-Emily Burke
I really enjoyed Thursday. It is my favorite day so far.
We learned the mentality it takes to stay nonviolent with the Reverend in Selma, and then we headed to Montgomery. In Montgomery we went to a really fantastic museum (in the top 10 of the nation according to US Magazine). There were a lot of stories from the Civil Rights movement that the museum brought to life. I listened to recreated typical conversations of the time. Many African Americans were worried about their jobs or their families circumstances if they joined the movement. Some children were just beginning to understand the inequality in their lives. It was really interesting to be put into a conversation of normal day life.
The stories of the four girls who were killed from the church bombing in Montgomery were really emotional to me. The museum did a really good job of making the girl's stories feel personal compared to being simply factual. There were pieces of clothing from the girls and quotes from their parents about how they felt when they learned their children were near the bombing. The parents were fearful that their children could have been hurt, and history shows that they were right to be fearful because they would never see their children alive again. The stories were really emotional.
Due to time constraints I was only able to see maybe 80% of the museum, but towards the end there were a couple art galleries. They fascinated me. The first gallery focussed on photography of people with AIDs. The people told their stories and it really hit me how prominent AIDs is in our world. The second gallery had really interesting pieces of art too. There were paintings and sculptures of all sorts of types. It's interesting to see how diverse art can be but all be so beautiful at the same time.
After the museum we toured Montgomery, Alabama with Barry, a local high school AP History teacher. This was my favorite city tour. Barry told us the history in a comfortable manner. I felt like I was in high school; he felt friendly. The stories he had to tell were interesting, and captivated my attention. It felt as if he was talking with us compared to talking to us. The monuments in the park outside of the museum were passionate. It felt as if the monuments were able to put the viewer into the time. The four girls murdered in the church bombing were portrayed playing on a bench. A few paces farther MLK Jr. was a figure giving a speech. An additional few paces farther was a side of a house. On the other side of the house water hoses and people were on the ground. It was emotional because on one side the viewer didn't see the pain of the people, the viewer did not feel emotion. But once you walked through the house door, you could see the people on the ground and you could feel the pain. There was also a monument with dogs in the air facing towards the viewer on both sides. It was as if you were walking through a tunnel surrounded by hate and vicious terror. The dogs were scary.
I wish that the park could have a monument dedicated to the future or even the present. I'd like to see that although this city went through so much turmoil and hate, it now has a better sense of acceptance. I'd like the park to show that all of the painful monuments do not go in vain.
I really enjoyed Thursday. It is my favorite day so far.
We learned the mentality it takes to stay nonviolent with the Reverend in Selma, and then we headed to Montgomery. In Montgomery we went to a really fantastic museum (in the top 10 of the nation according to US Magazine). There were a lot of stories from the Civil Rights movement that the museum brought to life. I listened to recreated typical conversations of the time. Many African Americans were worried about their jobs or their families circumstances if they joined the movement. Some children were just beginning to understand the inequality in their lives. It was really interesting to be put into a conversation of normal day life.
The stories of the four girls who were killed from the church bombing in Montgomery were really emotional to me. The museum did a really good job of making the girl's stories feel personal compared to being simply factual. There were pieces of clothing from the girls and quotes from their parents about how they felt when they learned their children were near the bombing. The parents were fearful that their children could have been hurt, and history shows that they were right to be fearful because they would never see their children alive again. The stories were really emotional.
Due to time constraints I was only able to see maybe 80% of the museum, but towards the end there were a couple art galleries. They fascinated me. The first gallery focussed on photography of people with AIDs. The people told their stories and it really hit me how prominent AIDs is in our world. The second gallery had really interesting pieces of art too. There were paintings and sculptures of all sorts of types. It's interesting to see how diverse art can be but all be so beautiful at the same time.
After the museum we toured Montgomery, Alabama with Barry, a local high school AP History teacher. This was my favorite city tour. Barry told us the history in a comfortable manner. I felt like I was in high school; he felt friendly. The stories he had to tell were interesting, and captivated my attention. It felt as if he was talking with us compared to talking to us. The monuments in the park outside of the museum were passionate. It felt as if the monuments were able to put the viewer into the time. The four girls murdered in the church bombing were portrayed playing on a bench. A few paces farther MLK Jr. was a figure giving a speech. An additional few paces farther was a side of a house. On the other side of the house water hoses and people were on the ground. It was emotional because on one side the viewer didn't see the pain of the people, the viewer did not feel emotion. But once you walked through the house door, you could see the people on the ground and you could feel the pain. There was also a monument with dogs in the air facing towards the viewer on both sides. It was as if you were walking through a tunnel surrounded by hate and vicious terror. The dogs were scary.
I wish that the park could have a monument dedicated to the future or even the present. I'd like to see that although this city went through so much turmoil and hate, it now has a better sense of acceptance. I'd like the park to show that all of the painful monuments do not go in vain.