The Power of Place

Today I am grateful for the safe travels we-students, chaperones, and bus driver-had on our recent Civil Rights Trip. I appreciate all who helped guide us on our various tours, sharing their passion and their stories. 

The history of the Civil Rights Movement is heavy with struggle, setbacks, hatred, and tragedies. It is also uplifted by the amazing courage, faith, and perseverance of those who kept risking their lives for what matters most. 

We saw historic places. Stood on sacred ground. We read, listened, viewed many exhibits, videos, and photos that tell a story in intricate detail. Those details were sometimes full of heartbreaking inhumanity and sometimes imbued with a level of humanity that can help heal those same broken hearts.

I knew some of the story of the Civil Rights Movement. I learned, and felt, so much more of it on this trip. It is a story that begins with the kidnapping and enslavement of Africans centuries ago. It is a story most profoundly captured at the Legacy Museum in Montgomery, Alabama. "From Enslavement to Mass Incarceration" is the theme of this museum. The truth is hard. And necessary.

We were in churches, bus stations, museums. We walked along streets and through areas where stories were palpable. We felt the power of place. Our tour ended with a stop at the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee. It is built at the Lorraine Motel where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968. 

I have many pictures on my camera roll. The two I am choosing to share today symbolize the power of place:

The first photo is from our hotel in Montgomery. I thought to myself as I looked out: "X marks the spot of so much history over this city." 

The second is outside the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis.

I think the students, the other adults, and I will be processing the information and emotions from this trip for some time. And I think we all gained from the experience and our time together.