Hello!! My name is Elijah Hamilton and I was fortunate enough to participate in Journey to Justice, a class we offer here at the University of Evansville. It’s available during spring break and is a great opportunity to learn about the rights movement and going to the cities that had the most impact.
This picture shows the Alabama State Capitol, located in Montgomery, Alabama. In this photo you can see permanent footsteps, representing the physical footsteps as well as the embodiment of the lasting impact of the foot soldiers who marched from Selma to Montgomery. This street is also where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr gave his infamous speech at the conclusion of the march.
In Selma, Alabama, you can find this beautiful mural close to Brown Chapel, which was the starting point of the march from Selma to Montgomery. Our group during the trip was fortunate enough to have a woman explain this mural and its importance. She had been a part of the gatherings and meetings for the march, but was too young to participate, as she was around 11 or 12 years old at the time. To summarize how she explained the mural to us: March 7th marks Bloody Sunday, the bold words “VOTE” and “EQUALITY” show plainly what Dr. King was fighting for Black Americans to have the right to, and the image saying “Can’t Be Stopped” going into the voting ballet shows the dedication and grit of those involved in the movement.
The Edmund Pettus Bridge is located in Selma, Alabama; although to you it may just look like any old bridge, this bridge actually contains so much history and context within it. This bridge was the site of “Bloody Sunday,” where foot soldiers were brutally attacked and tear gas was used. The law enforcement came down on the protestors on both horses and by foot and used batons to attack the foot soldiers on the bridge, essentially beating everyone in sight without hesitation and faced no consequences for their actions after the act.
This picture is a representation of the state of this country not even 100 years ago and how “colored” people were forced to be seperated, segregated, othered. While on this trip, I learned that Black Americans had to be separate from the Whites in nearly every public space: riding the bus, watching a movie, and even using the bathroom. Pretty crazy to think about in current society, right?
Imagine growing up in this kind of environment and living in the United States, the self proclaimed “land of free,” and being treated so poorly based solely on the color of your skin. In this time, Black Americans were not being treated freely whatsoever, and this has had many lingering impacts into today.
In this final picture, you may recognize this motel or you may have heard its name, The Lorraine Motel. This notorious motel is located in Memphis, Tennessee, and whether or not you’ve heard of it before, let me tell you about its history for a brief moment. The Lorraine Motel is where Dr. King was assassinated and spent his last moments. He was in Memphis to support the sanitation workers in their protests. He marched with the workers wearing signs saying, “I Am A Man,” and supporting the sanitation workers’ fight for better working conditions, higher pay, and equal treatment. He was only 39 years old when his life was cut short, He was killed for doing the right thing and standing up for what he believed in. When you listen to his last speech, the “Mountain Top,” he mentions death and the tone in his voice sounds different from his prior speeches, indicating he may have had a feeling his time was coming to an end. The motel is now a Civil Rights Museum and a historic landmark in America.
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