Day 2 Civil Rights Trip 2024!

Civil Rights Trip in Birmingham. It was a long, full, meaningful and profound day! Driving to Birmingham, we drove past the exit to Holly Springs, Mississippi, the birthplace of Ida B Wells, another unsung worker of Civil Rights. She’s another one whose life I need to learn more about. Upon arriving in Birmingham, we went to the Civil Rights Institute, where leaders in the community were sharing the reading of Dr King’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail. Hearing those words, flanked by the statues of MLK and Rev. Shuttlesworth, and across the street from Kelly Ingram Park and the 16th St Baptist Church, his words took on new meaning. This was the hub where 1000’s of protesters and marchers gathered over and over again to march for the same rights as white persons enjoyed. In the 1960’s, marchers organized at 16th St Baptist Church and then marched across the street to Kelly Ingram Park to march. On one day, during the Children’s March, they were met by firehoses and dogs, ordered there by the commissioner of Public Safety, Bull Connor. What a coward he was to order vicious dogs and powerful fire hoses on children. Today, I was struck by the new reality taking place in the park. School children were happily running around, playing ring-a-round the rosy, and enjoying the beautiful day. Like other places or moments of trauma in our lives, those that can be reclaimed for good can help us write a new story and that’s what those children were doing today. We were able to visit the Civil Rights Institute, a place dedicated not only to telling the stories of history, but also inspiring a new generation of activists. And then we were blessed by our hosts at the 16th St Baptist Church, who share the stories of that day in September 1963, where hate went so far that it took the lives of 4 girls excited to be at church and 2 teenage boys who later that afternoon were killed in the mayhem of the day. It took the death of these children to finally spur the nation on to notice what was happening in Birmingham. One of our hosts at 16th St Baptist Church said, “How can you not like somebody you know nothing about or you have never even met?” She reminded us that hate is learned at home. Another way this happens is when its engrained in our social customs, written into our laws, or taught by our leaders. And so it is perceived as being right and even by some, believed to be in line with the teachings of Jesus. But treating anyone as less than a child of God is never in line with the teachings of Jesus. My hope and prayer for this trip is that not only each of us is changed, but that our experience ripples out and impacts others in positive ways. We need to hear these stories, painful as they are, to acknowledge the atrocities of the past and create a different story for everyone moving forward. We ended our day with the celebration of Shabbat, led by Rabbi Rebecca and others from Moses Montefiore Temple. It was a moving, meaningful, and important moment to share together with our group representing various religious backgrounds. May God‘s radical love lead us all.