July 29, 2003

Ian Johnstone

"One early morning and a four-hour bus trip brought our group to our next stop, Birmingham, Alabama. Despite riding in style in a rock-star like party bus traveling on the road can be a tedious experience. The hours seem to multiply with the open road in front of you, yet what would this trip be like if we had to walk it. To gain a better understanding of the historical significance of the civil rights movement and desegregation as well as the amenities of 21st century transportation via our bus we watched a HBO original movie, “Boycott”, focusing in on the 1956 Montgomery Bus Boycott lead by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The movie cinematically depicted the racial tensions that spawned the most successful boycott in U.S. history. What started out as a one-day boycott of the Montgomery bus system due to racial injustice and segregation gained momentum and turned into a 13-month boycott that eventually lead to the beginnings of national abolition of segregation. This movie really brought home the point that little things can make a big change, and big things have to start somewhere.

The day continued the scenery changed, but the point was not forgotten. Our first stop in Birmingham brought us to the Herndon House. Alonzo Herndon was a slave-born sharecropper that decided to start little and eventually made a big change. Herndon’s life is a testament to the idea of struggle and achievement. In the difficult times of Jim Crowe Atlanta, Herndon made his way from a small time barbershop to a big time barbershop and further by developing the largest Black financial institution in America, the Atlanta Life Insurance Company and becoming one of Atlanta’s most prominent African American families.
After a rigorous day of travel and higher learning the group decided to enjoy the moment and satiate our appetites at a local diner, Magic City. The food was good, the company was great, and just when you think the lesson is over its really just begun. While we were dining in this local establishment one down to Earth waiter made our stay in Birmingham that much better. This waiter along with his friendly attitude and willingness to help became part of the group, even if it was just for a couple of minutes. Clueing the out-of-towners in on the local attractions like shopping, food (Dreamland BBQ), and historic sights was one little thing that makes the big picture a little easier to swallow. Hopefully we’ll encounter numerous little things like today’s waiter that make this entire trip the experience we all hope it will be."

Marci Hocutt

"Day two of the study of the American deep south and we as a group have still been deprived of personal encounters of the changes that have been made since the civil rights movement, and the effect it has or has not had within local communities. Needless to say, I feel as if we have been given limited time to experience the rich history the cities possess on our own and have yet to immerse ourselves in conversations with the people who are living the aftermath of the Civil rights movement.
The day began with introduction to one of the first black millionaires of Atlanta, Georgia. Alonso Herndon began as a slave, obtained freedom, and manipulated his learned trade as a barber to cater to the white community. The group discussed his innovative plan of gaining status and power in a society driven by whites. He sacrificed working in the black community to work among whites so that he could directly instill an awareness of black professionalism and ultimately return a greater profit to the black community through philanthropy.

The dialogue we were fortunate enough to have with a Birmingham resident took place at the Magic City Grille. It was comical upon introduction but transformed itself to serve as a means channel in on the preconceptions of each race that still exists and the ignorance that individuals complacently live with. Before taking our seats in the diner, two middle aged mean stopped a group of six of us on the sidewalk to question our out of town visit. He looked at one of the black males in the group and myself and directed his first question in the area of athletics, “So ya’ll here as a swim team or run track?” For the sake of argument we’ll credit his assumption to one of two things, the articles of clothing we were wearing which may have indicated an allegiance to those particular sports or that he only saw mixed groups of whites and blacks traveling together when they were on a sports team. He went on to inform us that it was pertinent that we were registered voters in our home state because it was “time to stop playing and time to get serious about things.” We needed to stop having babies without already having a family (indicating a husband) already or having any money “especially ya’ll” (as he directed his statement to two of the black females in the group). I earnestly nodded in hopes that he would let us keep going once he felt like we understood his point. It worked for the time being, but surprisingly he graced the entire group with his presence once we had taken our seats within the diner. Presumably as an extension of his southern hospitality, he informed us of all the places that we should go and inquired about the next destination on our trip. As he described the historical landmarks of another region he discredited one of our professors in the process, assuming she wasn’t as familiar with the history concerning the civil rights movement. Isolating our black professor and playfully commented “I know you know,” as in I know you can relate to me where she can not. Throughout his conversation he seemed to have directed his presence to the black students of the group more often than not. I wonder how it made the white students feel in such a situation and had it ever happened before. It was something that I intended to bring up on the bus but for some reason did not for reasons I am not sure of. Lastly, one of the most memorable things he said was after I thanked him for all the information and guidance he provided us with. He said something along the lines of “hurry up and return home” because there was not much there for Birmingham to offer. I informed him that the history and the cultural experience was reason enough for us to be here, and he quickly interjected that I should “STOP thinking about the history and think about my FU-TURE…” The reason that so many of the kids of Alabama were “handicapped today” is because of all the teachings of lynchings and murders of the south, “that’s all we focus on”.

Something to think about…………………….."

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