingham stood during the civil rights movement, something they were compelled to do following a failed bombing of the temple in 1958. We discussed where on the spectrum of advocacy did different individuals we read about fell and how their own personal struggles could impact their involvement. One of the individuals highlighted was Rabbi Graffman, who as one of our student participants explained had a “full circle experience.” In the beginning, he spoke out against the injustices, but eventually wavered and was aligned with other religious leaders that elicited Dr. King’s letter from a Birmingham jail. Following the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church, he spoke an unprepared speech in which he expressed his horror and said, “I’m sick of heart, because of what the so called ‘nice people’ who want to put the blame upon everyone but themselves.” This message from the Rabbi to me seems like a challenge for us to do better, and to reflect on how we can do so.
As a final reflection at Temple Beth-El, we were able to look at the human element of the tragedy behind the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing. We were privileged to hear from a survivor of the bombing, Reverend Carolyn McKinstry. Though the Reverend did speak some of her experience in protesting and the bombing itself (it was something she admitted was a heavy burden to share), she talked more about how she moved forward and how we can too. She echoed the sentiment that as a community we are all responsible for combating the evils in the world when referencing a letter from Charles Morgan. She spoke mostly to the youngest in the group, advising them to study hard and to pay attention to the world they are inheriting. Towards the end, she emphasized that we can, and will, all continue to live and do better. Hopefully we can all do better and build a world with a foundation as strong as the 16th Baptist Church’s.
As we concluded the day, we drove through the historic area along Center Street known as Dynamite Hill. This area was a dividing line between the black and white communities. As more black families entered the middle class and moved into the area, white radicals and the Klan saw this as an encroachment not only on their community but their way of life. They responded with violence and bombings, in which there were at least 40 unsolved bombings. As we drove through in the twilight (even on the longest day of the year, we ran out of sunlight), it is hard to believe a quiet neighborhood was a scene of chaos and terror.